Donovan shut his car trunk and placed the last box of soup samples on the small dolly he’d borrowed from Mel and Betty earlier today. Reaching into his jacket pocket, he pulled out his phone. Betty had sent him a text that halftime was about to start.

Perfect timing. He watched as Zoe bent down, making sure the lid to her cooler containing the frozen yogurt was in place, her cute pink knit hat tucked over her ears.

It’d taken them two hours to fill their sample cups and arrange them for transportation. Will had stopped in, so they’d put him to work, helping to expedite the process.

He knew his plan would work. In hindsight, he probably should have told Zoe what he’d been doing all this time. She’d seemed a little put off that he hadn’t been cooking.

All would be forgiven when she learned he’d spent the last three days visiting every business, hospital, police station, library, post office, and community center in a hundred-mile radius, personally inviting folks to come out, support the two teams playing, and try his new soup with her frozen yogurt. For those who couldn’t make it to tonight’s game, he’d encouraged them to stop into the shop over the next two weeks.

He’d given everyone he met an incentive beyond great food. When he wasn’t buzzing around town, he was on his phone and email working his connections. He’d secured enough donations to give out a couple of prizes tonight and several more for those to have a chance to win, but only if they visited the Ice Heaven. The grand prize being a thousand dollars.

He was going to cough up that sweet cash prize, but he’d also scored numerous items from wine to gift baskets from local store owners. Rachel came through big time with a bouquet a month for a year as her donation. Will was a cheapskate, only donating an oil change. He’d get more out of his buddy later.

He’d even gotten a donation from his former business partner, Marc, who said he’d take some time off from the Rocky Top this summer and give personal French cooking lessons. Donovan jumped on that offer. He missed his buddy. It’d be good to see him.

With prizes secured—and with some help from Bethany and Caitlin—he had postcards made that highlighted all the prizes that could be won to anyone who stopped into the Ice Heaven over the next two weeks and ordered something from the menu. He’d passed out hundreds over the last three days and dropped off a stack for Betty to have on hand for tonight’s game.

No one could say he hadn’t given it his all. Hopefully tomorrow would be a jam-packed day. And the next day . . . and the day after that. In no time, Zoe should have the cash to dig out of the red.

It was a gimmick to lure people in—who didn’t want a chance at a thousand bucks? Still, once customers tried his food, he knew they’d be back. They always came back. He grinned.

“What’s that smile for?”

“Oh nothing. Just excited to be here. I haven’t stepped foot in this place in ages.” He held the door open for her. “Smells the same,” he joked, leading the way down the brightly lit hall with metal lockers on each side. He stopped at locker 129. “This was mine.”

Zoe came up beside him. “What was in it?”

“Um . . . Books.”

“No pictures of you with Abby?” she asked, cocking her head.

He smiled. “Nah. We kept our thing under wraps. She did leave a red carnation in there one Valentine’s Day my senior year.”

“That’s sweet.”

“Yeah. It was after a fight, and I was pretty sure it was cursed. I tossed it.”

Zoe laughed, and damn, the sound melted his heart. He nodded toward the gymnasium doors. “You ready to do this?”

“I think so. Are you?”

He nodded and unzipped his jacket, showing off the jersey he’d slipped on at the Ice Heaven. It was tight as hell. He barely got it over his T-shirt. He wanted to wear it to support the team.

Zoe’s mouth dropped. “What are you wearing?”

“What?” He patted his chest. “You don’t like it?”

“No . . . it’s . . .”

He chuckled. “I know it’s a little tight. I was a lot lankier back then.”

“I’m impressed that you kept it.”

He gulped. There was no way he was going to reveal that he’d found it in the purse. “Rachel stowed it away in her closet with her cheerleading uniform,” he said as if it was no big deal and began to lead the way down the hall where they were greeted by Betty and her sister, Helen.

“About time, Toots.” Betty threw her bony arms around him for a long hug and then did the same to Zoe. “Don’t you two make a cute couple.”

