Candy Kisses

by Bernadette Marie

  “She had a cake with stairs that went to smaller cakes. It was a theme I guess. But I always thought if I ever got married I’d get married here. And I’d have stairs on my cake too.”

  Tabitha stepped off the bottom step and looked around the room, which buzzed with people setting up tables, and chairs for another couple’s wedding.

  Preston reached for her arm and spun her to him. “Maybe you’ll get your chance to get married here someday.”

  “No.” She shook her head and pursed her lips.

  “No? That was a quick answer.”

  “Weddings are just parties where the guests speculate how long the marriage will last.”

  “Forty years.”

  “What?” She looked up at him and he was smiling a broad, white smile.

  “My parents have been married for forty years. I can’t imagine that people were placing bets on how long it would last.”

  “Maybe that’s only at my mother’s weddings then.” She took a step back but he pulled her to him again.

  “It doesn’t have to be that way for you.”

  Tabitha looked away from him because she couldn’t begin to think of fancy cakes and staircases. She couldn’t let herself think in terms of someday. She brought happiness to the weddings she catered with her chocolates. Never would she expect happiness from a wedding to be hers.

  When she saw the caterers carrying the boxes of chocolates in she broke from Preston’s grasp and followed them to the table where the cake had been set up. She hadn’t been asked to help set up, but she thought it was best to calm her nerves.

  She was completely aware that the moment she’d left Preston’s side he’d been swept up by a man, she assumed was the father of the bride and she didn’t see him again until the wedding ceremony was over and the reception had begun.

  He moved in next to her as she stood against the wall and watched as the bride and groom took their first dance.

  “Sorry, I’m not a very good date,” he apologized lifting her hand to his lips and pressing a kiss into her palm.

  “I’ve been watching you work. You’re a people person and you have a good eye for detail.”

  “From someone who works with details I’ll take that as a compliment. However, I think the bride would have preferred my mother when she broke down right before the ceremony.”

  Tabitha turned to him. “She did?”

  “It’s not uncommon. They get wrapped up in the details and the emotion of what the wedding means gets lost. It just takes a little coaching to work them through it.”

  “And you did that for her?”

  He straightened the knot of his tie. “It’s all part of my service.”

  She could imagine, as he was called off to handle yet another detail, she’d be one of those brides who fretted over the wrong things. Would someone like Claire Banks come to rescue her and put her mind at ease? Would it all be okay after softly spoken words?

  Preston ducked into the hallway with the caterer and Tabitha shook her head. It was silly thoughts like that which had women swooning in February.

  She shook it off and found a vacant seat at a table in the corner and watched the merriment that surrounded her.

  The bride and groom had left in a grand farewell and the guests that lingered were few. Caterers began to pack up their items and the crews started to take down the tables and chairs. Preston crossed the room, his suit jacket draped over his arm.

  “Hey, lady, did your date leave you?”

  She looked around the room. “It would appear he did.”

  He laid his jacket over the back of a chair and reached his hand for hers pulling her to her feet. “Unacceptable. I’ll bet he didn’t even dance with you.”

  “Nope and the DJ seems to have packed up.”

  He pulled her arm spinning her against him and wrapping his other hand around her waist. “I hear music, Tabitha.”

  “You do?” She moved with him in the silent dance.

  “Every time I see you I hear music.”

  Romantic words. That’s where it always started.

  He pulled her closer until her face pressed against his chest. She settled close to him. It wasn’t so bad.

  She felt his lips in her hair as his hand caressed her back. “I realize its past midnight, but I would love to take you out for breakfast when we’re done here.”

  “Breakfast? I don’t think I can refuse. I’m starving.”

  He let out a laugh. “Good so am I.”

  She lifted her arms around his neck as he stopped moving in slow, rhythmic circles. She pulled her head back to look up at him. “Tomorrow is going to be a long day.”

  “Do you have to work?”

  “One week until Valentine’s day, yes, I have to work.”

  “I’ll help you.”

  “Is there anything you don’t do? Sell cars, calm brides, make chocolates.” She swung her hair so that it brushed her back.

  “I have many talents.” He tilted her chin with his finger. “Someday I’d like to show you some of my other talents.”

  Tabitha swallowed hard. How could she not read trouble into that?

  Chapter Five

  Tabitha was still exhausted from Saturday night. With a clearer mind, she decided she was more tired from Sunday morning. Their night hadn’t ended until almost noon when he’d brought her back to the store. He’d stayed until he watched her drive away making her keep her promise not to go into the store and touch a thing. They’d made a deal, neither of them worked. They were to both head home and straight to bed.

  She hadn’t talked to him since they’d parted with a satisfying kiss, but it was well into her thirty-fifth hour of being awake before she could calm her head and rest. He filled her mind and she couldn’t shake it no matter how hard she tried, so she didn’t. Finally, she fell asleep dreaming of him.

  She’d still prided herself on getting to work before the sun and for the first time in years, she worked with a smile on her face that didn’t come from her successes as a chocolatiere but from being a woman happy because of a man.

