by Maddie James
She pointed toward the stair, and he carried her off that way.
Glancing back at the counter, her last thought before being whisked away to what she hoped was the remainder of a night filled with decadent sex and self-indulgent pleasure, was I gotta disinfect that.
Tomorrow.
Chapter Eight
“You did what?”
Scott leaned over his mug full of cinnamon coffee and blew over the hot liquid. Suzie stood at the island range with a spatula in her left hand and her right fist perched on her hip. Her brow crossed, she shot a look to her left, Scott’s right...then to her husband, his brother, Brad.
“I slept with her.”
Brad came back with, “All right, bro!” and raised his hand in preparation for a high five.
Suzie stopped him dead with her stare. “This is not funny, nor is it cause for celebration.”
Scott snickered. “I’m sort of up for a celebration myself.”
“You’re just sort of up, man.”
“Not at the moment. Got that taken care of.”
“Ah, you’re a wicked man.”
“That I am.”
As on cue he rose, and the two of them did a mighty chest bump. “Like old times,” Brad grinned.
Suzie rapped the spatula on the granite countertop. “Men! This is not an issue to be toyed with or taken lightly.” She turned back to her scrambled eggs, fuming.
Both men looked at each other and burst out laughing.
“I already toyed with it and then some, Suzie.”
Crossing her arms over her chest, bits of egg went flying. “Now I am going to have to fix this.”
That puzzled him. “Fix what?”
“You don’t sleep with a woman the first time you go out with her.”
“It was the second.”
“But you told us you left her high and dry the first night.”
“I did. But I wanted to get the first date over with.”
By the look on her face, Suzie wasn’t buying that. “But you told us that being with her would have been a mistake. That your worlds were too far apart. Remember? You’d be gone in two weeks. You told us that Jillian was a fake; that she was wrapping up someone else’s truffles and passing them off as her own.”
“Oh, yeah, about that.”
His brother crowded closer. “Damn, I forgot about that. But this woman?” he cocked his head toward his wife, “she forgets nothing.”
“I’m realizing that.”
Brad continued, “So what about that? Is she a fake?”
He shrugged. “I don’t know.”
“You don’t know?” Suzie again. She rounded the counter and planted herself square in front of him. “You tell us not to like her, not to get too attached, because you are convinced she is a fake, and then you go and have sex with her?”
Scott thought about that. “Yes. I did. Right on her kitchen counter.”
Suzie shrieked a little and stomped off to the eggs again. “Obviously,” she mumbled, “You’re not interested in seeing her again then.”
He wasn’t following that. “Actually I’m going to see her again later tonight. We have dinner plans.”
“See? I’m going to have to fix this. I can see it in my future.”
Clearly Scott was not following her. “I don’t understand, Suzie.”
“My dear brother-in-law,” she began, “you cannot go sleeping with a woman that you are telling other people you think is a fake. Word gets around.”
He shook his head. “Look. I am going to get to the bottom of this candy thing tonight. I saw her making truffles yesterday, and they looked damned good. I must have been mistaken about the Jeaneva’s. So really, it’s not problem, because the only people I mentioned to that I thought she might be a fake was the two of you, and you’re not going to mention it to anyone, right?”
As he registered the look on Suzie’s face, he knew he was in trouble. “You told someone.”
“Just Sydney.”
Brad groaned. “Shit, Suze.”
Scott looked at his brother. “Is that bad?”
“Not good.”
“And Chelly.”
Again Brad groaned, but louder. “Chelly too?”
Quickly Suzie interjected, “But she’s on bed rest because of the pregnancy, so she won’t be talking to anyone.”
“Suzie! That sister of yours is so bored, she’s on Facebook and Twitter 24/7! And she never keeps a secret.”
“Crap.”
Brad sat on a bar stool beside his brother. “You’re in trouble, man. How much do you like Jillian?”
