Candy Store (9 page)

Idiot.

He dropped his keys onto the slate kitchen island and looked around his home with new eyes. He had always thought that he was suited to the hard lines of glass and concrete and slate, but after spending so much time at both Callie’s homey store and her cute cottage on the outskirts of town he found that he was craving softness. And color.

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And comfort. What he wouldn’t give to be back in Callie’s house, kissing her in front of the fire, with her big mutt lying at their feet snoring.

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The next day Tobey 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 a couple of 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 forty-year-old women buying thousands of dollars of merchandise instead of little kids, Callie took their money and walked around to her register. Tobey 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.

Right then and there he vowed never to treat her badly ever again.

When Callie looked up and saw him standing awkwardly by the door, holding the flowers as an obvious peace offering, she nearly dropped the box of truffles on the floor.

She caught the box in mid-air and placed it on her gift-wrapping table, her hands shaky.

She gave him a tremulous smile and was about to say something when Tobey smiled back and leaned against the wall, making it clear that he could wait until she was done helping the girls.

Callie finished wrapping the truffles with trembling fingers. She handed the girls a lollipop each and then followed them with her eyes as they took their father’s hand and skipped out the door.

Tobey approached her at the same time that she ran around the counter. Their words intermingled, “I’m so sorry,” he said, and she said, “No, I’m the one who’s sorry.”

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He handed her the bouquet and she clutched them to her chest as if they were more valuable to her than gold or diamonds. “Can you forgive me?”

Tobey stroked her cheek with his fingers. “What did I ever do right to deserve you?”

Callie shook her head. “I’m the lucky one. And I want you to know that I’ll always support you. Whatever you do, I’ll still love you,” she said.

She gasped and took a step back into the counter, dropping the flowers onto the floor as she realized what she’d just said.

Tobey closed the space between them, stepping into the circle of flowers on the floor. “I love you too,” he said and then dipped his mouth to hers. He buried his hands in Callie’s soft curls and tasted her sweetness. Her hands wrapped around him and she pulled him tightly to her. Even the bell ringing on the door to the shop, indicating that a customer had entered, was not enough for either of them to want to pull away from each other.

“Ahem,” a firm voice said from behind Tobey’s back. He pulled away from Callie’s sweet lips and groaned, knowing that voice could only belong to one person.

Looking over his shoulder he said, “Alice.”

Shaking her head as if they were two kids goofing around during class, Alice said,

“I thought I might find you here.”

Callie slid out from Tobey’s arms and held out her hand, looking charmingly disheveled. “I’ve been so looking forward to meeting you, Alice.” Callie blushed and said, “Under different circumstances, of course.”

Alice yielded slightly under the weight of Callie’s charm and shook her hand.

Turning back to Tobey, the older woman said, “I’d like to know if you think your behavior is going to sell more candy in this store, or less? You’ve got an important phone call to return in the office.”

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Tobey grinned shamelessly and held his hands up in defeat. “Point taken, sergeant.” He leaned over the counter and placed another quick kiss on Callie’s lips.

“Are we still on for dinner tonight? My family has been dying to meet you.”

Callie whispered, “I can’t wait,” and they made do with one more quick peck.

Callie stood in the store alone with Alice, feeling more nervous than she had since she was a schoolgirl. But Alice wasn’t one to beat around the bush.

“I’ll get straight to the point,” Alice said and Callie nodded, her heart pounding even though she knew she hadn’t done anything wrong. Trying to break the ice, Callie interrupted and said, “Can I offer you anything first? Maybe some hot cocoa and a truffle?”

Alice looked momentarily flustered. “Why yes,” she said. “I could use a hot drink to warm my bones.” Callie went to pour her a steaming cup and Alice said, “And if you wouldn’t mind, I’d love a truffle. I had one last year and I still haven’t forgotten it.”

Callie breathed a sigh of relief. Tobey’s assistant seemed a whole lot less scary when she had chocolate smudged on her lips. “I didn’t mean to interrupt you,” she said, after Alice had bitten into the truffle with a sound of delight.

Alice held up her hand, making it clear that she wanted to finish the chocolate in silence. Callie grinned, pleased that her candy made people so happy. But her grin fell away as Alice said, “I wasn’t sure that I approved of your relationship with Tobey at first—it is unprofessional for a consultant to date his client, after all—but now I can see that you’re the best thing that’s happened to him in some time.”

Callie was frozen where she stood. Alice continued, “I love him like a son and he’s about to make the biggest mistake of his life. I want you to stop him.”

Her brain struggled to catch up. “Do you mean how he’s closing his business?”

Alice nodded, her lips tight again in disapproval.

“Has he talked to you about it?” Callie asked.

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“No. But that boy can’t hide anything from me. Never could, never will. I’ve known for months. But I also know that he hasn’t made it official yet by firing me because he doesn’t want to shut down his dreams.”

Callie shook her head. “Alice, I appreciate you coming here to try and help Tobey, but I don’t think he’s going to listen to me.”

Alice’s eyes were bright. “Honey, that’s where you’re wrong. You could tell him to jump off of a cliff and he’d do it. It’s up to you to make sure he doesn’t make the biggest mistake of his life. I’m counting on you.”

* * * * *

That night as Callie sat in the chic new restaurant surrounded by Tobey’s parents and his brother and wife, she was still trying to get Alice’s words out of her head.
He
doesn’t want to do it. It’s up to you to make sure he doesn’t make the biggest mistake of his life.

I’m counting on you.

Callie tried to focus on getting to know Tobey’s relatives, all the while wondering when things had become so complicated. One day she was happily running her business and the next she was dating a passionate, complex man who was turning both her little store and her life upside down. Everything was getting so big, so fast.

