Happy Valentine’s Day! Usually, I post my short history of St. Valentine and why this isn’t just another Hallmark holiday. But since today is a Friday, I’m posting another Hungry {Romance} Writer recipe. And I’m excited because today is the second installment of Nate and Sarah’s Wedding Morning Breakfast. (Nate and Sarah are the hero and heroine of ONE DARK WISH, the second book in my bestselling Deadly Force series). I’m also excited because today means that the third book in the series, IN SEARCH OF TRUTH, comes out in 11 days!!
Sarah Munro ~ “I can’t believe that less than twenty-four hours ago I married Nate Walker. What’s even crazier is that we only met about a month ago! But so much has happened that I feel like we’ve known each other forever. It’s as if I’d been waiting for him, without realizing it, and the moment he walked into my life I felt whole. I felt complete.
Now, as I sit on the balcony of our Charleston hotel room and sip my chocolate strawberry mocha, I watch Nate across the table. He’s carefully cutting apart the beautiful blueberry scones and spreading butter on them. But since the scones are still warm, the butter is melting faster than he can spread it. I reach for the scone in his hand. “Let me do that for you.”
He scowls at the pastry. “This shouldn’t be this hard.”
I take a piece that’s covered in melted butter and pop it into his mouth. He tries to lick my fingers but I pull away to take the rest of the scone. “Nope. I’m hungry.”
His eyes narrow. “So am I.”
I chuckle and allow the scone to melt on my tongue. It’s perfect. Warm, blueberry-ey, buttery, yet not too sweet. “So,” I say as I wipe my hands on my napkin. “What are we going to do today.”
Before he nods toward the hotel room, I add, “Outside. In the real world. With people.”
He coughs, sips his coffee, and pops a huge piece of scone into his mouth. Finally he says, “What do you want to do?”
I smile. I’m a historian so what don’t I want to do in a city as old as Charleston, SC. “Well,” I pause to butter another scone, “I made some inquiries.” He groans and I laugh. “It’s not that bad. I promise.”
“What’s not that bad?” He lifts the lid of the silver chafing dish and an amazing smell of savory eggs comes out.
“I hired a tour guide.”
He raises an eyebrow. “Really?”
Yes, he has every right to be surprised since I’m a 17th and 18th century historian with a penchant for being a know-it-all. “Yep.” I sip my coffee and eat my pastry. The blueberry flavor has intensified with the added butter. “She’s going to take us through churches and their garden cemeteries–“
He groans again and closes his eyes.
“And, then we’re taking the ferry out to Fort Sumter.”
He opened his eyes and his gaze is focused on my lips. I lick them and his nostrils flare. “Really? Fort Sumter?”
“I thought, as an ex-soldier, you might enjoy that.” For those not familiar with the centuries-old sea fort off the cost of Charleston, it’s a retired U.S. Army Garrison that once protected the Charleston harbor from pirates and was also the sight of two battles, the first of which started the Civil War.
He shrugs, eats the last scone, and wipes his hand on a napkin. But I can tell he’s smiling inside. My new husband isn’t a huge history buff, but he does love all the military things.
“And…” I pause for a moment, “I also arranged for us to stay there after dusk so we can take the nighttime ghost tour of the island. After that, we’ll take a private ferry back to town and I’ve made late-night dinner reservations here at the hotel.”
“In our room?”
I smile around my mug. “Maybe.”
Nate stands and takes my hand to pull me up. Then he wraps me in his arms and starts to dance to some imaginary song in his head. I rest against him and stare into the hotel’s garden below. I don’t think I’ve ever been this happy or content in my life. Then I hear the church clock chime and realize the time. “Nate?”
“Hmm?” he whispers against my head as we sway.
I pull away away slightly. “We need to eat so we can get ready for the day.”
“Mmmmm,” is all he says.
I sigh and rest against him again. He’s right. The eggs will stay warm for a few more moments and as for the tour guide, I’ll call her and tell her we’ll be a bit late.”

Blueberry Scones
Ingredients
- 2 cups flour (spooned & leveled) plus more for work surface
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter frozen
- 1/2 cup heavy cream plus 2 more Tablespoons for brushing
- 1 large egg
- 1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 1 heaping cup fresh blueberries washed and dried
- Raw sugar for topping
Instructions
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In a large bowl, whisk together the sugar, baking powder, cinnamon and salt. Using a box grater, grate the frozen butter and add it to the flour mixture. Cut the butter into the flour with your fingers or a pastry cutter. Stop when the dough is in pea-sized crumbs. Put the flour/butter bowl in the freezer while you do the next steps.
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Preheat the oven to 400℉ and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
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In another bowl, whisk together the heavy cream, egg, and vanilla extract. Take the flour out of the freezer and stir the cream mixture into the cold flour. Then add in the blueberries and mix together until the dough is moistened. Turn the dough onto a floured counter and work the dough into a ball. It will be sticky and hard but just do your best. Add more flour, if necessary. Press the dough into an 8" disc and place on the baking sheet.
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Cut the disc into 8 wedges and brush the scones with the 2 Tablespoons heavy cream. Sprinkle top top with raw sugar. Place the baking sheet int the refrigerator for another 15 minutes.
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Bake the scones for 22-25 minutes until golden brown and around the edges. Remove from the oven and cool on a baking rack. Cool for 10 minutes and then serve.