by Amy Andrews
“Thank you.” Viv also looked around. The inside of Delish was very different to Sage’s shop. Delish prided itself on sleek, elegant lines. On sophistication and classiness. Sage had perfected that rustic, artisan vibe in her space. “I see business is going well for you this morning.”
Sage laughed and blushed as she shot a look at Viv. “Don’t mind them, Viv, they’ll come around. They’re just very…protective. But they really are the friendliest people in all Montana once you get to know them.”
Yeah. So she’d heard…
“I know.” Viv smiled. She really wasn’t concerned about the lack of customers today. She’d have preferred it to be different and her bosses would certainly be surprised, but there wasn’t any cause to worry yet.
Sage leaned an elbow on the counter. “You and I, we have very different business models and I think we can easily share this space.”
“I agree.” Sage O’Dell was clearly business-savvy.
“If anyone comes into the shop looking for a…more packaged kind of chocolate I’ll be sure to send them over to you.”
Viv nodded her thanks. “And vice versa.” There was nothing worse than craving a particular kind of chocolate and not being able to find it. If a customer couldn’t find what they were after in Delish, Viv was more than happy to recommend they try the Copper Mountain chocolate shop.
“Here.” Sage reached into her back pocket and pulled out a card, handing it over to Viv. “If there’s anything I can do for you, please don’t hesitate to ask.”
Pocketing the card, Viv said, “Thanks. And back at you.” She grabbed a glossy flyer off the counter with the shop number on it and handed it over.
“Now.” Sage turned her back on Viv, looking around once more. “What would you recommend? What’s your favorite chocolate in the range?”
Viv laughed. “Thanks, Sage, but I don’t need a pity sale.”
“Nonsense,” she dismissed, as she set forth, wandering around the shelves, picking up different bags of chocolate and checking them out. “What kind of a businesswoman would I be if I didn’t know what my competitor was up to? You came into my shop a little while back didn’t you?”
“Yep.”
“Right…you bought the boxed assorted selection if I remember correctly.”
“Yes.” Educated guess or actual memory?
“And you had a cup of the chili hot chocolate. You sat by the window and wrote in a notebook for about half an hour and you left a twenty on the table as a tip.”
Viv laughed. So. Actual memory then. “Good chocolate deserves such reward.”
The assorted box had been divine. The hot chocolate had been good, too, but not as good as the one made and sold in all Delish stores during the entire month of December.
Sage grinned. “It does.” She put down a block in the area where the citrus selection was shelved. “Do you ever get tired of chocolate?”
“Me?” Viv blinked. “Nope.” That was like asking her if she ever got tired of breathing. Or sex. The question almost didn’t compute.
“Neither do I.” Picking up another block she said, “This herbaceous blend any good?”
“It has an almost licorice flavor if that’s your thing. My favorite is the honeycomb smash.”
She came out from behind the counter and crossed to the shelves where she knew it was housed and grabbed a block. Sage joined her, accepting the offering, examining it like the true connoisseur she was. “Nice packaging.”
The golden wrapper shimmered under the lights, the matte finish was tactile and sophisticated. “Thanks.”
“I’ll take it.”
Reaching into her back pocket, Sage pulled out a fifty but Viv waved her away. “On the house.”
Sage laughed. “I don’t mean to tell you how to run your business but giving stuff away for free is a surefire way to go out of business.”
She was teasing and Viv took it the good-natured way it had been meant. “Ah but this way the Sage O’Dell will try it and fall in love with it and be singing its praises to all her customers and before you know it everyone will be beating my door down.” Sage grinned as Viv tapped the side of her nose playfully twice. “There’s a method to my madness.”
“Well thank you, I’m sure I’ll love it.”
Viv smiled as she made her way back to the counter. “Feel free to take out an ad in the local newspaper and let everyone know.”
“Sure thing.” Sage laughed again. “But for now…I really should get back. People will be wondering where I am.”
“Yes.” Viv nodded as a passerby stopped and peered in the window at them, looking confused as to why Sage was in the house of the enemy. “I’m surprised they haven’t sent out the search squad to check I haven’t done away with you.”
Sage grinned as she hugged the chocolate to her chest. “They will come round.”
“Yeah, yeah.” Viv also grinned as she waved her out the door. “I’ll see you around.”
“Yeah.” Sage nodded. “I’m looking forward to it.”
The bell dinged as Sage left the shop and Viv had to admit she was looking forward to it, too.
*
It was another hour before the bell dinged again and this time it was Reuben. The man was a sight for sore eyes and not just because he filled out a deputy uniform in a display of overt masculinity that had to be illegal in all fifty states. But because his support meant a lot even if he did have a Copper Mountain Chocolates box in hand.
She looked at the rival chocolate and tsked. “Eu tu, Reuben?”
He grinned clearly unconcerned by such dramatic accusations. “I’m just picking it up for my boss. Apparently his wife will never sleep with him again if he doesn’t show Sage some support today and he’s making me pick it up for him because somehow this is all the fault of my horn dog libido and if he has to suffer then I have to suffer too. Or words to that effect anyway.”
Viv laughed at the long and sorry tale. “Guess it sucks to be you.”
