All’s Fair in Love and Chocolate

by Amy Andrews

Which meant, repeat customers!

  Customers who, while waiting to be served, found themselves wandering around the store and buying other things too. Not chocolate though—or not in the volume Viv would have liked. Not yet anyway! Viv had learned quickly that the townsfolk were reluctant to buy anything that was in direct competition with Sage because it felt disloyal. But—they would buy the house, bathroom and skin lotion products and she was happy to pander to the whims of her market.

  So, with Reuben’s help on Thursday night, after closing, Viv did some shelf rearranging to place those items at the front of the store and around the counter. Normally, in every Delish store, the chocolate took pride of place and the other products were there as a sideline but, desperate times required desperate measures and Viv was nothing if not adaptable.

  She needed to make a profit and at this stage she didn’t care how.

  If chocolate vanilla moisturizing cream, milk chocolate bath bombs and dark-chocolate-and-honey-scented candles were what Marietta wanted, then she was happy to oblige. And Marietta—and the weekend tourist traffic—brought them by the truckload.

  By Sunday, customers had increased enough for Viv to finally place an ad for the manager position on Marietta’s popular online community noticeboard. Given that there was no managerial experience required—all training was done on-the-job by Viv—there were two dozen applications and, on Tuesday night after the store had closed, she interviewed the four best candidates.

  On Thursday, twenty-eight-year-old Roberta—call me Robbie, everybody does—Lang, had her first day behind the counter. She wasn’t from Marietta but two years prior had married a local Marietta guy who worked at the courthouse after meeting him when he’d been holidaying in her hometown of Chicago. She was tall, with a funky kinda style, and a quick smile.

  Of both Latino and African-American heritage she had a background in retail and her current job in admin at the Graff was too cloistered for her liking. Robbie thrived on customer interaction—that was obvious—and she was also a massive chocoholic who was very much looking forward to getting to know the Delish line.

  In other words—she was perfect!

  Not to mention that these kind of ties to the community helped to increase local loyalty and bring more people in to the store. Everyone at the courthouse, Robbie had assured her, would be coming to Delish. She’d see to it.

  None of this, Viv knew, was going to win her the popular vote. People would still vote for Sage—loud customers talking about it in the line made sure she was aware of the fact. A few even making the point of buying but not drinking the hot chocolate, leaving it on the counter untouched.

  One woman—a Carol Bingley who apparently owned the pharmacy—came in every day to buy one, vote and then made a point of taking it outside and pouring it in the gutter with as much disgust on her face as she could muster!

  The part of Viv that wasn’t horrified by the utter waste of it in a world where so many had so little, was amused. It was her loss—Carol’s four dollars was still in Viv’s till—and if she wanted to miss out on probably the most exciting thing she’d ever had or was likely to have in her mouth, then so be it.

  Business was picking up. The plan was working. It was only upward from here.

  *

  Reuben was on his way back to the police station from the courthouse on Friday morning. He was on foot but he didn’t mind. It wasn’t very far and Main Street was prettier than a picture at this time of year with all the light posts sporting giant wreaths with jaunty red bows and the shop windows switching out their fall harvest decorations for Christmas themes.

  And every door displayed a different kind of wreath.

  Walking down Main Street like this took him back to his childhood and seeing a kid on the other side of the street with his nose pressed against the glass of the western wear shop, whose window was always especially impressive, Reuben could almost feel the bubble of excitement that had flowed through his little boy veins. Knowing that if he was good, Santa would soon visit and that all was right with the world was the kind of thing that had made his childhood in Marietta idyllic.

  This time of year always filled him with nostalgia and once again he found himself thinking about being able to share it with Vivian. She’d told him she wouldn’t be going home for Thanksgiving or Christmas this year and he had to admit that having her to himself at such a special time was something he was very much looking forward to. He was fully cognizant of her warnings about her brief stay in Marietta and had zero problems promising her he wouldn’t fall in love because he wasn’t looking for love, either.

