How Sweet It Is

by Bonnie Blythe

  She quickly turned and walked to the glass cases. She saw her wavy reflection in the glass—tired eyes in a drawn face pinched with stress, worry, and anger.

  Pathetic.

  Brad was nuts to waste any time with her. Worse, her stupid fury may have driven him away for good. What if she was throwing away her relationship with him based on a misunderstanding? Thinking of what she’d been talking to Pastor Manning about lately, she knew she was holding onto something worthless instead of taking hold of what was truly precious.

  Delphine darted for the door. She fumbled with the latch, opened the door, and plunged out onto the sidewalk. His retreating form grew dim in the fading light.

  “Brad!”

  He turned. Delphine saw his questioning expression. She ran to him and threw her arms around him. When his arms slid around her, pulling her tighter, she squeezed her eyes closed, relishing his embrace. “I’m so sorry, Brad,” she whispered, afraid to look him in the eye.

  He eased away slightly and gazed into her face, his features stern. “What? What are you sorry for?”

  She opened her mouth to speak. Brad put up his hand.

  “No way. I’m the one who needs to apologize.” He swallowed. “I was worried you felt pressured to stick with me because of the loan.” His expression darkened. “That maybe you said you loved me because of it, because you felt you had to.”

  Delphine stared at him and suddenly remembered what she’d said in anger. I’m not part of the deal, Brad. Was it so hard to imagine he might take the thought to a logical conclusion?

  He blew out a breath. “It sounds ridiculous now, but how could I be sure of your love with that big issue hanging over our heads?”

  She stared at him, wishing she’d never given him reason to doubt. It really was a simple explanation—especially as it was the type of thing she’d think herself.

  “I’m so sorry for assuming the worst, Brad. I shouldn’t have shut you out like I did. Can you forgive me?”

  His eyebrows inched up his forehead. “You’re kidding, right?”

  Delphine felt her cheeks burn. “Love thinks the best, not the worst.”

  “Love doesn’t say such stupid things.” He offered her a lop-sided smile. “And I do love you, Delphine. Never doubt that.”

  “I know you do,” she said in a low voice. “I just got angry, I guess.”

  He grinned. “I’m somewhat familiar with your, um, temper.”

  Pulling her back into his embrace, he rested his cheek against her hair. “I was so worried about the loan affecting our relationship, I couldn’t think straight.”

  Delphine inhaled the sun-drenched scent of his skin. You and me both.

  Brad tilted her head back, kissing her eyelids, her cheeks, and finally her lips, until she held onto him for support, returning his kiss measure for measure.

  He raised his lips a fraction of an inch. “You smell good, Delphine. You smell like chocolate.”

  Sliding her arms around his waist, she smiled to herself. It was nice some things didn’t change.

  “You know,” Brad said after a moment, “my mom told me Minnie called her.”

  She looked up, enjoying the play of diminishing light on his features. “Why?”

  “To apparently tell her to tell me you were here tonight.”

  Delphine let out a low groan and pressed her face against his chest. “I have a feeling she and Stephan blamed my grouchiness on love problems and probably wanted us to make up.”

  “They should get a raise.”

  Delphine blushed. She’d been so mired in gloom she never really stopped to consider how her employees were doing during her sulks.

  “My mom’s been worried about you, too,” he said smoothing a lock of hair from her face. “She still hasn’t shown you all the pictures in every single photo album we own.”

  Delphine laughed. “She’s sweet.”

  “Usually,” he drawled, “but I think she’s worried I’m messing up with you. She even threatened me.”

  “So you’re here because you’re afraid of her?” she teased.

  He nuzzled her cheek. “Only because I was afraid of losing you.”

  Delphine hugged him hard, fresh moisture springing to her eyes.

  A longing fulfilled is sweet to the soul.

  The words filtered into her heart, taking her by surprise. Thank you, Lord. I now know Brad is a gift from You.

  Brad eased from her arms and reached down for a bag on the ground next to his foot. “I brought you a present.” He held up a boy bunny, similar to the one he’d given to her earlier.

  She took it and smiled. “It’s adorable.”

  “Um, it’s for your other rabbit. If she gets lonely, she can hold onto him.” He blew out a sigh. “It sounds silly when I say it out loud.”

  Delphine looked up at him, trying to hold back laughter.

  “Seriously,” he said, his gaze anything but serious. “Since you have me, you won’t need to hold onto her. See, she might get lonely.”

  “Well, thank you,” feeling rather guilty about the poor girl bunny at the bottom of her closet and making a mental note to rectify the situation as soon as possible. “That’s very thoughtful of you.”

  Brad laughed softly. “Okay, I know it’s corny, but it made sense when I first thought of it.” He put his arm around her and they walked back toward the shop.

  Once they were inside, he pulled her close again. “Why have you been working late so much?”

  She smiled at his frown. “The grand opening is rushing upon me and there’s a lot to do. Stephan and Minnie have been a help, but since I have to train them in everything, it’s taking longer than I thought.”

  “Can you take a break? My mom asked me to bring you to church, but I think I’d rather stay right here with you.”

  Delphine toyed with his shirt collar. “You know, I found a store front church that has the kind of music I think you like.”