“Apparently.”
He’d reached the counter and looked around, frowning a little. “It seems quiet for opening day?”
“Ya think?” Viv laughed. “Sage on the other hand is going to be able to retire after today’s takings.”
“Ahh.” He nodded. “Marietta hazing you?”
“Something like that.”
“They’ll come around.”
“Yeah.” It seemed to be the mantra for the day. Although from the looks both her and Reuben were getting now through the window, Viv wasn’t so confident.
“In the meantime…” He removed his hat, ruffling his hair as he placed it on the counter then slid his elbows on top, leaning in a little, that smile playing on his mouth as distracting as it had been from that first night together. “What’s good around here?”
Well…there was him, for one.
Viv wondered how he’d feel about being dipped in chocolate and just lying very still—or standing, she wasn’t picky—somewhere and letting her lick it all off?
Gah!
Just the thought of it had her salivating and the last thing she needed to do was drool right now and give away her rather X-rated thoughts when they’d both taken the pledge. She cleared her throat. “What do you like?”
The small smile morphed into something slow and sexy. “Everything I see.”
Of course. Except he was looking at her. At her mouth. Viv swallowed. Had he moved closer? Was he leaning in a bit more? Did she want him to?
Oh hell fucking yes she did.
Grabbing the nearby tasting platter she shoved it between them because she was suddenly more ravenous for Reuben’s mouth than any chocolate she’d ever tasted and that was a big problem because she was always ravenous for chocolate and this was her job.
Not Reuben’s mouth.
“Here’s our basic selection.”
His gaze lingered on her mouth for a moment before he dropped it to the tray. “So I should just try one of each?”
“Defin
itely.”
Clicking into sales-pitch mode, Viv ran Reuben through the selection on the tray from their basic range, talking about going to Belgium and seeing how the product was made and moving on to their blends and the different flavors and how they were chosen. She even recited the tasting notes she’d implemented with the company over the years after visiting a whisky distillery in Scotland and seeing how they sold their product.
He’d quirked an eyebrow at her when she’d started talking about end notes of smoke and currants but once he started to concentrate she could see him coming around.
“So?” she asked as he very distractingly licked his lips. “What do you think?”
He glanced up and their gazes locked. “I think you’re very good at this.”
“I mean about the chocolate, Reuben.”
He smiled. “I could definitely listen to you talk about chocolate all day.”
“The taste?”
Continuing to ignore her question he asked, “Is it just me who gets aroused by listening to you talk about chocolate?”
His voice was all low and gravelly and Viv’s breath hitched. “Reuben.”
Truth be told, the intense way he’d listened to her, the way he licked his fingers and rolled his mouth as he refrained from chewing and allowed the chocolate to melt against his tongue as she had instructed, had been highly arousing. Her nipples were still tingling.
“So…not normal, then?” he clarified. “I’m just a—”
“Sexual deviant?”
He laughed, which was like a splash of cold water to her libido and Viv straightened moving her body as far from his as possible without actually shifting her feet. “I was going to go for extreme chocolate empath.”
Viv quirked an eyebrow. “Chocolate empath?”
He shrugged but he was grinning. “That could be a thing.”
“Right.” She shook her head. It would be so easy to get sidetracked by him. Both today and for the rest of her time in Marietta. Too easy. “Okay, that’s the end of the tour, folks.” She folded her arms. “This is the point where you buy something.”
“I’ll have one of everything.”
Viv laughed. “You going to single-handedly keep me in business, Officer Price?”
“If I must.” He sighed and put his hand over his heart like he was about to take the oath of allegiance. “The sacrifice won’t be easy but for you…anything.” And then he grinned, looking goofy and so damn sexy she wanted to lick him like a lollipop.
“Okay, then. You asked for it.”
Viv left the counter and walked between display shelves, finishing up with a dozen bars of chocolate and bringing them back, setting them down next to his hat. “Can you handle all these?”
He grinned. “I can handle whatever you throw down.”
Ignoring his innuendo, she started to run them through the price scanner. Shaking her head, she said, “I would be fat as a house if I ate all this lot.” Viv ate chocolate every day—it was an occupational hazard and she wasn’t a saint. But she had to be very aware of how much that contributed to the fat cells on her ass and how those suckers loved company.
He patted his stomach and Viv’s eyes strayed to the taut, flat stretch beneath his snug-fitting shirt, knowing full well what it looked like under the fabric. “I’m lucky. I have an awesome metabolism.”
Reuben Price had an awesome everything. “Cash or card?” she asked ignoring his blatant compliment-fishing expedition.
He handed over his plastic. “Card.”
*
By Friday afternoon, after a very loooong first week, Viv was starting to feel like a pariah. Sure, she’d had some customers—the vast majority of them not locals—but about the only money the shop was actually making was coming out of Reubens’ bank account. That in itself wasn’t a big problem. Delish was a company that did very well fiscally, which relieved pressure on underperforming stores. Nor did they expect immediate profits and were happy to nurture new stores for a few months. Managers and staff were paid out of corporate funds if the takings weren’t sufficient enough. But if the Marietta store kept its current trajectory of sales—or lack of sales—then they’d be closing the shop by end of January next year.