“Business partners,” Donovan interjected. The last thing he needed was Zoe freaking out and running down the hall and out the school.

“Right.” Betty nodded down to the dolly. “Glad that worked out for you.”

“Thanks for letting me borrow it.”

“Anytime.” She opened the door to the gymnasium. “Right this way.”

Donovan let Zoe go ahead of him as they entered the gym with the sample soups and frozen yogurts. Loud hype music filled the air, and his gaze immediately darted over to the bleachers packed full of fans.

Jackpot! His work had paid off. Donovan couldn’t help but smile as he stepped onto the rubber floor, imagining he was sixteen and about to hit a two-pointer. “Wow. This place looks the same.”

Betty nudged Donovan’s hip. “Thanks to you. Good job getting butts into the stands.”

“You did this?” Zoe asked, cocking her head slightly.

Betty’s head bobbed up and down, and she gave his shoulder a playful slug. Apparently, he didn’t have to answer because he had his own personal cheerleader in the old waitress. “He sure did. We haven’t been this packed in years. Maybe since the last time he played.”

“Happy to help. These kids deserve to play in front of a packed house.” He meant that. He’d had an opportunity to meet some of the team who’d been hanging out at Ralph’s Pizzeria when he’d stopped in to hit up his old boss for a donation. They were good guys who needed to experience the rush of playing in front of a gym full of spectators.

Zoe shook her head. “So this is where you’ve been. Arranging for us to share samples at a large gathering.”

“Guilty.”

She raised an eyebrow. “And the team being undefeated was a lie.”

“No. Not exactly.” He pointed to the other side of the court at the visiting team. “They are.”

Zoe laughed. “Well, thank you.”

“We’re business partners, remember?”

Betty turned on her microphone, pointing it at Donovan. “I’ll make an announcement, and then the cheerleaders are going to help you give out your samples along with these.”

“What’s that?” Zoe snatched a postcard from Betty’s hand.

Donovan looked over her shoulder. He’d been impressed by how the postcard came out. “Just some advertising I whipped up with some help from Caitlin and Bethany.”

Zoe scanned the contents. “And you got all these donations?”

“Yeah. I’m going to donate the big cash prize.”

She lifted her chin, her gaze meeting his. “I don’t know what to say . . .”

“We’re business partners,” he said, his heart beating inside his chest. Saying that word to this woman felt amazing.

Maybe someday it could be more.

The big smile she gave him gave him a little hope. It was enough for now.

Just then, Betty began to talk. She warmed up the crowd with a cheer and then launched into her announcement of the hometown player who had returned home and was about to launch a business.

His palms began to sweat as she continued to gloat about his culinary achievements, including touting his appearance last year on the Culinary Channel. He rubbed his hands together. What was going on? He’d spoken at public events and did thousands of demonstrations over the last ten years, but tonight was different.

There was a lot more on the line.

Zoe’s trust in him was all he cared about at the moment. He needed to keep that smile on her beautiful face. It belonged there.

Betty motioned for him to join her center court. “Ladies and gentleman, let’s welcome back to Buttermilk Falls renowned chef Donovan Foster.”

“Break a leg,” Zoe said, grinning.

“Who would help pass out samples?”

“Good point.” She smirked and reached for his arm. “Wait. You can’t join Betty.”

“What?” She wasn’t having second thoughts, was she? If she called everything off now, he wasn’t sure what he’d do.

“Take off your jacket.” She reached her hands out. “I’ll hold it.”

“Thank you.” He peeled off his jacket and handed it to her. Then he proudly walked across the gym floor to Betty’s side and took the microphone from her.

He hadn’t planned a speech. Given that his heart was racing, maybe he should have. “Good evening,” he said into the microphone, his voice echoing from the loud speakers positioned on both sides of the court. “It’s a pleasure to be here tonight. The last time I was here I was in this uniform. Glad it still fits,” he joked, and laughter filled the gymnasium.