  He’d never been looking for it. Reuben had always figured if it happened, it happened, but that he’d know it as soon as he met the woman in question. Like his parents had apparently done. And if it didn’t happen, that was okay, too.

  But, in the interim, he could spoil Vivian a little and introduce her to the joys of a Marietta Christmas.

  Right now, however, he had to stop off at Copper Mountain Chocolates so his boss could spoil his woman—or at least get back into her good books. Sheriff Walton had apparently forgotten their wedding anniversary yesterday and his wife was pissed which, somehow, today, had become Reuben’s problem. His boss needed some make-up chocolates picked up, and Reuben had scored the task.

  He didn’t feel disloyal to Vivian doing it—he’d brought enough Delish chocolate these past three weeks to keep them solvent for a year—but he was annoyed that his boss was using him as some kind of rookie errand boy. Still…he took in some deep cleansing breaths of mountain air. There were way worse things about his job.

  A sudden chilly wind on his neck had him turning up the collar of his thick, department-issue jacket and hunching into its folds. Overnight snow had been falling up on higher ground all week—Copper Mountain was looking all snow-capped and majestic behind the dome of the courthouse—and more was forecast for early next week down lower, which meant Marietta would probably be blanketed at some point.

  Reuben liked snow. He liked watching it fall and loved walking in it when it was all powdery and crunchy beneath his feet. He liked the blinding whiteness of a fresh fall too, especially beneath a blue, blue sky with the frozen crystals glinting and dazzling like diamonds in the sunbeams. He just didn’t like it when it melted and got slushy and dirty and the roads became slippery and dangerous with black ice and idiots who had no idea how to drive in those conditions ended up in ditches or worse…

  Mostly, if he was honest, Reuben preferred summer. But winter was inevitable in Montana so there was no point bitching about it.

  What he liked most about the coming of the snow and winter was when Miracle Lake, which pooled at the foot of Copper Mountain, froze over. It didn’t take much of a temperature drop to accomplish considering it wasn’t that large and the fact it froze solid for several months made it a popular spot for families to hang out in the evenings and on the weekends.

  He liked lacing on his skates and getting there first thing in the morning, not long after the sun rose, before anyone else had disturbed the surface. He liked being out on the ice by himself, the shushing of his blades echoing around the lake as the woods loomed large around him, the trees dark sentinels reaching for the sky. He liked the sting of cold air on his face and the feeling that he was the only person in the world.

  But this year, he couldn’t wait to take Viv for a spin on the ice. Especially when she’d admitted she’d never skated on anything but a rink. There was something wild and free about skating on an iced-over lake, something visceral. Something hard to understand unless personally experienced.

  And he wanted to be the one to show her.

  Reluctantly pulling his ungloved hand from his pocket, Reuben reached for the door of Copper Mountain Chocolates, which was also sporting a fresh, plump wreath embellished with their signature Christmas truffles which were wrapped in bright red foil. So deep in thought was he about the lake and Viv he hadn’t seen the person coming from the other direction
also reaching for the door. It was a woman—or at least he assumed it was in a purple-striped, earflap knit hat with what looked like kitten ears.

  “I’m sorry, ladies first.” He gestured and then, when she looked up at him, he blinked. “Clem?”

  Clementine was back?

  She’d been gone for a while and she’d always planned on being home for Thanksgiving but that was still just over a week away and he had no idea how she could be back and he not have known.

  Her face brightened and her pink chipmunk cheeks puckered even further as she smiled her big smile that made her so popular with the kids at the library. “Reuben.”

  She threw herself into his arms, hugging him so tight he thought she was going to squeeze the life out of him. “Hey, Clem, it’s good to see you,” he said into her knitted cap—something he was used to given she was a foot shorter than Reuben.

  And it was good to see her. He hadn’t gone this long without seeing her in three years and he’d missed her, he realized. But there was no regret. No gnawing ache or desperate need to beg her to come back or hell, even to jump into bed with her.

  There was…affection. And yes, love. But the kind of love that came with deep and abiding friendship over many, many years.

  That was it.

