Candy Kisses (10 page)

She danced around her workspace and her cheeks hurt from smiling, but she knew it was all going to have to end before Brie got there or she’d never hear the end of it.

Too late. Tabitha looked up and nearly screamed aloud when she saw Brie standing in the doorway with her mouth wide open.

Tabitha let out a loud
humph
, wrinkled up her nose and hurried to the radio to turn it down. With her hand still on the volume control, she watched as her best friend shook her head in disbelief. “I don’t know if I should kiss you or kick you.”

“Neither please.” Tabitha’s smiled again. “We’re almost caught up.”

“That’s because you’re not grumping around. See what love can do?” Brie walked in and hung her coat on the hook, yawned, and put on her apron. “I’m glad to see you’re happy.”

But Brie’s voice wasn’t happy. Her whole demeanor wasn’t right. She should have been dancing in circles around the room with her, but she tied on her apron and went straight to the order wall. Didn’t she want
deets
? Didn’t she want to hear about them making love on the tile floor and then again in the bed?

This moment of friendship was being wasted. God, Tabitha thought she might explode. Is this how horrible a friend she’d been when she’d walked into a room and Brie was dancing around it? Had she, herself, merely grunted when Brie spoke of love and sex? Yes, that was exactly what she’d done. Karma was in fact a bitch. But there was something more. Something wasn’t right. Tabitha didn’t know how to approach it except head on.

She turned off the radio and walked to the prep table where Brie looked over the order she’d taken off the wall. “You okay?”

“Sure.”

“Do you want to talk?” When Brie shifted her eyes to her Tabitha knew she’d been crying and now was in even more unfamiliar territory.

“Do you? I usually get your mom for these talks.”

The blow to her ego was strong, but she tried to let it pass without wincing.

Her mother was a good listener. Tabitha could admit that. And one of the reasons they were such good friends was that her mother had taken a liking to Brie as if she were a daughter. It didn’t surprise her that Brie would think of talking to her mother before she’d talk to her, but it stung.

Tabitha touched her arm. “I’m here if you need an ear.” She turned to walk back to her prep table.

“I’m pregnant.” That stopped her forward progress and she took a moment before she turned around. “I was stunned into silence too.”

Tabitha took a few steps toward her. “Wow. I wasn’t expecting that at all.”

“Trust me. Neither was I.” She blew a wayward curl from her eyes. “But this is my reality. I’m okay with it. It was just kind of a shock.”

“Did you tell the father?”

“Greg?” Tabitha searched for the name, but she didn’t recognize it and obviously, her face registered the confusion. Brie’s lips pursed. “Video guy.”

“Oh. Greg. I thought his name was John.”

“So did I. And he’s married. He forgot to mention that too.”

Tabitha felt the sudden need to grip the table and steady herself. This was why fast love was so wrong. This was what happened to her mother, minus the all ready married part.

Her knees had gone soft, but she kept herself upright against the table. Love at first sight. Head over heels in love. Blinded by love. It was everything Tabitha hadn’t believed in and now that she felt the giddy pleasure here stood her best friend in the world burned by those very things.

She thought back to the night she’d had with Preston and the immense pleasure she’d had by letting go. But had she let go too much? They’d been careful, but how careful. If she didn’t put a stop to it right away she’d end up like Brie with a baby and a broken heart. It was her childhood all over again. She could feel it forming around her.

Brie reached for her. “Are you okay?”

“Me? Yes. I’m fine.”

“I’m the queasy one and you look like you’re going to faint.” Brie hurried around the table and pulled a stool to her. She sat down as Brie ran to the sink and wet a towel. She handed it to her and Tabitha placed it on her forehead. “You’re sure you’re okay?”

Tabitha nodded.

Brie laughing wasn’t what she’d expected. “I catch you in here dancing and humming to loud music, tell you I’m pregnant, and now you’re the one who is going to faint. I think you owe me some juicy gossip.”

Tabitha looked at her in disbelief. Had she not heard herself? Life was over, as she knew it. The man she’d temporarily loved left her with a baby and a lie to live with. How could she just change gears and want gossip?

“Aren’t you upset by all of this?” Tabitha realized her tone bordered on accusation.

“The baby? Hell no. It happens all the time, Tab. Neither one of us would be here if it hadn’t been for the fluke of luck our mother’s had. Am I upset that he lied to me? Yeah. I’m pissed off like you wouldn’t believe.” Brie went back to studying the order she’d taken from the wall. “I had thought about calling his wife and telling her, but then realized it wouldn’t do any good. She’d think I was some crazy woman and hang up on me. Besides, I’m fairly sure I can get him fired.”

The room was quiet, but when Brie looked up at Tabitha and grinned. Then the hysterical laughter broke free.

Each of them tried to hold it in, tried to bury it under the severity of the situation. But it didn’t work. Soon the laughter rolled from them, their stomachs hurt, and their cheeks ached.

But Tabitha stopped laughing when she looked up and Preston stood in the doorway with a tray of coffees for each of them and a pastry bag. He was the face of reality. The vivid reminder that she needed to end their relationship before it became a laughing matter to Brie.