  The workroom of the store buzzed with work. Her mother had come to help, Brie was there with her music playing, and her mother’s fiancée had gone on the coffee run. He’d volunteered to work the front counter swearing it would be better for them all if that was all the help he offered.

  Tabitha toyed with the idea of bringing in a few more hands for the last week before Valentine’s Day. With a glance at the order boards she just wasn’t sure how she’d manage it all with just Brie, especially if Brie decided this was a good week to fall in love, again.

  She continued to roll balls that would become decadent truffles when the front door opened.

  “Tabitha, are you back there?” She heard Claire Banks’s voice carry through the store and then there she was standing in the doorway. “Well look at all this work going on. I’m glad I came by.”

  “Good morning, Mrs. Banks. How are you?”

  “I’m wonderful. How are you? Preston says you danced past midnight and had a lovely breakfast.”

  Tabitha smiled at the memory of dancing in the silent hall she adored. “Yes, we did.”

  “I’ve already received calls,” she said turning toward the pegs on the wall and hanging up her coat. “The couple had the very best day of their lives and the father of the bride said it was a magical night. Preston did a fine job of keeping things running smoothly. Word is he even calmed an anxious bride.”

  “He mentioned it.”

  “If I could just convince him to work with me and stop selling cars, I’d have one heck of a partner.” Claire took a white apron from a hook and tied it around her wide body. “You helped me. I’m here to help you. Put me to work.”

  Tabitha stopped rolling the truffle and set it down on the tray. She couldn’t help but just stare at Claire Banks standing before her in an apron that hardly covered her. She hadn’t asked for help. In fact her own mother wouldn’t be there had Brie not called her.<
br />
  “Mrs. Banks, really you don’t need to …”

  “Darling, this is what people do. If someone is sick you take them dinner. When a mother looks like she’s about to drop from exhaustion you take her kids for the afternoon. When your favorite chocolatiere has chocolates for weddings you begged her to take on, a major holiday coming up, her own mother’s wedding, and dinner with a very handsome man, you step up.”

  The workload she’d mentioned was enough to shake her. However, it was the end of that sentence that had her muscles tightening. “I have dinner plans?”

  “You will.” Claire was absolutely beaming. Her smile was so wide it made the apples of her cheeks pink with color. “He’ll be along shortly.”

  Multiple emotions struck out at Tabitha. There was too much to do to think about men coming to take her to dinner unexpectedly. She had orders to finish. Molds to fill. Heart shaped boxes to ship.

  But then there was the conflict. Wouldn’t it be nice to blow off the day and spend it wrapped in the arms of a handsome man kissing him senseless?

  God, this wasn’t like her. She couldn’t focus on one thought and she’d always been able to do that. And that thought had always been work.

  When Preston walked through the door she knew which one she wanted more and she’d never been one to lax on her business owner responsibilities. And when he shot her a look that told her his mind had wandered to the same place hers had, it felt as though they were the only two in the room.

  Preston broke eye contact when his mother crossed to him. “I told her you’d be here soon.” Claire kissed him on the cheek.

  “I didn’t know you’d be here.”

  “As I told her, she helped me and I’m here to help her.”

  Preston lifted his eyes back to her. “Well then where do I get one of those fancy aprons?”

  What the heck, Tabitha decided. At least the view would be nice while she finished her work.

  Since eyes were on her from the moment Preston walked through the door, Tabitha decided she might as well work side by side with him. Let them have their foolish giggles and whispers. For the moment, she was just going to enjoy how he made her feel because she knew it was never going to last.

  He was an attentive student.

  There wasn’t any task she’d given him that was too complicated. But as she’d told him at the wedding, he had an eye for detail. Before her were dozens of truffles in which she hadn’t rolled. Her fingers would surely thank her later when they didn’t cramp up by just holding the fork during dinner.

  The morning moved into afternoon. They rolled truffles, decorated petite fours, dipped caramels, and piped tiny flowers onto all of them. She’d assigned jobs by their abilities and did her best to let go the need to have everything as perfect as she’d have made it.

  Her mother and her fiancée left after lunch to attend to wedding details. Brie had a date with the clerk from the movie rental store. She’d been good on her word to find out his name and remember it. It was John. When Preston’s father called looking for his wife, Claire said goodbye, kissed them both, and left smiling as widely as she had been when she’d walked in.

  Preston let out a large sigh. “I thought they’d never leave.”

  Tabitha tucked in her smile and felt the heat rush through her. “I’ve never had that much help before. I think we are actually on schedule.”

  “Good. Then you can enjoy your evening.”

  The smile Tabitha had wanted to hide diminished. Enjoy her evening? He didn’t include the phrase, “we can enjoy our evening.” Hadn’t Claire mentioned that she’d be having dinner with him?

  She turned to set the tray of chocolates on the drying rack. The beautiful hearts she’d just piped on to each of them were suddenly as ugly as the mood that brewed inside of her. This was why attraction was so hard. It led to feelings that weren’t real. Why should she care if he had other plans? What did it matter if she’d misunderstood his mother? She had plenty to do. Sure they were on schedule, but she could be far ahead of schedule.