Tobey’s mother, Joan, turned to her and said, “So you’re the famous Callie from Callie’s Candies?”

Callie blushed. “I don’t know about famous.”

Joan waved her hand in the air. “Nonsense. My women’s group has been enjoying your truffles for years. And besides,” she said, lowering her voice, “John and I haven’t heard about anything else for weeks.”

Callie stuttered unintelligible monosyllables, but Joan wasn’t expecting a response.

“John and I think it is just perfect that you and Tobey found each other. Two candy lovers who are obviously in love with each other.”

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Callie had to clamp her teeth together to keep her mouth from falling open. She tried to smile, but she was sure her attempt looked pathetic. Thankfully, Joan was drawn into a conversation with her husband and Tobey. Callie turned to Tobey’s older brother, Jed, with relief.

Jed leered at her and she barely repressed a shudder as she took in his beady eyes, oily hair, and bad breath. His wife, a thin dour woman, sat like a mouse beside him.

Her eyes were glassy and Callie didn’t envy the woman one bit. “So you own a candy store,” he said, more a statement than a question. His words struck her as being almost snide and she was sure that she must have misread his intentions.

“That’s right. Callie’s Candies is just down the street.”

Jed rolled his eyes. “Candy,” he scoffed. “Good thing my brother has finally come to his senses.”

Callie sucked in a breath. “Excuse me?” she said, her voice soft and still, working hard not to betray her growing anger. How could it be, she wondered, that Tobey and Jed were related by blood? They were polar opposites.

“I’ve worked on him for years to join me in the accounting firm. Something he’ll finally get some respect for. Do you know how embarrassing it is to be related to the Candy King?” The words ‘Candy King’ sounded like spoilt milk coming out of Jed’s mouth.

Callie curled her fingers tightly into her fist, fighting the overpowering urge to punch Tobey’s jerk of a brother in his fat mouth.

“No. I don’t,” she said, deciding her only hope was to humor Jed until dinner was over.

As she nodded in all the right places during Jed’s endless discourse on his importance and value as a high-powered accountant, everything became crystal clear to Callie. Jed was jealous of Tobey’s success and happiness. Obviously, Jed was the one that had been putting pressure on Tobey to “finally grow up,” since Tobey’s parents 67

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clearly loved and supported him in his career choice. She knew they were proud of him, just as they somehow managed to be proud of their other brute of a son.

It was as if a huge weight was lifted from her shoulders. She knew what she needed to say to Tobey. Maybe, just maybe, she would have a fighting chance at succeeding at convincing him to keep Sweet Returns in business.

Callie planted a smile on her face and knew that nothing else Jed said to her tonight was going to bring her down. She would keep up the small talk when she had to and focus most of her attention on getting to know Tobey’s wonderful parents better.

Whatever she had to put up with to be with Tobey was worth it.

* * * * *

Tobey sat back and watched Callie charm his family just as she charmed every single person she came in contact with. Even his brother, who could be somewhat standoffish with strangers, was talking animatedly to her.

“Being the VP at an accounting firm is a big responsibility,” Jed said, his chest puffed up with pride at his accomplishments.

Tobey shook his head as he caught snippets of Jed’s conversation with Callie. Tobey didn’t begrudge Jed any of his success, but sometimes Tobey thought he rode the fine line between pride and arrogance. Thank god, Tobey thought, that Callie didn’t care about stuff like that. She just wanted him to be happy.

Callie leaned in towards his brother and said, “Wow. Your job sounds
really
exciting. And important.”

Tobey blinked hard a couple of times. What the hell was she saying? Jed’s job sounded important? And exciting? Jed said something in response which Tobey couldn’t hear, but he couldn’t miss Callie’s impressed response. “That figure was your bonus for last year? Wow. I didn’t know accountants did quite so well.”

Suddenly the room felt too small and Tobey grabbed at his tie to loosen it from around his neck. As the awful truth crashed in around him, he could no longer breathe.

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He shot up out of his chair without a word to anyone and made it as far as the parking lot before he bowled over into a hedge of snow covered boxwood and threw up. He could hardly believe what he had heard, even though now that he had seen the evidence for himself, there was no denying it.

Callie wasn’t the woman he thought she was.

Instead of the cute, sweet, supportive woman he thought he loved, instead of the woman who looked at a bouquet of flowers as more precious than jewels, she was a power-grubbing bitch, just like his ex-fiancée had been.

Tobey got in his Ferrari and sped off into the night, leaving behind the woman who had broken his heart forever.

* * * * *

Callie nodded absently at Jed’s bragging—he didn’t require any help from her to prod his boasting into the stratosphere—wondering where Tobey had rushed off to without a word to anyone. When he had been gone more than five minutes, she excused herself and asked the host to check the men’s restroom. But Tobey was gone.

Callie slumped into the coat rack, wondering what had happened. One minute everything was great, the next minute Tobey was gone. She went back to the table and asked his parents, “Did Tobey say anything to you about needing to leave early?”

His mother and father shook their heads, looking worried. “No. I wonder if something he ate didn’t agree with him?”

Callie murmured something that was supposed to be comforting, but her heart wasn’t it in. Her boyfriend had walked out on her for the second time in twenty-four hours. She fought back the tears that threatened to spill, not wanting his family to see her looking so pathetic.

Jed, clueless as ever, sneered and said, “Geez. The dumb little brother of mine doesn’t even know how to take care of his lady.”

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Something inside Callie snapped. “You don’t know the first thing about your brother,” she said and then turned and walked out the restaurant. Once she made it out the front door, she ran down the street until she could find an alley to hide in.

Sniffling, Callie didn’t want to give into the awful misery that was sucking her in.

He didn’t want her. No man who was worth anything had ever wanted her.