He continued, “I’m happy to be home, back in Buttermilk Falls. Tonight, I wanted to share my love for cooking with all of you.” As he talked, the cheerleaders gathered around Zoe and the dolly, grabbing sample soups and heading into the bleachers. “I’ve teamed up with one of the most talented entrepreneurs in upstate New York to provide reasonably priced comfort food. Zoe Mathews owns the Ice Heaven frozen yogurt shop. Tonight, we have samples of our new venture.”

He gave a cautious glance over at Zoe. He hadn’t shared with her his idea—or more like Mary’s idea—for the name of his portion of the business. He took a deep breath. “Enjoy a sample of Heavenly Soups by D. Foster. I’ll be offering a cozy comfort food menu of soups and sandwiches beginning tomorrow.”

“And if you stop by the Ice Heaven anytime over the next two weeks, you’ll have a chance to win some great prizes including gift certificates, culinary lessons, gift baskets, and a grand prize of one thousand dollars.”

The audience erupted in enthusiasm. He grinned. No doubt about that last prize. “Thank you for letting Zoe and me be a part of your evening. We’ll see you soon at the Ice Heaven.”

He handed the microphone back to Betty, who gave him another big hug and presented him with a basketball signed by all the players as a thank you for the samples.

Pleased with his speech, he rejoined Zoe on the sidelines. “How’d I do?”

“Amazing.” She nodded to the stands. “People seem to be enjoying it.”

That they did. Two young women in the front row gave him a thumbs-up. “Hey, I’m sorry I didn’t tell you about the name for my food.”

“I think it’s brilliant.” She pulled her blond hair to the side and grabbed the basketball out of his hands. “Looks like your soup is popular with the ladies.”

“Good.” There was still one woman in this gym he was eager to impress. Bending down, he pulled out two soup cups and two frozen yogurt cups. “Would you like to watch the game?”

“You want to stay?”

“Sure. Unless you have other plans?” He needed to stop assuming she’d want to spend time with him. It wasn’t like he had a blizzard to give her no other choice but to hang out with him like he’d had the last two times.

Zoe reached down and grabbed some spoons. “We’ll need these.”

Yes! She was staying. Hanging out with people that just sampled their food while supporting these two teams was a great way to end the evening. He led her up the bleachers to a row that had room for them to squeeze in. As they got comfortable, a couple behind them tapped his shoulder to offer their compliments on how delicious the soup and frozen yogurt was and that they’d stop by tomorrow for more.

Mission . . . freakin’ . . . accomplished. He handed Zoe a soup cup and brought his up to hers. “To our sweet match up.”

She laughed, touching her cup to his. “Welcome, Heavenly Soups. I hope it lives up to its name,” she teased before taking a taste.

“And the verdict?” he asked.

She dipped her spoon in for more. “It does.”

“Yes!” He fist-pumped the air. “You had me worried.”

“Did you really have any doubt?”

“Not really.” He added, “Does that make me cocky?”

She shook her head. “No. It makes you confident.”

Confident. He liked that verb used to describe him coming from her lips. There were other traits he’d like to show her he had if given the chance. Trustworthy. Loyal. Awesome in bed. Okay, the last was a recreational description. He was pretty sure he’d have to work hard proving the first two before he had any chance with the third.

Plus, he needed to show her he was all the things she was looking for in a soul mate. Smart, funny, supportive of her business . . .

She finished her soup and picked up the postcard she’d placed on her lap. “So, you really got all of these items?”

“Yep. With a lot of help.”

“You’ve been busy.”

He had, and he’d do it all over again to prove to Zoe he was there for her.

“Marc’s donating cooking lessons?” She seemed surprised by that. At least she looked surprised, but how could she be? She didn’t know him. Ah. That was probably why she was confused. “He was my business partner at the Rocky Top. He offered to come to Buttermilk Falls and teach a series of lessons to one lucky winner.”

