Read Online How Sweet It Is by Bonnie Blythe - Free Book Online Page A

wear.
     
    ****
     
    Brad knocked on Delphine’s door, feeling a
bit breathless, which had nothing to do with his unseemly rush to
her apartment. He could only be thankful this loan business would
keep Delphine firmly in his sphere, right where he wanted her to
be—for reasons he hadn’t yet admitted to himself.
    While he had no doubt he was attracted to
her, Brad still felt unsure of where he stood with her. Granted,
he’d deserved to be slapped when he’d kissed her in Belgium, but it
also had the effect of putting a dent in his self-confidence. He
decided to take things slowly with her, to gain her trust by
overtures of friendship.
    Which, of course, is what I
should’ve done in the first place .
    When Delphine opened the door wearing an
appealing floral dress, his plan to be platonic suffered a severe
blow.
    She smiled. “Hi.”
    “Hi.” When no other coherent thoughts were
forthcoming, he swallowed and held up a key.
    “What’s that for?” she asked, her dark eyes
alight with curiosity.
    “I have a friend who’s in real estate. I
mentioned you might be looking for a shop to lease. He’s found one
you might like and gave me the key.”
    “And where is this agent?” she asked,
peering around his shoulder.
    He decided to be brutally honest. “I told him
I was trying to impress a girl and to just give me the key. He
knows where I live.”
    Brad liked the way Delphine’s expressive face
changed according to her emotions. He could see her first reaction
was one of embarrassment. It morphed to suspicion when she raised
her eyebrow and gave him a gimlet look.
    I’m gonna have to try
harder .
    “Here’s the paperwork from my dad,” he said.
“Right now do you want to go check out the shop?”
    Delphine accepted the envelope and stared at
it for a moment. She raised her gaze. “Could we drop this off on
the way? There’s someone I’d like to have look it over.”
    “Sure. Are you ready?”
    “Yes. My parents are visiting friends down
the street at the moment, or they’d want to greet you before we
left.” She locked the door behind her.
    Brad enjoyed seeing the high
flush on Delphine’s face as they climbed into the Jetta. He was
used to seeing her more serious than excited. Maybe this candy shop
business would work in his favor in more ways than one. And maybe she’ll learn to like me a whole lot more
than she does now .
    She directed him to an office in an
established area full of older Craftsman homes, explaining that she
knew a lawyer from the bakery. When they arrived, she jumped out of
the car to drop off the paperwork.
    Afterwards, they headed toward Glendale’s
downtown area. “Thanks for doing all this running around for me,”
she said. “Are you sure I’m not interfering with any plans?”
    Brad shook his head. “I’m on summer break,
remember? In a month or so, I’ll start sending out resumés for some
stuffy office job. My dad has a lot of contacts, so it shouldn’t be
too difficult to find work.”
    He sensed Delphine’s steady gaze upon
him.
    “That…must be nice, having
him get you a job like that. I mean, not having to do it the hard
way like everyone else.” She frowned. “ Zut! That came out wrong.”
    Brad smiled as he negotiated through traffic.
“It’s not all nepotism you know. I have a degree, I’ll be an asset
to any company I work for. All my dad can do really is put a word
in an ear or two. There are no guarantees.” He sent her a sidelong
glance. “You’ll be glad to know he doesn’t believe in giving even
his own kids a free ride.”
    Delphine bridled. “I didn’t say that.”
    He shrugged. “Of course, I’ll take any help I
can get. Why reinvent the wheel? But he’s always made us
accountable to him. You can ask my mom. He wouldn’t pay for our
college unless we maintained at least a three-point-oh grade
average.”
    He saw Delphine’s eyes widen.
    Aha! That impressed her.
    He smiled. For some reason, with Delphine,
charm wasn’t quite