Tabitha Knight didn’t believe in love at first sight and quick relationships, and Brie’s situation sealed that for her. She and Preston were over.

Chapter Nine

Preston set the coffees on the table. “You girls seem to be having a lot of fun this morning.”

“Nah,” Brie walked over to the table and picked up one of the cups. “It’s the hysterical laughter that comes after a tense situation.”

Tabitha watched Preston’s face shield in worry. He walked around Brie and straight to Tabitha touching her shoulder. “Are you all right? Did something happen?”

Tabitha couldn’t answer. She stood there staring at him, wondering what might be going through his mind.

“Oh not her,” Brie said with her mouth full from a pastry she’d taken from the bag. “Me. I got myself knocked up.”

The lines in Preston’s forehead softened and he turned away from Tabitha. “Congratulations?”

“I’ll take it. The baby daddy is an ass, but I’m happy. Who’d have thought I’d have a kid.” She shrugged.

Tabitha’s mouth fell open. How could she seriously be so nonchalant about it? She was talking about bringing this life into the world. Someday that life would wonder what she was thinking too. A woman on her own, dumped by a casual sex partner, having to raise a child. And would she end up like Tabitha’s mother? Would she marry every man she met trying to find that love that didn’t even exist with the father of her own child?

“I have some paperwork to do,” Tabitha said. She walked past Preston, picked up her coffee and pastry, and walked into her office nearly slamming the door behind her.

She set the coffee and pastry on her desk and paced back and forth. It shouldn’t be about her, she knew that, but she couldn’t help it. Brie’s situation made hers that much worse.

The tapping on the door had Tabitha turning around. Preston stood there with the door open slightly, the mask of worry was back to his face and she didn’t like the way it looked. He inched through the door slightly. “Do you want to talk?”

“No.”

“Too bad.” He stepped into the room and shut the door behind him. “What’s going on?”

She moved behind her desk and sat down in her chair. Then she stood back up and paced again. “What’s going on? Did you hear her? She’s pregnant.”

“Yes. She’s going to name the boy Fred, after an uncle. That is if it’s a boy. But Fred?” His face had crinkled up again then softened into a smile before that too faded. “So why are you all worked up over this?”

“Because this was my life. My mother had me and my father didn’t love her.”

“And your life sucks, right?”

“What? No. Well…” It did sound bad when he said it that way. Furry bubbled in her belly now and she wanted to tell him that she didn’t like being talked down too. But at the same time she felt childish having such a fit, but it wasn’t passing. “It just wasn’t easy watching my mom go through all of that.” She tensed her hands and then tried to relax them, but it did little to calm her.

“I know I haven’t been around a long time, but it seems to me that Brie and your mother have a good relationship. Much of that is because they do understand each other. And, honey,” he stepped closer to the desk. “Your mother is one terrific woman who loves you very much.”

Tabitha sat down in her chair and planted her hands on the top of the desk. “I don’t think you and I should see each other anymore.”

His eyes shot open as if she’d punched him in the gut. Color moved into his cheeks, but the redness slowly faded as he took a few breaths. “You don’t want to see me anymore because your best friend is pregnant?”

“Yes. No.” She stood up again and the anger in her belly weighed her down like a Thanksgiving dinner. She hated the feeling, but it was the right thing to do. “Because it’s too fast.”

“That’s how relationships work, Tabitha. You meet. You have chemistry. You fall in love.” He inched even closer. “You told me you loved me.”

Tabitha pushed back her shoulders and straightened her spine as if it would give her courage to face him. “I shouldn’t have.”

“You’re right. Maybe you shouldn’t have.”

He was quick and was around the desk before she knew he’d taken a step. His hands gripped her arms and he yanked her against him. The warmth of his mouth crushed down on hers. It took her under hard, fast, and scrambled her mind.

His grip was still tight on her arms when he pushed back and looked at her. She caught her breath and tried her hardest to look stern, but she knew she was failing miserably.

“You have six hundred truffles to roll this morning for an order that I will pick up at eight in the morning for the wedding I’m working. You’d better get to work.” He let go of her and walked back to the door. “I have been assigned to strawberry dipping duty because Brie says my mother does it so well. Do you have any objections?” She didn’t say anything, she couldn’t. “Good. When you get yourself together, we’ll be out here waiting for you. My mom will be here later to help too. She knows she buried you at a busy time. And Brie said your mother was coming too. Looks like you’ll have to put on your happy face if you want to make this Valentine season work out for you.”

He shut the door behind him and she was alone, again, in her office with nothing but her thoughts. But this time she had an overwhelming case of guilt to have to deal with too.

It took Tabitha the better part of an hour to emerge from her office. By the time she did, the workroom was full of people, music, and conversation.

“Good morning, darling.” Her mother looked up at her from a tray of truffles she rolled in cocoa. “Did you hear Brie’s great news?” Tabitha nodded. “I told her we get the honor of the baby shower. Won’t that be fun?”