He swallowed, not entirely certain what had just transpired. “I like her a whole helluva lot, Brad. In fact I was thinking about not going back to Italy, hanging around here for a while, so I could get to know her a little better.”
The kitchen fell silent for a moment. All three looked from one to the other.
“I will fix this,” Suzie said. “I have a reputation to uphold. I will fix this. I swear. Somehow. I will fix this.”
Scott didn’t think she said that with a lot of confidence.
****
They had plans to meet at six, but Scott met her at the front door of Bittersweets at five.
Jillian wouldn’t have cared if he’d come at four, she missed him already. As soon as the last customer had left the shop, Scott stepped in, crossed the room, and scooped her into his arms, a silly grin on his face. After a kiss that curled her toes, reminding her of every sweep of his mouth across her body mere hours before, Jillian sighed and tilted her head back to look into his eyes.
“Is this crazy?” she asked. “I don’t want to presume anything, but Scott, you have captured my heart. I couldn’t wait for you to get here.”
Grinning madly, he peered into hers. “Why do you think I got here an hour early? I couldn’t stand being away from you any longer.”
He kissed her again, and she felt it straight to her scarlet toenails.
“I need to go change. Want to come up with me?”
“Will we make it to dinner if I come up?”
“Doubtful.”
“Tempting. Before we do, Jillian, I want to tell you something. And ask you something, too.”
The look on his face made her a little nervous. “Oh?”
“Yeah. I want to explain about spitting out the chocolate.”
She’d nearly forgotten. “Oh, don’t worry about that, Scott. I’m sure they just set out in the sun too long and were hot. Heat does weird things to good chocolate sometimes.”
“No, that wasn’t it.”
“Then what?”
“They were actually quite, good, Jillian. I was really surprised.”
Just hearing that from him meant everything. She hesitated for a moment, then decided to plunge in. “Really? You liked them?”
“They were excellent.”
“You like chocolate?”
He laughed, and she wasn’t quite sure why, and nodded. “Yes, Jillian. I like chocolate very much. In fact, I love it so much that—”
“You do?” Excitement twittered up inside her. He liked chocolate! How could this be any more perfect?
“Absolutely.”
“Okay, then I want to tell you a little secret.” She could trust him, right? After all, they’d done delicious things to each other’s bodies all night long; she could let him in a little on her life.
“Secret?” He cocked his head to one side.
“Yeah,” she snuggled against him and straightened his collar. “Ever heard of Jeaneva Chocolates?”
He nodded and noticeably stiffened. “Yes.”
“That’s me.”
He looked confused. “What?”
“I’m Jeaneva Chocolates.”
“That’s impossible.”
That response took her back a bit. “No. It’s very possible. I own the company. My Grandmother Jeaneva died six months ago and left the company to me. I own Jeaneva Chocolates.”
Scott said n
ot another word, and to be honest Jillian wasn’t quite sure about the struck look on his face. But before she could ponder that look, the chime over the door went off, and Brad and Suzie rushed in with Suzie talking a mile-a-minute.
“Oh! I was hoping you wouldn’t be closed yet, Jillian! I need some truffles for a party tonight. Do you have any?”
Jillian looked to Scott, who glanced away, and then nodded to Suzie. “Absolutely. What do you want?”
“Oh, a variety.”
“I can get those now.” She moved behind the counter, still somewhat concerned about Scott. His reaction was so strange. “Just made these yesterday,” she called out, daring not look at him. While she pulled a few boxes off the shelf, she heard the trio behind her talking.
“Oh, Scott, remember that thing I was going to fix?” Suzie said, “All taken care of. No problems.”
“Ah. Good,” Scott replied. “Wonderful.”
Whatever it was they were talking about, Scott sounded less than enthusiastic about it.
Turning, she handed Suzie the boxes. “Here you go.” She smiled and on second thought, decided to come full circle and disclose her secret all the way around. Why not? If Scott knew, she figured he would tell Brad, and then Suzie would know.
