Love at the Candy Heart Cafe- Chapter Four by Dana R. Lynn

Love at the Candy Heart Café

Chapter Four by Dana R. Lynn

          Well, that hadn’t gone as he’d planned. Although, all things considered, Chad wasn’t really surprised. Candy was as sweet as lemon meringue pie. But she was also stubborn.  So stubborn that when she got angry, she could be as brittle as rock candy.

            He sighed. Life would have been so different if she had only gone with him as he’d asked. He’d never known why she’d changed her mind at the last moment and rejected the plan. Rejected him. If they’d been together, he would have been there when Caramel got sick.

            He shook his head. He couldn’t change the past. What he had with Candy was gone. Now, he needed to view her as a business opportunity.

            Which meant he had to change her mind.

            Setting his jaw, he strode back to the Candy Heart Café and entered. Not-So-Mr.-Friendly glared at him. Chad ignored him. His business was with Candy. His eyes searched the room. She was coming out of the kitchen. Her lovely eyes were slightly red.

            Aw, man. She’d been crying. He hated that. And he hated it even more that he was the one to have made her cry.

            Still, he had a job to do here. He marched up to her, pointedly avoiding the hard stare he could feel boring a hole in his back from the older gentleman. Her head snapped up as he approached.

            “I thought you were leaving,” she snapped.

            “Candy, I’m leaving. However, I never got a chance to give you my phone number in case you changed your mind.” Pulling out a card with his information on it, he handed it to her. Or at least he tried to. Candy folded her arms and lifted her chin, refusing to take it. He sighed.

            “Fine. I’ll leave it here.” He placed it on top of the case filled with pastries and cookies. “I’m staying with my sister Taffy. On Licorice Lane. If you need to get a hold of me.”

            She jerked her head in his direction so fast, her strawberry blonde ponytail swung like a pendulum. Chad hadn’t thought it possible, but her eyes grew even icier.

            “I’m sure she loves that. Having you right where she can keep track of your every move.”

            What?

            “Ummm…Not sure I understand that, Candy. You and Taffy used to be best friends.”

            She snorted. “Let’s just say I learned the hard way that the Hershey family was not to be trusted.”

            Chad stared at her, his mind working furiously to figure out what she could have possibly meant. Had something happened between Candy and Taffy?  Something that had somehow affected his relationship with her? He thought back to when she’d said she wouldn’t be leaving with him all those years ago.  He’d known she’d been crying. He could see it in her puffy red eyes.  He’d always assumed she’d been sad at their break-up.

            His thoughts drifted back to his younger sister, Taffy Apple Hershey. She’d never mentioned Candy after he left. He’d never asked why. The subject had been too raw.

            Now, he was thinking he needed to ask why. Why Candy had changed her mind. Only he doubted she’d answer. But his sister….She was another thing altogether.

            He spun on his heel and left the café. He had two things on his agenda. First, he needed to figure out a way to convince Candy’s hard heart to melt enough to consider selling the café to him. And second, he needed to find out what had happened between his former love and his sister.