  The racks of trays clanked together as she pushed them into the room she kept cool so that the chocolate would dry, but not cloud in the cold of a refrigerator.

  She closed the door to the small room and turned to stare in disbelief at the man who waited for her with his jacket already on and hers held in his hands.

  She cleared her throat. “Are you leaving?”

  “I didn’t ask, but I was hoping you’d join me.”

  She looked him over as she walked toward him. She hadn’t noticed how he’d been dressed when he’d walked through her door. He wasn’t dressed as though he’d come from work. A faded pair of Levi’s and a simple black, button down shirt was not usual work attire for a luxury-car sales person. He’d taken his day off, or had taken the day off, and shown up to help her make candies. She’d never thought to ask why he wasn’t working on a Monday. The warmth of the gesture melted her anger.

  He’d already put on his worn leather jacket and Tabitha hated that she wanted to run to him and wrap her arms around him. How much sexier could the man get?

  He shook her coat in his hands. “You look lost in thought. I’m not thinking anything fancy, but I have a hankering for some pizza.”

  “Pizza sounds great. Give me a minute to freshen up?”

  He draped her coat over his arm. “Sure.”

  Consciously, she tried to only take a few moments in the bathroom putting herself together, but she was lost in the image in the mirror. Looking back at her should have been the face of the same woman she’d been staring at for thirty years. The face had matured, sure, but it had never quite had the glow to it she saw now.

  Tabitha touched her cheeks. Was it just her or did the world see that glow? She swallowed hard.

  She was successful. She was still young. But that wasn’t it.

  Only a moment later she watched as her own brown eyes grew wide at her reflection. She’d seen that glow before, only never on her own face. No, she’d seen it on her mother’s face. She’d seen that sparkle in Brie’s eyes.

  It was love.

  Panicked, she turned on the cold water and ran her hands under it. Then she scrubbed her face and looked back into the mirror. But even with her skin dripping, the glow was there.

  She’d gone and fallen in love, which was exactly what she hadn’t wanted to do.

  The pizza parlor was as far from fancy as he could have gotten. The plastic red gingham tablecloths and metal chairs with red vinyl seats comforted her. It reminded her of many of the places her mother would have taken her when she was young. They never would have frequented the sushi restaurant Preston had taken her to before.

  Preston had seated them in the corner booth, just under the television that hung from the ceiling. A hockey game played, but she’d never really understood the game to know what was going on.

  He handed her a copy of the menu that was posted on a board above the counter. “I have to order at the counter. Is there anything you don’t like on your pizza?”

  “Not really.” She looked over the toppings list. “Oh, wait. You’re not one of those men who have to have fish or anything like that on their pizza are you?”

  “I love sausage, mushroom, and green peppers on my pizza. But I can eat anything you want.”

  “Actually I think that sounds nice.” She tucked the menu back behind the shakers of crushed red peppers and cheese.

  “Coke or beer?”

  “What are …”

  He chuckled, cutting off her sentence. “I’m having a beer. Why don’t I just get us a pitcher.”

  “For just the two of us?”

  “Light weight,” he joked as he walked to the counter to order.

  Tabitha looked around the quaint restaurant. There were only a few tables and small children occupied one booth. The owner’s kids she assumed. One read, another colored, and the boy played a video game with headphones covering his ears to block out the world.

  A man yelled
through a window the order he needed and then would toss the pizza just behind the counter. A family run restaurant, what a pleasure that was.

  Why had she never been there? It was only two miles from her shop and within a ten-mile radius of all the houses she’d grown up in.

  She set her elbows on the table and rested her chin in the palms of her hands. Had she gone and isolated herself so much that when she gave it some thought she didn’t know the area around her very well at all?

  Preston returned with two glasses and the pitcher of beer. He set it on the table and took a seat next to her in the high backed booth. He looked up at the television and winced.

  “Damn. Did you see that puck hit that guy in the chest? Do you know what kind of mark that makes? You have to really love playing a game to risk injury.” He poured her beer and then poured one for him. “This place has the best calzones.” He took a sip from his glass. “We used to frequent this joint in college.”

  “Where’d you go?”

  “University of Denver. How about you?”

  Tabitha shook her head. “I didn’t have the opportunity. Step-dad number three took off with all of mom’s savings. Needless to say that meant my college education.”

  “Sorry.” He placed his hand over hers and gave it a squeeze. “No wonder you’re not a big fan of her getting married.”

  “They weren’t all bad. And Peter seems to be a nice guy.” She shrugged. “You just can’t help but wonder for how long.”

  “You don’t think this is the one?”

  Tabitha laughed. “God, no. Is there really just such a thing for anyone?”

  His hand stiffened over hers and then he pulled it away. “My parents have been married forty years. They fell in love at fifteen.”

  “I think that’s very special, but not the norm.”

  “My father’s parents were married for fifty years before my grandfather died. My mother’s parents have been married almost seventy years.”

  She gave it some consideration, but she couldn’t think of anyone in her family who’d stayed married. Her grandmother was a single mother. She didn’t know her father’s parents. Even Brie’s parents were divorced and remarried. Obviously the marriages Preston spoke of were flukes of luck.