  Compared to how he felt about Vivian…it was like chalk and cheese. And wasn’t that curious as hell given the disparity of time he’d known both women?

  “Oh God it’s sooo good to see you, too,” she said. “I missed you.”

  Her words were so damn heartfelt a niggle of worry pecked at the base of his brain. “Everything okay?” he asked.

  She pulled away and glanced at him, taking in his frown. “Of course, you big dork,” she dismissed with a half laugh. “It’s just kinda weird not having you around is all.” Then she slugged him lightly to his upper arm. “Are you okay?”

  Reuben didn’t even have to think twice about that. He’d never been more okay. “Yeah. I am. I really am.”

  “Not according to my mother.”

  “Ah.”

  “She thinks you’re an unholy mess who has totally lost his damn mind. That’s a direct quote by the way.”

  He grimaced. “Excellent.”

  “Apparently the woman you cheated on me with has now set up shop and is not only trying to run Sage out of business but has you trapped in her femme fatale web.”

  Reuben laughed out loud. It was so absurd. But if he had to be wrapped up in any woman’s web he’d choose Vivian’s any day. As long as she was wrapped up with him. “That seemed to be the most popular version.”

  “Oh God, Reuben. I’m so sorry. I told our mothers that wasn’t the way it went down.”

  He waved it away with his hand like he was flapping away an annoying little gnat. “You and I and the femme fatale—” she laughed at that and so did he “—know what happened. Everybody else isn’t important in this equation.”

  “Still, it’s not fair to you. Or her. Want me to take out a full-page ad in the paper?”

  Reuben chuckled. He could just imagine that. “I’m sure that won’t be necessary. Vivian’s not letting a little thing like town gossip get her down.” She’d already figured out a way to get Marietta inside her shop. He expected she’d conquer the world next. “Now, tell me, how was the trip?”

  “Oh my God…Reuben.” She placed her gloved hand on his forearm. “It was so good. Just…amazing! Why did I wait so long?”

  “Not because of me, I hope.” She’d never expressed the urge to travel with him.

  “No.” She shook her head. “That was all on me becoming too complacent. Thinking I was satisfied with the status quo because it was perfectly fine so why not? But not anymore.”

  He nodded. “Good for you.” He reached out and pulled the woolen strings on her ear-flap hat. “That’s a fashion statement.”

  “I know.” Turning side to side she showed it off, the cat ears all cute and perky. “I got it in Budapest.”

  “Traditional Hungarian headwear?”

  She laughed. “More like cheap tourist tack and I love it. Come on, it’s freezing out here and I want to see Sage and Mom asked me to pick up a box of mixed hard centers.”

  Before he could recommend she shop at Viv’s instead, Clementine had looped her hand through his arm and pulled him into the shop. They were just in time, it seemed, for Carol Bingley doing what she did best—gossiping loudly with three other women close to the front of the line.

  “I mean can you believe she has the nerve to break poor Clementine’s heart like that and then flaunt her love affair all over town, dragging poor Reuben around like some puppy all while thinking she’s better than Sage? Well I’m not having it. I make sure she’s looking when I take her hot chocolate outside and pour it down the gutter.”

  Rage—white and hot—flashed through Reuben’s veins. How could one person be so damn spiteful? And wrong. About to open his mouth, Clem beat him to it. “I beg your pardon, Carol?” she said and the line in front of them parted to reveal Carol and her merry band of mischief makers.

  “Clementine,” Carol said faintly. “Reuben.” That was even fainter.

  Reuben was tempted to bark a reply but he refused to sink to Carol’s level.

  “Okay…listen up, everyone, I’m only going to say this once,” Clem said as she looked around at the suddenly quiet shop. About a dozen faces with different expressions of embarrassment and shock blinked back at her. “Reuben did not cheat on me. I broke it off with him on the Friday. It was amicable but long overdue. He met Vivian on the Sunday, which made him perfectly free to do whatever the hell he wanted with whomever the hell he wanted. I am not remotely heartbroken. And I cannot believe you are indulging in such destructive gossip and doing something as petty as pouring out hot chocolate into a gutter when there are people in this country starving.”

