Candy Kisses

CANDY KISSES

A Sweet Treat Valentine’s Novella

BERNADETTE MARIE

This is a fictional work. The names, characters, incidents, places, and locations are solely the concepts and products of the author’s imagination or are used to create a fictitious story and should not be construed as real.

5 PRINCE PUBLISHING AND BOOKS, LLC

PO Box 16507

Denver, CO 80216

www.5PrinceBooks.com

www.BernadetteMarie.com

Copyright © 2011 5 Prince Publishing and Books, LLC. Bernadette Marie

ISBN 13: 978-0-9848529-5-6 ISBN 10: 0-9848529-5-6

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission, except in the case of brief quotations, reviews, and articles. For any other permission please contact 5 Prince Publishing and Books, LLC.

First Edition/First Printing October 2011 Printed U.S.A.

If you purchased this book without a cover, you should be aware that this book is stolen property. It was reported as unsold and destroyed to the publisher, and neither the author nor the publisher has received any payment for this stripped book.

5 PRINCE PUBLISHING AND BOOKS, LLC.

For Stan

On Valentine’s Day and Forever and a day!.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

To Antoinette and Connie who took a lot of effort to make this possible. To all of the beta readers at 5 Prince Publishing who seize the opportunity to read my work before anyone else has the opportunity to do so, thank you. To my parents and my children who support me in every endeavor. To my husband who loves me unconditionally, even when I don’t help pay the bills. And last but not least, to Susan. Without your guidance I would never have been able to have accomplished so much in such a little amount of time. Your graciousness with your talents has brought me to where I am today. I am blessed that fate put us on the path it did and that you will forever remain more than just an editor or mentor. You will always be my friend.

CHAPTER ONE

Three hundred more truffles needed to be rolled and Tabitha’s hands had long gone numb. On any other day she’d take the time to stretch her fingers or even run them under warm water to relieve the cramping. But it was February and that meant no stopping until the fifteenth. It was also spontaneous wedding season where people jumped at the thought of marriage, and that always made for a lot more work.

She blew a loose strand of hair from her eyes and kept making perfectly round balls from the batter before setting them on the lined tray to her side. She couldn’t remember a year when she’d had as many wedding chocolates to make. Her biggest client Claire Banks, an esteemed wedding planner, must have booked every day in February with a wedding or party. And she had chosen Tabitha’s Chocolates to tempt the guests at every table.

It was work that Tabitha lived for, but, added to her already heavy workload before Valentine’s Day, she was feeling a bit pinched for time and her mood was sinking fast.

Okay, it’s done. Brie darted into the prep area of Tabitha’s small Cherry Creek store, waving a work order. We just picked up the Johnson-Carr wedding.

Tabitha squished the dough ball in her hand. How are we going to get this all done? We might need to start saying no, she grumbled as she rolled yet another truffle through the cocoa and then set it on the tray to dry.

Hey listen, Ms. Valentine and Wedding-Scrooge,. I’ve been planning a tropical vacation with grass huts and fruity drinks with umbrellas. We need all the weddings we can get so I can make the big bucks and get out of this icebox for a while. Brie hung the order on a clipboard on the order wall.

Tabitha scowled as she scooped out a dozen more truffles to be rolled through the coating and set them on the tray to roll through the coating. Scrooge, huh?

You work too hard. You forget what it’s like to have men fall at your feet at least one day a year.

Yet you and my mother seem to think it should happen all the time. I mean, how many times can the woman get engaged and married on Valentine’s Day? Doesn’t it take away the special meaning?

Maybe she does it just to piss you off. Brie grinned, and Tabitha wondered if her and her mother didn’t just plan to make her crazy on purpose.

Tabitha shook her head as Brie went back to answering the phone at the front counter. Sometimes your best friends shouldn’t be the people you hire.

She blew out a breath and thought of the upcoming holiday. She couldn’t help but be cynical in February. People turned starry-eyed and lovesick all because of a greeting card holiday. She, for one, knew better than to believe in such fanciful dreams.

Her own mother had fallen head over heels in love on Valentine’s Day. Who thinks that meeting the man of your dreams is possible when selling flowers on the street corner? And how asinine is it to run off with a man whose tongue dripped satin words? Marriage after four days of shacking up in a hotel room did not make for a lifetime of happy memories,, Tabitha thought as she dusted her hands off on her apron. She hopped down from the stool, on which she’d been perched for hours, and sought out a cup of coffee.

As she washed the cocoa from her hands, she gave thought to the phrase love at first sight. The idea was ridiculous, but people fell for it all the time. And there she was, making money off of their sentimental dreams.

She opened the cupboard and pulled down her favorite, green, oversized mug. She poured strong, black coffee inside and rested against the counter. She wasn’t sure why she was worried about who fell in love. It paid her bills, and it appeared that love would soon send Brie on a tropical vacation.

By late afternoon, Tabitha had rolled thousands of truffles. She had rolled some in cocoa and others in milk chocolate. Another batch was set aside for a variety of white and dark chocolate. Prepping strawberries for tomorrow’s dipping would keep her busy for the rest of the night.

Brie poked her head into the workroom. I locked up and am going to head out. I have a date. She wiggled her eyebrows and Tabitha shook her head. When did the girl not have a date? Would you mind cleaning out the display?

Of course. Tabitha laid a long stem strawberry out on a tray to dry.

I closed out the register. Brie pulled her coat from the rack and slipped it on.

Who are you going out with?

Video store guy. And hHe is so fine that. I think I’ve fallen in love.

Tabitha shook her head. Did this new love know Brie had fallen in love already three other times since New Year’s Eve?

With Brie gone, Tabitha turned on the radio to fill the silence. She’d laid out the strawberries and set them on the rack, then pushed it into the cooler.

The storefront was dark and the sign had been turned to closed. Tabitha began the process of removing the few unsold chocolates from the display and boxing them to sell on the shelves the next day. It was rare that she discarded any chocolate. Her business had been voted one of the best stores in both in Cherry Creek and in Denver, and her chocolate was ordered online all over the world. She laughed to herself when she thought about how sweet business had been for her.

Tabitha bent over and pulled a tray from the case. When she stood, she saw the face of a man, his gloved hands cupped around his eyes, looking into the store. She nearly dropped the tray of petit fours to the ground. When he’d seen her, he’d stepped back and waved.

Her heart beat at an uncomfortable pace. This was one of those times she wished she’d taken her mother’s advice and planted a gun under the counter. The idea was as stupid as the grin on the man’s lips that told her he wasn’t dangerous. Or, at least, she hoped so.

She set down the tray and walked to the door, her hands shaking from the startle he’d given her. The man stepped back, still grinning widely as Tabitha pointed to the CLOSED sign.

Please. She could hear him plead through the door.

It wasn’t like her to open the door to a stranger, but this one had a familiar look to him, though she was sure she’d never seen him before. She looked around the streets and people still walked between the stores. If she had to scream, someone would likely hear her.

She unlocked the door and opened it slightly, keeping her foot blocked behind it. We’re closed.

I know. I’m so sorry. I just flew in from a convention in New York, my flight was late, the bus to the parking lot was—

Sir, she cut him off, holding her hand up. You’ll have to come back tomorrow.

Listen, I’ll pay double if you’ll help me out. It’s my mother’s birthday and I’ve already missed the party. If I don’t walk through the door with a box of Tabitha Chocolates and bat my big, brown eyes at her, she’ll have my head.

She considered him for a moment. Batting your eyes won’t work on its own? The trick seemed to be working on her.

I don’t think so. Not this time.

His short, brown hair had tunnels where his fingers must have raked through dozens of times. Dark circles shadowed under his