“Be sure and check out this kind. They are the best, Suzie, Jeaneva Chocolate’s signature brand, Hazelnut Crème de la Crème.”
Scott interrupted, glancing at his watch. “Jillian, shouldn’t we be going? We have that reservation.” He reached for her arm.
“I have to get dressed, Scott.”
“That’s right. We should get a move on.”
Suzie crowded in between them. “Wait. What did you say, Jillian? These are Jeaneva Chocolates?”
Feeling just a little nervous, Jillian tried to smile the jitters away. “Yes. I did say that.”
Suzie glanced at the label, then to Scott, and back to her. “But the label says Chocolates by Jillian.”
“Oh, that.”
Scott tugged. “It’s okay, Suze. She owns Jeaneva Chocolates. Interesting, huh? Now, Jillian Bass, we need to get going.”
But Suzie was not to be put off. She grabbed Scott’s arm. “Wait. Wait! Jillian owns Jeaneva Chocolates? When did you find that out?” She whirled back to her husband. “Did you hear that? Jillian owns Jeaneva, and Scott works for Bianchi Chocolates! What a coincidence. My God, we’ve got the two best chocolates in the world tied up right here in Legend!”
“Yeah, cool.” She watched Brad glance helplessly toward his brother.
But Suzie was not finished. She chugged Scott on the arm. “See? There was nothing to worry about at all. You thought she was a fake? Really, Scott.”
Jillian blinked. “What was that?”
Laughing, Suzie waved that statement off. “Oh, it was crazy. He thought you were faking being a chocolate maker; that you had wrapped up some Jeaneva Chocolates and passed them off as your own. Turns out, they were your own!”
“That so.”
At that precise moment, a strange buzzing went off in Jillian’s ears. The only thing, besides the buzzing, she heard was a long and thorough sigh that exhaled Scott’s lips, followed by a low hiss and the word, “Shit.”
He works for Bianchi Chocolates? Her competition?
And he slept with her even when he thought she was a fake?
And he lied to her about why he spit out the chocolate? He knew all along.
What. The. Hell?
Turning ever so slowly to face him, she latched her gaze onto his and said, “So this sleeping with me thing? What was that all about, Scott? Seriously.”
Stepping closer, he grasped her elbow in an attempt to turn her away from the others and lowered his voice. “Jillian, we need to talk.”
“Yes, we do. Answer my question.”
“Sleeping with you had nothing to do with…”
She scoffed. “One would think that working for Bianchi might be a minor fact that one would share before taking one to bed.”
His shoulder’s shot up in a defensive stance. “One would think one would share her own secret before seducing one to her bed.”
“Counter. I seduced you on the counter.”
“Right.”
“What the hell is going on here, Scott? Are you trying to steal my recipes?”
“Jillian...”
But there wasn’t much time at all to ponder any of this, because the thing that happened next was something that Jillian couldn’t have predicted if she were psychic.
The door to Bittersweets flew open; a woman tripped over the threshold, righted herself, and looked up at the group standing before her. With a slow perusal, she took in the shop, curled her nose at the sight of the place, and with a hint of disgust said… “Quaint, I must say.” On her heels entered a larger-than-life man, dressed in suit and tie, and carrying a brief case.
Swallowing hard, Jillian looked at the pair, and her heart sank. “Mother? Daddy?”
Her mother wrinkled her nose. “Jillian, dear, what a dreadful place. Do you realize I have been in a cab for over two hours? And not a very nice cab, either. I dare say the driver didn’t speak any sort of English that I have ever heard before, and he was missing a tooth. I could barely understand him. Be a dear, sweetheart, and find me a chair. Won’t you?”
Jillian closed her eyes and felt Suzie, Brad and Scott’s gaze on her. “Mother...”
“Enough. Jillian, look at me.”
Her eyes snapped open.
That’s when her father moved in, taking up a commanding presence in the room, and peered directly into her eyes. “It’s time to come home, Jillian. I need you in New York. Pack your things. Your sabbatical is over.”