  Carol’s mouth fell open and flapped a couple of times. She was clearly torn between embarrassment and affront. “My dear, I was only trying to—”

  “I don’t care what you were trying to do. Eight weeks ago when I left Marietta this town was the kind of place that welcomed newcomers, that baked them pies and invited them to cookouts and church. I am appalled at how Vivian has been treated.” She looked around at every person in the shop. “When did we become that kind of place? I am ashamed to admit Marietta is my hometown.”

  Reuben pressed his mouth together to stop from smiling as stunned silence echoed around the shop. He watched as Clem’s gaze shifted to Sage who was also clearly trying to stop herself from smiling. “Hey, Sage, apologies for causing a scene.”

  “Hey, Clem…you’re fine. Can I get you something?”

  “Nothing, thank you.” She shook her head. “If you don’t mind, I’m going to Delish to get my hot chocolate and vote for it.”

  Sage did smile this time. “I don’t mind at all.”

  And with that, Clem nodded at Carol Bingley and turned on her heel.

  Chapter Six

  Viv and Robbie were busy serving customers when Clementine entered the store. Viv didn’t see her come in or really even register the ding of the bell, engrossed as she was in the conversation with her customer over the merits of the different bath bombs. All she knew was that suddenly the whole shop had gone quiet apart from the two of them and she glanced up to find a woman striding in her direction, like she was on a mission, people parting before her like the Red Sea.

  “Hi,” she said with a smile, as she pulled up at the counter, sticking out her hand. “You must be Vivian?”

  Viv heard the shudder of a collective indrawn breath and looked around the nervous faces of her customers for a beat before saying, “Viv, yes.” And she shook hands noticing the cute, knitted ear-flap hat with kitten ears. It suited this woman but it wasn’t something Viv could pull off.

  “I’m Clementine.”

  Ah. Viv blinked. “Oh. Right…hello.” Viv wasn’t sure what else to say. Obviously everybody in the store was prepared for some kind of c
onfrontation. But, Reuben had assured her he and his ex had parted amicably and Clem didn’t appear angry or upset.

  Clem eased her hand away then smiled at Roberta. “Hey, Robbie.”

  “Hey, Clem.” Robbie returned the smile. “How was your trip?”

  “Amazing. I don’t know what took me so long.”

  “Yeah. Neil and I went to Paris for our honeymoon. We were home for a day before we started planning our next trip.”

  Clem laughed. “I hear ya.”

  Viv, along with everyone else in the store, watched the easy exchange between the two women. She wasn’t sure what this was about but it didn’t seem like Clem had come to yell at her so Viv took a moment to check out Reuben’s ex. She was short and cute and…peppy with big amber eyes and chipmunk cheeks. A stray dark curl or two had escaped the knitted confines of her hat and even though she was wearing a puffer coat that made the thinnest of women look like the Michelin Man, it was unzipped to reveal a slender figure, which was more athletic than curvy.

  She no doubt wore the hell out of skinny jeans.

  The thought that Viv couldn’t was suddenly a little depressing. She and Clem were clearly opposite shapes and if skinny jeans were what Reuben liked then what the hell did he see in her? How could she compete?

  Compete? Oh Jesus… Irritated suddenly at the direction of her thoughts, Viv gave herself a mental shake. Clem wasn’t her competition. Firstly, Clem and Reuben were over. Secondly, he was with her. And thirdly, she and Reuben weren’t together like that. They were a casual thing in a temporary situation. They were both free to walk away at any time.

  So this twisted morass of feelings churning inside Viv’s gut made zero sense.

  “Would you mind terribly if I cut in, Mrs. Lucas?”

  Viv brought her thoughts back in line as Clem addressed the bath bomb woman who shook her head and said, “Go ahead.” She was obviously interested in the outcome and was happy to give up her place.

  Clem beamed before turning to face Viv again. “I’d like a hot chocolate please, if that’s okay. I’ve heard so much about them. And then I’d like a voting form so I can vote for you in the popular vote.”