“Oh,” she said and slid the postcard in her purse.

A bit odd, but he wasn’t going to dissect her reaction. Maybe she wasn’t into French cuisine, which was probably a good thing. The last thing he needed was Marc falling for Zoe and offering her a job at the Rocky Top.

No. He needed to work on being the reason she stayed permanently in Buttermilk Falls.

Over the next hour, they watched the game. She didn’t quite understand the rules or the plays, so he’d explained them, loving this impromptu time together. Who needed Mother Nature to force them together, he was doing fine on his own.

When the game finally ended and the people around them began descending the bleachers, he hung back, stretching his legs. “Mind if we sit for a minute?”

“Okay,” Zoe said, fixing her pink knit hat still on her head and mimicking his stretched legs with hers, his basketball now on her lap. “That was a lot of fun. Thank you.”

“It was, wasn’t it?”

“I think I got the hang of it.” She held the ball up in the air and aimed for the basket.

He brought his hand to his chest, smoothing his jersey. “You learned from the best.”

“So, I hear.” She laughed, bringing the basketball back down, resting her chin on it. “No. Really, thank you for suggesting we stay. I haven’t gotten out to many public events since I moved here.”

“Really?” He found that hard to believe.

“Nope.”

“You went to the Holiday Hook Up.”

Her lips turned downward.

Nice going, jackass. Why would he go there? Was he trying to ruin this perfect vibe? He quickly changed the subject. “You know . . . This was my favorite part after a game. I’d climb up here after everyone had gone home and think.”

“About what?”

“Lots of things. Whatever was on my mind. The win. The loss. What I’d have Ralph teach me to make. Before I left I’d make a wish on something I really wanted.” He grabbed the basketball. “And then I’d go down and take a final shot to see if the wish would come true.”

“Wow. I’m impressed. I’m not sure I knew any teenage boys who made wishes.”

“What can I say. I was a bit of a dreamer, but if I made that basket, I worked doubly hard to make that wish come true. I always wished for something attainable, not something like winning the lottery or marrying Cindy Crawford.”

She laughed. “So, your wishes were really goals.”

He’d never thought about it, but yeah, that’s exactly what they were. He shrugged and straightened his back. “I could think them out in the silence. It was easier to plan my next move when I didn’t have any distractions.”

“I get that. I think best without a lot of commotion.” She paused. “Although, I’m always alone . . . I mean . . . um . . . I live alone. No commotion.”

The sadness in her words made his heart squeeze. Was she lonely here? It seemed so. “Well, you’ve got me now.” He quickly added, “Um . . . I mean at the shop. I can goal set with the best of them.”

“It’ll be nice to have help,” she admitted. “I thought everything would fall into place once I moved here and my business started. When it took off this summer, I thought . . .” She sighed. “I thought it would be less lonely.”

His eyes met hers. Starting tomorrow she’d never feel lonely again. He’d make sure of it. Even if she wasn’t interested in him romantically, he was going to give his all to this partnership.

But right now, he wanted to make her laugh. He nodded to his left knowing what would do the trick. “I wasn’t always alone in here. I’d often catch Rachel making out with Adam over there behind the bleachers.”

It wasn’t a laugh, but she did crack a smile. “Not Will?”

“No. He had the hots for her, but he was only a sophomore our senior year. She never gave him the time of day.” He chuckled, adding, “Didn’t mean he didn’t try. Right before a homecoming football game he’d marched right up to her, ready to ask her out.”

Zoe’s eyes widened. “Did he?”

“Nah, he chickened out. She’d asked Adam out that night, and they started dating exclusively shortly after. Broke Will’s heart.”

“Wow. Were you friends with him then?”

“Yeah, Will was on the basketball team and our next-door neighbor growing up. He was always at our house. Mainly to talk to Rachel.”

“Poor, Will. Unrequited love is brutal.”