And Viv really didn’t want that to happen.
She’d never had a store fail and she wasn’t about to start because going rural was her idea. It was clearly marked in the report of the company’s AGM as her proposal after presenting reams of information to the board regarding the viability of the stores outside major centers. And the other two small-town stores had done well right out of the gates and were currently both still thriving.
But she’d pushed for Marietta. Pushed for it over Bozeman even when Harriet herself, who had been a mentor to Viv, had indicated it might be the better option. Thankfully the CEO and the corporate team trusted her and her instincts. They had no reason not to because she’d never been wrong. That had always given Viv a true sense of pride, but it also meant her professional reputation was on the line.
In short—Viv had a lot to prove.
At the moment she didn’t even feel able to start advertising for a manager and extra staff. If the shop wasn’t viable the last thing she wanted to do was to employ one or two people, then have to lay them off when they shut their doors. And, realistically she could easily handle the number of customers they had so far.
They were getting some repeat business—not just Reuben—which was encouraging. She’d just thought they’d have had more people through the door by now. Viv hadn’t counted on just how fiercely loyal Marietta would be.
They sure took the local-first mantra as gospel here in Montana.
What she needed was a plan. One that didn’t involve selling her entire day’s quota to Reuben because while it was welcome and fun to watch him loading up every lunch hour looking mighty fine in that uniform of his and fantasizing about him ingesting it sans uniform, it didn’t seem like a very viable long-term plan.
Still, as she’d told herself every day for the last five days—it was only the first week. There wasn’t really any immediate cause for concern especially with the weekend upon her and an increase in tourist traffic.
But, it was a relief to shut up shop for the day. She’d sold thirty-six dollars’ worth of stock—her worst day yet—and her feet were killing her. She could walk around in stilettoes all day and be fine but just standing in the one spot…that was murder on her insteps. For someone who’d done nothing much today, she was exhausted. She just wanted to pour herself a glass of wine, sink into a hot bath then lose herself in her latest Netflix binge for a few hours.
Not think about the shop for an evening.
It had turned decidedly chilly and Viv was pleased she’d switched from her pencil skirts to tailored pants as she pulled on her long wool coat. It was a mustard color, and it tied at the waist and fell just below the knees. Large funky mother-of-pearl buttons and huge lapels drew the gaze to where it crisscrossed in front to form a flattering V-neckline.
Viv always felt sexy in this coat—even when she was weary. It hid the evidence of her daily chocolate consumption clinging to her ass and dimpling the tops of her thighs while emphasizing her smaller waist, her décolletage and the long stretch of her throat.
It was certainly the pick-me-up she needed, today.
As was the vision of Reuben farther down the Main Street boardwalk, striding in her direction. He slowed and whistled and, despite the disapproving glares she could feel coming from all sides, it put an extra swing in her hips.
They both slowed and stopped when they drew level. He shook his head. “I should arrest you for wearing that thing in public.”
A smile quirked Viv’s lips. “On what grounds?”
“Public nuisance.”
She laughed. “Am I causing any bother?”
“Well I can’t speak for anyone else but I’m pretty bothered. The dreams I’m going to have about you and that coat.” He shook his head again.
Viv
’s lips twitched. “Officer Price.” She feigned genteel affront. “Is that any way to speak to a member of the public?”
A broad grin split his handsome face as he tugged on the brim of his hat. “Sorry, ma’am.”
Except he didn’t look remotely sorry. In fact, Viv was pretty sure he was picturing how good she might look in nothing but the coat.
“You want to go for a drink?” he asked.
One part of Viv—the naked-under-the-coat Viv—wanted that very much. But she was exhausted and more than that, she was tired of being on. Of being the face of Delish where she had to be teeth-achingly polite to unfriendly, sometimes downright rude, people.
She was done letting it all roll off her for today.
“Thank you for the offer but my feet are killing me and I’m looking forward to putting them up in a hot bath, pouring a glass of wine and chilling out in front of some Netflix.”
He gave a little half groan as he clutched his chest. “Putting those pictures in my head is just plain cruel.”
“I’m sure you’ll survive,” Viv said dryly.
“Okay, how about this.” He dropped his hand. “While you relax in the bath—” His Adam’s apple bobbed as if he was trying very hard not to go there and failing. “I make you some dinner. Something quick and easy. I’m great with pasta. Then, while you’re watching the TV, I give you a foot massage. I’m also really great with foot massages—no strings. I promise. Purely as a friend.”
Viv quirked an eyebrow even as her insides dissolved into goo at the suggestion. “I’ve never had a friend give me a foot massage.”
“Not even at all those high school slumber parties where you and your gal pals had naked pillow fights?”
She laughed. “You are a deviant.”
Unabashed, he shrugged. “You say deviant, I say active imagination.”
Viv snorted but regardless of Reuben’s wild imagination, his proposal was tempting. Even taking the potential for sex—for which, she knew, there was a lot—out of the equation, it sounded dee-vine.
Fed and watered and pampered. And they had taken the pledge. Except…
In any other town or city in this country she wouldn’t have hesitated in accepting but this was Marietta, where she was already a homewrecker. “Look…Reuben—”