Read Online Candy Store by Bella Andre - Free Book Online Page A

rest,” he said with a note of finality, “is history. Now let’s get back to the good stuff.”
    Callie reached up to lace her fingers into his thick dark hair. Pressing her lips to his, she kissed him with all of the growing love in her heart.
    She wasn’t ready to say the words to him yet, but every time she touched him she knew that her feelings were obvious.
    “Thank you for telling me all that,” she said, her lips bruised with their passionate kisses.
    Derek leaned down and licked her full lower lip. “You’re welcome, sweetheart.”
    Callie shivered. She loved it when he called her sweetheart. Even though they’d only been formally dating for two weeks, she felt closer to him than she ever had to another person. She had shared her body and soul with Derek and somewhere in the back of her head she knew she wanted to continue doing so for the rest of her life.
    She was so relaxed and content in his arms that when he said, “Now is probably a good time to tell you that I’m closing my business and going to work with my brother,” she jumped with surprise. The top of her head knocked into his chin, clacking his teeth together.
    She spun out of his arms. “You’re doing what?”
    Derek’s face turned from loving to grim in the space of a heartbeat.
    “You’re my last client.”
    Callie forgot all about being supportive and gentle in her shock. “Why would you do something like that?”
    His eyes steel, he said, “It’s time to finally grow up.”
    “What are you talking about? You have a wonderful business. And from working with you, I know for a fact that you love what you do.” She narrowed her eyes. “What are you planning to do instead?”
    Derek nearly winced. “Accounting.”
    Callie’s eyes grew wide. “Excuse me? I must have heard you wrong. I thought my talented, creative boyfriend just said he’s going to give up his dream job to go into accounting.”
    Derek got up off the couch. “You heard right. My brother Jed is going to bring me into his department.”
    His voice was hard and Wolf, who was lying on the rug in front of the roaring fireplace, whined.
    “I’ve got some work to take care of. I'll call you later.” He walked out the front door and closed it behind him with a deliberate click.
    The tears that were welling in Callie’s eyes started to fall. Wolf got up and padded over to her, licking her face several times before plopping his head on her lap.
    “I’ve really blown it this time, Wolf,” she said, her heart heavy.
    She scooted out from underneath Wolf’s head, then walked into her kitchen and pulled out the ingredients for cocoa fudge. She knew she wouldn’t be able to sleep tonight, not for one single minute, not with the distressed look on Derek’s face playing in her head on repeat every five seconds. The only thing that would keep her from going crazy would be baking.
    She wiped at the tears on her cheeks and put on her apron.
    “Here I am again,” she said aloud in her empty kitchen. “Just me, my dog, and sugar.”

Chapter Ten

    The next day Derek walked into Callie’s Candies holding a bright bouquet of yellow and white narcissus. She was down on the ground with her back to the front door, helping two little girls pick out a gift for their mother’s birthday while their father watched with pride.
    “Mommies love these boxes of truffles,” she said to the girls as she showed them a heart shaped box with a thick velvet ribbon on top.
    The two girls solemnly nodded their agreement and handed her a five dollar bill. Just as solemnly, treating them as if they were adults buying thousands of dollars of merchandise instead of little kids, Callie took their money and walked around to her register.
    Derek noted that her eyes and face looked swollen and puffy and inwardly cursed himself. He had done that to her with his callous, selfish behavior.
    He felt a deep sense of shame at the way he had treated Callie.
    She had called him her boyfriend, a word that