“Oh, I think he and my sister have recently made up for lost time.” He arched his back, tired of talking about Rachel’s love life. “So, want to give it a try?”

“Give what a try?” she asked, cocking her head.

“Thinking. Just an empty gymnasium and your thoughts. Then you come up with one wish and take a shot.”

“Okay.” Zoe brought up her knees and rested her elbows on them.

Normally, he would have done anything to prevent dead air, but at this very moment with Zoe by his side, the silence was golden.

He wasn’t sure what was on her mind, but his head was racing with thoughts on asking her out. Maybe he could suggest that winery outing he’d mentioned at Rachel’s house, or better yet, maybe he could take her to a quiet Italian restaurant he’d stumbled upon the other day thirty minutes north.

She slapped her hands on her knees. “All right. I’ve got my wish.”

Well, that was fast. “Care to share.”

“Not yet.” She stood, took the ball from him, and headed down the bleachers.

All right, then. He wouldn’t pry. He proceeded down to the court where Zoe began to dribble the ball. Or tried to. She was having a hard time keeping up the momentum. She stopped and held it up high above her head with both hands. “Is this right?”

He grinned. Not quite. He positioned his hands, pretending to hold an imaginary ball. “More like this.”

She adjusted her position, but this time too low. He came over and gently brought her arms in place. Simply touching her sent an electric charge straight through him. “Perfect. Take a deep breath.”

He watched as Zoe inhaled.

“Now close your eyes.”

Zoe turned her head. “Seriously? I won’t be able to see the net.”

“Just do it.” He closed his eyes.

“Fine.”

He opened his and took a second to take in how adorable she looked in her pink hat holding his basketball with her eyes closed, pale lavender shadow dusting her lids. “Now envision taking the shot.”

“Envision . . .”

“Yeah, swoosh, nothing but net.”

“Is that what you’re doing? Thinking about taking the shot?” she asked, eyes still closed.

“Yep.” He sure was, but it had nothing to do with a ball and a net. “Open your eyes and shoot through your arms just like you envisioned.”

She did, and the ball sailed through the air, circling the rim before sliding in.

“Oh my God. I did it!” she shrieked. She spun around and hugged him.

Maybe it was first-timer’s luck, but with her in his arms he didn’t care. He rubbed his hands up and down her shoulders.

“Are you going to take your shot?” She looked up at him, her eyes hooded.

“Yes.” As if it was the most natural thing for them to do, he dipped his head, his lips brushing hers.

Damn, he loved this night. He coaxed her mouth open, his tongue gliding over hers. Their kiss deepened, her hands clutching the back of his jersey.

Lucky number twenty-four.

All of a sudden, a loud ring coming from his pocket broke them apart. “Sorry.” He pulled out his phone and looked down at the familiar face requesting a video chat. “It’s Marc, my former business partner. I’ll get rid of him.” Although his buddy had lousy timing, it’d be fun to introduce him to Zoe. “Hey, buddy.”

“Hey, how’s it going?”

“Good. Thanks, man, for the sweet donation. I can’t wait to see you this summer.” From the familiar chef uniform Marc was wearing, it was clear he was at the Rocky Top. “Business good?”

“You know it. Hey, you didn’t tell me you were trying out for the Knicks. You should have negotiated for a looser-fitting uniform.”

Donovan touched his chest. “Ha, ha. I scored many points in this jersey.” One just now that you interrupted. “Hey, I want to introduce you to my new business partner.” He turned around to introduce Marc to Zoe.

His body spun in a full three sixty. Well, that was weird. Where did she go?

“Zoe,” he called out, her name echoing throughout the empty gym. He ran over to the doors, pushing them open. The hallway was empty. She’d definitely run out on him again.

Why would she leave without saying goodbye? Had he misread their kiss? Maybe Zoe didn’t want it to happen again.

Realizing Marc was still on the phone, he finished their conversation, his thoughts easily distracted. How was he going to get Zoe to stop running?