  Brad raised an eyebrow. “Do they have a Wednesday service?”

  “I think so.”

  “Do you want to go? That way if I miss at my church, I’ll have a good excuse.” He shook his head. “Trust me, my mom will ask.”

  “I’ve only been there once, but it seems like a nice place.”

  He glanced at his watch. “Well, it’s after seven, so we’d better get going.” Brad rested his hands on her shoulders, his gaze intense. “Of course, if you just want to stay here and kiss me and feed me chocolate all evening, I’m open to that, too.”

  “Just let me lock up here and we’ll go out the back door,” Delphine said quickly. She wasn’t sure she could entirely trust herself around him. He was just too charming for his own good. Better to be in public.

  They decided to walk. After locking up the shop, Brad took her hand in his and dipped his head for one more lingering kiss before they headed to the church.

  Sixteen

  They arrived at the storefront and were ushered into the room that served as the sanctuary. The worship team was in full swing.

  As she and Brad found seats, Delphine experienced the tugging on her heart provoked by the music. Being reconciled with him also had a profound effect. She found it easy to enter into the worship and hoped he enjoyed the service as much as she did.

  After the musicians left the stage, the pastor came forward and began a sermon about the importance of godly relationships. Delphine found sitting next to Brad, with her hand in his, and hearing the Bible preached a very moving experience. She’d never considered attending a church service together a romantic thing, but she realized it made sense to be around other believers and focused on God as a couple. He, after all, was the creator of love and romance.

  Brad glanced down at her and smiled. She wondered if he felt the same way.

  After the service ended, the pastor approached Delphine and shook her hand. “Sparrow?”

  At her expression, he cringed. “Sorry, I’m terrible with names. It was something else, right?”

/>   Brad gave her a questioning look and mouthed ‘sparrow’?

  “It’s Delphine, and this is Brad,” she said. The two men shook hands and conversed for a moment. While they talked, Delphine remembered how upset she’d been the last time she was there.

  When they paused, she cleared her throat. “Pastor, I wanted to thank you for listening to me when I was here last.” Her face heated as she remembered going to pieces. “I have to admit I haven’t quite managed to discern all the mysteries of the universe and my place in it, but I feel a peace that I’m in the right place to start.”

  He patted her shoulder, his gaze warm. “I’m glad to hear it. My wife and I have been praying for you.”

  After a few more minutes of visiting, she and Brad walked back to the shop hand in hand. Brad chatted about how much he liked the service and that he wanted to return.

  The orange remnants of the sunshine shimmered through the layer of haze, creating an especially poignant sunset. It made Delphine think that God and truth and love were out there, pure and unsullied—but sometimes it seemed one had to go through so much smog to find it.

  “What are you thinking about?” Brad asked, giving her hand a little tug.

  Delphine shook her head. “Silly, melodramatic thoughts.” She squeezed his hand. “I’m just glad to be here with you.”

  Brad bent his head and kissed her mid-stride. “And I’m glad we’re back together,” he said softly. “Do you know I fasted from chocolate while we were apart?”

  Delphine widened her eyes. “What? That’s really weird, Brad.”

  He grinned. “Seriously! Not a touch of chocolate. And I want you to know I craved it even more in my distress. But to let someone else’s chocolate pass my lips would’ve felt somehow wrong. Like gastronomical adultery.”

  Delphine laughed at loud. “Wow.”

  They arrived at the back door of the shop and she unlocked it. “It’s time to break your fast. And today I just made some chocolate covered toffee rolled in ground toasted hazelnuts. You’ll have to tell me what you think.”

  Brad put a hand on his chest, a look of almost religious illumination on his face.

  ****

  After Brad had managed to sample at least one of every variety of confections the store offered, he licked his fingers. “So, when do you plan to open?”

  “In two weeks. It’s been announced in the paper, and the reporter will be here that day, too. He wants to get some pictures and that’s the soonest he can make it.”

  Brad followed her into the office. “Do I get an invitation?”

  Delphine blushed. “Of course.”

  His eyes gleamed with mischief. “Oh ho! You weren’t going to invite me because of…you know.”

  She rummaged through a stack of envelopes on her desk and pulled one out, holding it up so he could see the Larsen name on the outside. “You were invited regardless. After all your help to make the shop happen, I wouldn’t dream of being so petty.”

  Brad put his hands around her waist. “I should’ve known. You’re never petty…” He glanced at the desk heaped with papers. “But you do seem a little disorganized.”

  Delphine gave his chest a little shove, knowing he was right, but embarrassed to admit she’d fallen behind on her paperwork.

  “I’ve been so focused on the candy-making and grand opening, and then when we…” She let her voice trail way.

  With a self-deprecating smile, Brad pulled her closer. “I understand. But while I’m here, maybe I can help out.” When she protested, he said firmly, “I have that degree just going to waste.”

  Delphine blew out a sigh. “If you can make sense of it. Stephan thought I needed to install some software on the computer to make it easier, but it’s so much work getting set up and—”

  Brad gently pushed her down onto a chair next to the desk. “Don’t worry about a thing.” He pulled up another chair and began to sort through the piles. After booting up the computer, he turned to her with a smile. “Hey, I just had an idea.”

