one woman in his life who’d ever even remotely fit such a lofty bill. Candy. In his mind’s eye, he clearly recalled her pretty smile and eyes so deliciously brown, that just meeting her gaze was akin to sinking in a vat of sinfully rich melted chocolate.
Unfortunately, the last time he’d been looking into those eyes, his ex-wife hadn’t been smiling. She’d been crying. And the sight of those tears hadn’t just ripped his heart in two, but made him adhere to a strict vow to never, ever get married again.
So now, here he was being told the only possible way he could keep baby Bonnie was to not only marry again, but to marry the one woman on the planet who’d torn his life apart?
In a perfect world, he’d oh-so-politely tell Mrs. Starling right where she could put her ludicrous suggestion. Problem was, his world was nowhere close to perfect, and if he didn’t go along with her suggestion, he wouldn’t even have a world—that was how strong his bond to Bonnie had become.
Steeling his jaw, Jake reached an inevitable conclusion. As unpalatable—hell, as downright unthinkable—as it sounded, if he was to have even a prayer of keeping Bonnie, he’d have to once again marry Candy. Fast!
Chapter One
Three days later…
In super-stealth mode, Jake Peterson stepped onto the brick step of the Candy Kisses Confectioner’s Shop and Ice Cream Parlor. But just as he was about to launch the most important merger meeting of his life, his cell phone rang.
Cursing himself for not leaving the stupid thing in his rental car, he answered, “Yeah?”
“Did you do it?”
“Hell, no, I didn’t do it.” He ducked out of the unseasonably hot Missouri May sun and into the shade of a bush trimmed into the shape of a—Was that a giant cat? On the branches of the cat’s belly, a flock of starlings bickered like toddlers vying for the teacher’s last animal cracker. Covering his left ear, Jake said, “I thought I told you to wait for me to call you.”
“I know, but I’ve got a baby question.”
“What?”
“Bonnie’s poop’s lookin’ a little off.”
“What do you mean?”
“I don’t know, man, it’s kind of purple. Something about it just isn’t right. And it smells a little like catfish bait.”
Jake sighed before asking Rick, his best friend from high school and now the manager of the original Galaxy Sports Store, located a few doors down from where he now stood, “What did you guys feed her? I’ve only been gone fifteen minutes.”
“Creamed chicken and some leftover noodle stuff—oh, and Dietz let her have a grape Popsicle. Man, you should’ve seen that little gal sucking away. Oh—and right after you left, she gummed a cherry Pop-Tart.”
“And did that make her poop red?”
“Come to think of it…”
Jake brushed his left hand over his face. Having grown up and later worked with most of the guys now manning the store, he’d thought they were all capable of watching Bonnie for a few hours. But maybe he’d been wrong. Come to think of it, maybe he was wrong to have even thought about setting foot back in this town. “Where’s Warren?” he asked.
“He got a call from his kid’s school. Millicent got knocked in the front tooth during gym class and he had to take her to the dentist.”
Great. So the only guy in the store with practical parenting skills was gone. “Look, Rick, baby poop is literally a fluid situation. Changes all the time. Don’t worry about it unless—well, hell, just don’t worry. And don’t call me for at least the next thirty minutes. I’m going in.”
“LET’S SEE…I’ll take two Coco Locos, a Dino Bar, and a chocolate-covered strawberry.”
“Mmm, I like your style.” Without looking up, Candy Jacobs-Peterson opened the glass storage case and gave the confections housed inside an appreciative whiff. Even after all her years in the candy business, she still loved the rich smell of her creations.
She reached for a piece of tissue, then snatched a couple of her most celebrated masterpieces. The milk chocolate, almond and toasted coconut Coco Loco blend outsold her other candies three to one. At Monday’s closing, she’d have to remind Candy Kisses’ new owners to make extra for the weekend rush.
Hard to believe that a week from today, the business that had become her family would be sold. For all practical purposes, she’d never had a mother. After her dad had died when she was eleven, she’d been raised by her grandfather right here in this store. Her brief marriage to Jake had started out as a blessing, but ultimately, as she’d feared it would, fallen victim to her curse.
After her divorce, Candy had returned to the store and her grandfather, believing that hard work would be the cure for whatever ailed her. For a while, it had been enough. But when he died and, over the year since he’d been gone, despite receiving comfort from many dear friends, the loneliness had consumed her.
She’d felt lost. Adrift.
And now…
Now, she needed more. Of what, she had no clue.
Yes, you do.
Candy ignored her conscience’s nudge toward unthinkable directions. Truly, something was missing from her life. But whatever that elusive something was, she’d had no luck finding it here in Lonesome, the only town where she’d ever lived. Which was why, first thing next Monday morning, she planned to sign the sale papers for Candy Kisses, close up her house, then leave Lonesome for however long it would take to find peace.
She swallowed a fresh batch of jitters to hand the customer his distinctive pink box that had her kindergarten picture right on the front, lips puckered for a kiss. “Can I get you anything el—”
The box, along with its contents, tumbled to the floor, hitting glowing hardwood with a soft thwack. Candy fluttered her hands to her mouth. “Oh, my gosh…Jake.”
He matched her shock with a wry smile. “That happy to see me, huh?”
“It’s not that—well, it’s just that I…” Pull yourself together, she admonished. So what if it’s been ten years? So what if he’s grown taller, darker and infinitely more handsome? Just treat him like any other customer.
Easily enough said, but how many other customers broke your heart?
“In town for the reunion?” she asked, trying to play it cool while kneeling to clean up the mess.
“Yep. I thought I wasn’t going to make it, but at the last minute…” She stood in time to see him shrug. “You know how plans change.”
“Yes, well…” No one knew that better than her. “It’s good that you could make it after all. I know the guys down at the store must be glad to see you.”
What about you, Candy? Are you glad to see me? Jake reminded himself to breathe.
His