Tabitha looked at Brie who smiled wide and she realized that her reaction had been wrong and completely selfish. Brie was like her mother in so many ways. They welcomed opportunities, like babies and new love. Only Tabitha would be so shallow to have nearly thrown away the best relationship she’d ever had just because her best friend was pregnant and the video rental guy didn’t care.

In an apologetic move, she walked to Brie and hugged her tightly. “I’m happy for you if this is what you really want.”

“I’m happy, Tab.” She pulled back to look at her. “It’s going to be hard and scary, but I have all of you to support me when I think I can’t do it. I’m not alone and my baby won’t be either.”

She was right. She’d never be alone.

The work in the room had slowed and Tabitha knew all eyes were on her. But when she turned and Preston’s lips curled into a soft smile she couldn’t be mad any longer.

She ran across the room and straight to him. She wrapped her arms around his neck as he hoisted her around his waist. Her mouth was quick to take his as he staggered then regained his balance.

She rested her forehead against his. “I’m sorry.”

“I knew you were when you were breaking up with me.” He set her back on her feet. “I still love you, Tabitha. Nothing is going to change that.”

She looked around the room. Her mother and her best friend had stopped working to listen. If she said what was in her heart they would both know she’d lost her mind. But if she didn’t say what was there, she might lose the one man who ever did love her.

“I love you, Preston. That hasn’t changed.”

Holly couldn’t have been more pleased with the progress of the day or the sales. The pace and the mood never slowed or diminished. Holly accepted orders, which she wouldn’t normally have done so close to the holiday. Customers waited in a line, which never ended. They ordered in pizza for lunch, since Brie now had a craving for it and Tabitha suspected it would also be dinner as she and her volunteer crew kept working.

By the time the store closed, late, Tabitha was exhausted, but she knew she could work another three hours because there were that many more orders.

Brie leaned against the wall. “Have we ever been so busy?”

“No. This will be our biggest February in history.” There was lightness in her voice that she almost didn’t recognize. It had been such a long time since she’d been so happy about so many things. She looked over at Brie, who had closed her eyes. “Why don’t you go home?”

“There is still more to do,” Brie argued as she yawned.

“Yes, and Preston is here to help me.”

“You talked me into it then.” Brie peeled herself from the wall. “I’ll be back early in the morning.”

Tabitha pulled a tray from the display case and boxed up the three candies that remained. “I tell you what. Why don’t you come in about noon. I’m going with Preston to a wedding tomorrow night. You can close up. I can see if my mom will stay with you.”

“I’ll be fine.” She disappeared into the back room and returned with her coat. “Can I take home some of that pizza? I’m starving again.”

“You’re going to gain seventy pounds.”

“I plan on it. I want to.” She pulled on her coat. “This is going to be great.”

Tabitha watched Brie zip up her coat and walk out the door with the pizza box she’d already grabbed from the cooler.

“She’s really happy isn’t she?” Preston’s voice resonated from behind her.

She turned to see him standing against the same wall Brie had rested against a few minutes earlier. “I think she is happy. I think she’s crazy, but happy.” She pulled another tray from the display and removed the few candies that remained. “And I think she’s going to milk it for everything.”

“Any woman who carries a baby deserves to
milk
it.”

“You mean that?” She turned to him, her hand on her hip. “She’s going to gain seventy pounds she says.”

“Isn’t that the best part? Eat anything you want?”

“You don’t think that’s disgusting?”

“Um, no. I kinda think pregnant women are sexy.” The apples of his cheeks were full and his eyes were soft when he mentioned it.

Tabitha laughed aloud and finished boxing up the chocolates in the display. “You’re joking.”

“No, I’m not.” His voice was steady and serious. It caused her to turn and see that his eyes focused on her and his face was now somber. “I think you would be extremely sexy pregnant.”

She tore another box from the stack behind her and began to fill it. “I have no plans to be pregnant.” When her finger broke through the delicate chocolate in her hand, she threw it to the floor and turned to him. “I have known you less than two weeks. And in that two weeks you have talked me into having dinner with you, and you have slept in my bed. We have had sex on my entry way tile floor, we have told each other we love each other, and now you’re telling me I’d be sexy pregnant. I think you’ve lost your mind.” She threw another chocolate into the box. “On second thought, I think I lost mine.”

Preston crossed his arms over his chest. “Are you finished recapping our relationship?” Tabitha huffed out a breath and put her hands on her hips. He shook his head and the softness in his eyes had given to the darkness of anger. “I do love you and I don’t need a lifetime of dating to know that. I know in my heart that you are the woman I want to marry and yes, I would love to have children with you.”

She felt the blood drain from her face. She set down the box of chocolates and she backed against the counter for support.

Preston walked toward her and pinned her in with a hand on each side of her. “I’m not done telling you I love you. But you know, seeing that it makes you pale, and nearly sick, I now see why no one has ever stuck around.”

“Screw you.”

“Screw you. Some of us want happiness. I happen to want it with you and I know how much work that’s going to be.”