  “What idea?” she asked, enjoying his presence back in her life more than she’d thought possible.

  He leaned forward and took one of her hands. “Well, I know this guy who’s looking for work. He majored in business management and this would be a great project for him to tackle until he has to get a real job.”

  Delphine had to bite the inside of her lip to keep from smiling. “Got a degree, does he?”

  Brad nodded gravely. “And as he’s currently unemployed, he can start right away.”

  Her smile drooped. “Um, as much as I would love to hire this guy, my budget is already strained to the limit. So far I’ve had all expenses and no income.”

  He regarded her from under heavy lids. “Here’s the thing. This guy doesn’t need a whole lot of money, in fact he can work for nothing.”

  “Vraiment! What a paragon. How does he manage to live on nothing?” Delphine waited to see how he’d wiggle out of that one.

  Brad cleared his throat. “This guy is temporarily living with his parents and doesn’t have many expenses.” He held up a hand. “And before you form a low opinion of his sterling character, his mother is having a very hard time letting him go. In fact, she almost cried when she caught him looking in the classified ads for apartments. But that’s another story.”

  She struggled not to laugh. Poor Elaine. Her baby wanted to move out for good.

  He leaned forward, caressing the inside of her wrist with his thumb. “And, you should probably know that this guy, in his past, was a mega-star, a world-renowned athlete—”

  “Really?”

  “No. And don’t interrupt.” Brad grinned. “He would’ve been number one in his field but there was like this conspiracy that kept him down. Everyone knows that under their laid back demeanors, surfer dudes are maniacal, power hungry fanatics crushing anyone who gets in their way.”

  Delphine stifled a giggle. “Uh huh.”

  “But even against those odds, he still managed to win several competitions, and he invested most of his prize money and has supported himself that way in between jobs. So as you can see, he’s put his excellent business skills to work to better his own situation.”

  “He sounds too good to be true. He won’t want to work for nothing forever.”

  “It’s the bennies he finds most attractive.”

  “Chez Chocolates does not yet offer employee benefits,” she said primly.

  Brad leaned forward and kissed the corner of her mouth. “There are compensations that go way beyond financial.”

  Delphine regarded him, for the first time understanding that Brad’s love for her was true. It had been her own thinking that was tainted. She slid her arms around his neck, savoring the chocolate flavor of his kisses.

  “How soon could he start?” she mumbled against his mouth.

  “How about right now?”

  Releasing him, she leaned back in her chair and motioned to the papers on the desk. “Tell him he’s got the job.”

  ****

  At ten o’clock, Brad looked up from the computer over at Delphine. In her chair next to him, she’d fallen asleep, with her chin on her chest and her hands folded in her lap. He took the pen out of his mouth and set it on the desk. Poor thing. She’d get a crick in her neck if she stayed like that.

  Brad glanced at the computer screen. He’d installed several programs she’d purchased and had just begun to enter figures. At the same time, he couldn’t leave her to suffer. He grimaced at the small, overstuffed sofa along one wall of the office, then glanced back at the monitor. He was on a roll and hated to quit.

  He came to a decision.

  Brad got up from his chair and gently awoke Delphine, just enough to coax her to the sofa. At first, she looked disoriented, but when she saw him, she gave him a muzzy smile. “Hi, Brad.”

  “Hi, honey. Just lie down and rest for a little bit while I finish up this paperwork.” He smiled when she fought against her fatigue. In the next moment, she curl
ed up and went back to sleep. He took a chenille throw from the back of the sofa and settled it over her shoulders.

  ****

  Delphine blinked several times and opened her eyes. She frowned when she realized she was in her office. Slowly bringing herself to a sitting position, she noticed her desk looked neat and orderly.

  Brad entered the room and smiled. “You look cute.”

  She stared at him. His blond hair stood up in all directions, blond stubble dusted his chin, and he had faint shadows under his eyes. He stood just inside the doorway, sipping from a ceramic mug.

  “Want some coffee?” he asked as if it was the most natural question in the world.

  Delphine stretched a little. “What time is it?”

  “Just after six.”

  Delphine let out a squawk of alarm. “We’ve been here all night?”

  Brad shrugged. “It took that long to get everything done. I finished a few minutes ago.”

  She pushed her hair out of her eyes. “I can’t believe my paperwork was so far behind that it took you the entire night.”

  He sat down next to her on the couch and took her hand. “Well, after I organized your stockroom and put together a computerized inventory and ordering system, I got all the programs plugged into the computer, balanced your books, and even came up with a business plan in which you open up three more stores in California within the next five years. You also might want to consider opening a mail order store on the side.”

  Delphine, impressed by his latent industrious streak, had to smile at his excitement. “You have been busy.” She glanced at the wastebasket overflowing papers and…candy wrappers.

  Brad followed her line of sight and his face turned red. “I had to have sustenance to carry me through.”

  “I suppose since you’re technically working for free for the time being, you’re entitled to a few perks.”

  Brad rose from the couch and grabbed some paperwork off the desk. “Actually, if my projections are correct, I could technically be on the payroll within a few months.”