And at that exact moment, she wondered if her father was right.
****
“Now, wait a minute here.”
Scott knew arrogance when he saw it, and if this man was Jillian’s father, no wonder she high-tailed her butt out of New York. But the thing that worried him even more than her father, was the look on Jillian’s face. It was a look of betrayal.
His betrayal.
Her father glared at him. “I don’t believe I know you, which is beside the point, really, because you have nothing to do with this.”
Scott squared his shoulders and stared back. “Not true. I have a definite say so in the matter. Tell him, Jillian.”
An awkward pause drifted across the room.
Scott turned to look at her. “Jillian? Tell him.”
“Tell him, what, Scott.”
“Tell him that we…” Shit, what were they? A couple? Not really. They’d only had one night. Dating? Yes. That’s it. “Tell him we’re dating.”
Her chin quivered. “We’re not dating, Scott. We had a one-night stand.”
Her mother gasped. “Jillian!”
“Well, it’s true mother.”
Scott turned to her, lowering his voice. “No, that’s not true. It was more than that. C’mon, Jillian. I was planning to stay, wanted us to spend more time together...”
At that point Jillian’s father drew closer, angling his gaze to fully look in Scott’s face. “I know you.”
Impossible, he thought, ignoring a niggling slice of fear. No way could he know him. “I don’t think so, sir.”
The man squinted, reached into his pocket, and jerked out a cell phone. “Hold on.”
Scott swallowed, reached for Jillian’s hand, and felt a stab of pain in his heart when she side-stepped and slipped it out of his palm.
“Jack. Send me a .jpg of last week’s cover for Insights. Yes. Email to my phone. ASAP.” He snapped the phone shut and looked at him. “You know me, son?”
“No sir, I don’t.”
“But you slept with my daughter?”
“Well, I...”
“Used to be a day when a man had to ask a father’s permission for such a thing.”
“Oh, Daddy. This is ridiculous. I’m a grown woman.”
His phone pinged. He removed it again an
d flipped the screen open. After a series of punching and scrolling, he stared at the thing, smiled, and pushed it forward. “That’s what I thought.”
“Daddy, what are you talking about?”
“Look, Jillian, at who your new boyfriend is.”
Every bone in Scott’s face fell. He suspected what that picture was, and if he was right, it was all over.
She took the phone, stared at it, gasped, and then shoved it back at her father. To Scott, she said, “Get the hell out of my candy shop and my life. I don’t ever want to see you again.”
Chapter Nine
“So why in hell didn’t you tell us all this, Scott?”
He really wasn’t up to the lecture, but he endured it all the same. “Look,” he said, staring across the kitchen island at the two of them, Brad and Suzie, “I just didn’t want to get into it. I had no clue that photo would leak over to the US.”
“And we had no clue that Jillian was the daughter of Ross Bass, the owner of the tabloid who published that picture.”
“Seems like everyone has secrets.”
“Yeah.”
“The picture and the story is a lie. I did not sleep with a fifteen year old girl. Idiots. I did have an affair with the girl’s mother, and that woman happened to be the daughter of Franco Bianchi, the president of the company. It was a very bad move on my part, and I lost my job. That picture? We were all on a vacation at the beach, and the girl was being a stupid teenager and took off her top, even though her mother told her not too. I was nowhere near her when it happened. What you have there is excellent use of photo software. I didn’t touch her.”
They were all silent for a moment. “I lost my job over it. I don’t work for Bianchi anymore. And the affair was over a few weeks before I came here.”
Suzie scooted closer on her bar stool. “Scott, Jillian would want to know all this. It sound like she thinks you were trying to romance some information or recipes out of her.”
“I know. That, and I wasn’t on the up and up with her. Too many avoidances and white lies.”
“She sure looked shocked.”
That, she did. “Somehow I have to talk to her. I’m not sure tonight is the night. But it scares the hell out of me that she’ll leave town before I have a chance to explain.”