pictured her lounging in bed, wearing that ivory-silk negligee she’d bought him for their first wedding anniversary. Fine lace played hide-and-seek with her breasts while from behind her half curtain of sleek, dark waves, she grinned, beckoning him closer, inviting him to unwrap his gift.
Jake released a sharp breath.
Focus, man. Remember, you’re in town to find a temporary mom for Bonnie—not a playmate for you.
Besides, Jake reminded himself, being burned once by Candy’s particularly painful brand of rejection had been more than enough to scar his lifetime.
“So,” he said with a light clap, rubbing his palms together. “The guys told me you’re about to start a new project.”
“I suppose that’s one way of putting it,” she said, straightening the already-perfectly-aligned jars of her signature ice-cream toppings.
“So? What’re you doing? Finally launching a new store? Some hot new candy you’re taking nationwide?”
Shifting two jars to a higher shelf, she stood on her tiptoes, raising her arms high enough for her breasts to strain the buttons of her white silk blouse. Finished, she said, “You were the only one around here with global dreams, Jake. Mine have always been simple.” A ghostly smile playing about her lips, she shook her head. “I can’t believe the guys didn’t tell you.”
Tell me what? That you’re hotter than ever?
He gulped. “How come I’m feeling like I’m the only one in town who doesn’t know?”
“In case you’ve forgotten, Jake, we’re kind of divorced.”
“Touché.”
Averting her gaze, she said, “Wow. I can’t get over the fact that you’re really here. The last person I expected to see today was you.” When she again looked his way, she’d captured long strands of her hair between her fingers, intently twirling it as if the action would fix whatever was causing the sadness in her eyes.
The last time Jake had seen her twirl her hair was the day she’d signed their divorce papers.
“Candy,” he said, stepping closer to the counter. “Is something wrong? I mean, besides seeing me?” He flashed her a weak grin, which she answered with one of her own.
“No. It’s just that this is a pretty strange day.”
“How so? It’s just another Monday, isn’t it?”
Her nod was followed by a tiny hiccup, which was in turn followed by a gasping sob. “Oh, Jake, I know I’m making the right decision, but…”
In a heartbeat he stormed behind the counter and pulled her close. “Shh…” he said, stroking her hair while at the same time denying a strange sense of déjà vu. “Whatever’s going on with you, Candy, I’m sure everything’s going to be okay.”
As if only just now realizing that he held her in his arms, she stepped back, gazing up at him with a teary-eyed wonder that quickly turned to distrust. “Look at me,” she said, wiping her cheeks with the backs of her hands. She took another step back and straightened her hair. “Here I am, on the threshold of the biggest adventure of my life, and acting as if it’s some kind of jail sentence.”
Jake scratched his head. “Mind explaining all that for those of us who showed up late to the party?”
“Oops,” she said with a brave smile. “I forgot that you don’t know. Today is my last Monday standing behind this counter.” She washed her fingers over the timeworn white marble. “A week from today I’m selling Candy Kisses and leaving Lonesome.”
“Temporarily, right?”
“No. That’s the most exciting part. First, I’m crossing the Andes—on a llama! It’s one of those adventure/eco trips. And then there’s my Amazon cruise, and from there, the Galapagos, and—”
“But wh-what about your grandfather?” Dear Lord, what was she thinking? Candy Kisses had been in her family for more than fifty years. Candy Kisses was her family. She couldn’t just sell it.
“You didn’t know that, either? Grandpa died last spring.”
Jake washed his face with his hands, released a deep-throated groan. “Jeez, I’m so sorry…But that makes your wanting to sell all the more baffling. Woman, have you lost your mind?”
“Excuse me?”
“You’re selling the only thing in your life you’ve ever really loved in exchange for riding some hairy beast through the Andes? What is this? Some kind of harebrained attempt to find yourself?”
“Yes—I mean, no. And what if it is? What gives you the right to question anything I do? And you don’t have to make it sound as if my trip is some whacked-out, New Age spiritual thing. It’s just a vacation. A chance to see new things. Meet new people.” A chance to figure out what I want to do with the rest of my life.
Candy brushed past Jake, ignoring the icy-hot tingles where the cramped space forced their arms and hips to touch.
“Where are you going?”
Without looking back, she answered, “Home. I have a lot of packing to do.” From out of the cabinet at the end of the counter, she snatched her purse.
“You’re just going to leave the store? I thought you stayed open late every night of the week?”
“Only Thursday through Sunday.”
“Yeah, but what about today’s customers?”
“They’ll come back tomorrow.”
“What kind of business plan is that? You’ve got to seize the market. Be ready to close the deal on even the smallest sale.”
Heading for the front entrance, she said, “At the moment, Jake, the only thing I’m closing is the door. Last warning or you’ll be spending the night.”
In one of those grandiose moves only her ex would even think about pulling off, he braced his hands on the short counter and swung his legs over. Sure enough, he beat her to the door and now stood, arms crossed, blocking it.
“You haven’t grown an emotional inch, have you?”
“Oh, like you have? Hiding from whatever’s eating you by cutting it out of your life?”
“I’m not hiding. I’m going home to pack.”
“Packing for your trip to run off and hide.”
Tears welled at the backs of Candy’s eyes and she stubbornly forced them away. It had taken years to stop crying herself to sleep over this man. No way would she give him the satisfaction of crying over him now. Had he forgotten what he put her through? Had he forgotten what kind of pain she’d put aside just in trusting him enough to marry him?
He’d known what kind of rotten family she’d come from. He’d known, and yet he hadn’t cared. For if he had cared, he wouldn’t have pressured her for so much more than she would have ever
