Sinfully Sweet

That single word echoed through her head and warning tingles prickled along her spine. She searched his eyes and noted with alarm their serious expression. The only way there could be an “us” would be if she gave up everything here: her job, her schooling. Was that why he was here? To ask her to do that? A scary thought. But not nearly as terrifying as the knowledge that she might actually want him to ask.

“Us?” she repeated. “There is no more ‘us.’”

“What if I told you I wanted there to be?”

Her heart performed a crazy dance. “How could that happen? Are you thinking in terms of a long-distance relationship?”

He shook his head. “No. That’s not what I want.”

Not sure if his answer left her more relieved or terrified, she asked, “What do you want?”

Reaching out, he clasped her hands. “Lately I’ve felt…unsettled. I couldn’t put my finger on exactly what was wrong, so I put it down to moving-related stress. But over the past two weeks, since we’ve been together, this unsettled feeling has gotten a lot worse.”

That didn’t exactly sound promising. Not sure how to respond, she murmured, “Oh.”

“I was bombarded with all these feelings I hadn’t anticipated and it took me a while to get it all straightened out. But I finally figured it out, finally realized what was wrong. It hit me this morning. Which is why I left. But now I’m back.”

“And I’m confused. What was wrong?”

“I wasn’t happy. And the reason I wasn’t happy was because I was leaving here. Turns out, deep down, I wasn’t overjoyed about moving even before you entered the picture. Once you came on the scene, I grew even more miserable.”

“Uh, thanks.”

He shook his head and blew out a breath. “I didn’t mean that the way it sounded. You didn’t make me miserable, but the thought of moving away from you, of losing what we’ve started here, made me realize that I didn’t want to go. I never wanted to go. Not really. I guess I saw my thirtieth birthday as a good time to reassess my life, my choices, and that, combined with pressure from my ex- girlfriend, had me momentarily convinced that I needed to change things, shake things up. So I did that, by finding a corporate job and making plans to get out of this small town.”

He looked down at their joined hands, then lifted his head. When their gazes met, he continued, “Problem was, I love having my own business, making my own schedule. And I love this little town. And then came you. And as it turns out, I love you, too.”

Everything inside Carlie stilled. “You do?”

“I do. As is. With no desire for you to change a thing or be anything other than the extraordinary woman you already are.” A bemused smile flashed across his features and he shook his head. “Falling in love-one of those unforeseen circumstances predicted by our matching messages about passion. Unforeseen…but really great.”

“In love with me,” she repeated in a stunned whisper. “Since when?”

“Sweetheart, you had me at the chocogasm.”

Emotions swamped her, but before she could open her mouth to speak, he rushed on, “You don’t have to say anything, Especially if what you’d say isn’t something good. I just…wanted you to know. And to tell you that I’ve spent the entire morning on the phone and at the Realtor’s office. My house is off the market, Allied Computers is out a manager, and I’m not going anywhere.”

Oh, God. She needed to breathe, but it seemed she’d forgotten how. In with the good air, out with the bad air. “Not going anywhere?” she managed to say.

“Nope. Well, except out to the porch. I left something there. I’ll be right back.”

Utterly dazed, Carlie watched him go. As soon as he was out of sight, she pinched her arm. Ouch! Okay, yes this was real. He returned seconds later, carrying a huge box bearing the Sinfully Sweet logo, which he set on the coffee table in front of her.

Carlie stared at the box, which covered more than half the table, then turned to him. “I can only guess that the contents of that box represent a dietary disaster. A caloric catastrophe. And based on its size, a financial fiasco. What did you buy?”

“What you said you wanted.”

“What’s that?”

“The day of Sinfully Sweet’s grand opening, you told Ellie Fairbanks you wanted two of everything.” He nodded toward the box. “That’s two of everything.”

Her jaw dropped. “Two of everything in the store?”

“Yup. It’s all for you, but I’m hoping you’ll share.”

“With you.”

“That’s the plan.”

“It would take us a very long time to eat all that chocolate.”

“That’s also the plan.” With his gaze steady on hers, he said, “The night you showed up at my house wearing that towel, I’d been anxiously waiting for you to arrive. I remember thinking that everything was ready-the only thing missing was Carlie. Turned out those were very prophetic words.”

She stared at the huge box and a sense of pure wonder and amazed happiness washed through her. Turning back to him, she asked, “And what if my feelings aren’t the same as yours?”

“Then I’d just have to pull out all the stops to convince you that what we have together is really good. And that it will only get better. That we belong together. That you’re everything I’ve ever wanted. And that I could make you very happy.”

“I…see. So I guess that means if I were to tell you right now that I’m in love with you, I’d forfeit those ‘pulling out all the stops’ perks.”

“Hell, no. God, no. Are you saying…? Do you mean…?” He looked so worried and so serious and so hopeful, she felt ashamed for teasing him for even a second. Framing his face between her hands, she said, “I love you, Daniel. Very much. And you don’t have to convince me that what we have together is really good. Or that it will only get better. Or that we belong together. I already know. You’re everything I’ve ever wanted. And I’m going to make you very happy.”

With a groan, he dragged her onto his lap and kissed her until her head spun. Then he abruptly leaned back. “You’re not just saying that because I bought you two of everything from Sinfully Sweet, are you?

“No.” She waggled her brows. “But that definitely helped seal the deal.”

He smiled. “I should have known I didn’t need to look any further than my own backyard for happiness. Quite literally in my case.”

“You sound like Dorothy from The Wizard of Oz.”

“Huh. Not a very masculine comparison.”

She leaned forward and ran her tongue over his bottom lip. “Oh, honey. I’d be delighted to tell you-and show you-all the fabulous ways you’re masculine.”

“Oh? What did you have in mind?”

“I was thinking you. Me. Chocolate. Naked.” She shot him a wicked grin. “And not necessarily in that order.”

SIMPLY SCRUMPTIOUS by Kate Hoffmann

1

DARCY SCOTT FINGERED the delicately stitched hem of the French cotton sheet. The fabric felt like silk and she closed her eyes and imagined those same sheets on her naked skin, the impossibly high thread count turning an