Chapter 5
Chapter Five
T he reopening of Hart Family Fudge would be an epic comeback—because epic was Lily’s style. Go big. Be innovative. Create unexpected surprises to enhance the customer experience.
Win this thing.
She inhaled the morning air, letting the sunlight—and her friends’ encouraging words from their conversation last night—infuse her with hope as she rode her old pink Schwinn cruiser down Lake Shore Drive.
Her parents lived in the upscale Driftwood Hills neighborhood on the west side of the island, so while she could have walked the mile and a half to the fudge shop— her fudge shop, whatever the Kelleys said—the bike allowed her quicker access. Hopefully, she’d beat Declan there.
And given his lack of a key, if she just so happened to get busy in the back storeroom, unable to hear him knocking on the front door, well.
That would just be so unfortunate .
Lily couldn’t help but grin as she rounded the island’s southwestern curve and came upon the Grand Hotel, in full renovation mode with its specially permitted cranes and construction vehicles beeping through the early morning haze.
She waved to Liam Stone, Dani’s boyfriend, who was talking on a phone in a yellow hard hat near the side of the road.
Dressed in jeans and a T-shirt, the handsome California businessman looked like he’d relaxed a lot since arriving. She’d met him last night when he’d swooped in and stolen Dani away mid-walk, unable to keep himself away from her for a second longer despite their canceled date.
Lily was happy for her friend, but there had been something of a pinch in her chest. Because the only guy who had ever really looked at her like that had ended up tearing her world apart.
And now he was trying to do it again.
Lily’s grip tightened on the handlebars as the asphalt of Lake Shore Drive turned into the cobblestones of Main Street, where there were more pedestrians and other bicyclists.
As she bumped along, Lily smiled and nodded at forty-something Allean Meyer, who was on the public library’s steps flipping the sign from Closed to Open.
Just beyond that, Martha’s on Main was crawling with customers, the line out the door.
It was good to see the town returning to life in a way it hadn’t for a decade—even if it did benefit the Kelleys too. Lily missed the clomp of hooves from the dray wagons hauling goods or the carriages toting tourists. Hopefully, someday, they’d return too.
She’d have much preferred their presence to Declan’s.
Unfortunately, that she couldn’t escape. Because there he stood across from Martha’s, leaning against the wall of the fudge shop. Waiting with those stupid aviator sunglasses, sunlight turning the highlights of his hair copper.
Every girl’s dream come true.
Well. Every girl but her.
For a brief moment, she considered passing him and heading for the back alley door that led into the kitchen. But knowing Declan, he’d anticipate what she was up to and follow her.
There was nothing for it. Guess she had to let him in.
She pulled her bike to a stop and swung her leg over, taking a moment to adjust her leather leggings where they pinched at her thighs.
Then she fished her key out of her backpack and popped it into the metal lock of the wooden door.
She felt his eyes on her the whole time.
Turning to him, her gaze narrowed. “What?”
“Nothing, Widow. Nothing at all.”
“Widow?” She glanced down at her pants, rolled her eyes. “As in Black Widow? Really?”
He shrugged, hands still in his pockets like he didn’t have a care in the world. Like his very presence here wasn’t completely upending her world.
“Whatever.” The key clicked in the lock. She pulled on the door handle, but then faced him again. “Are you really going to do this? Fight me for my family’s fudge shop?”
She made herself as tall as her five-foot-four frame could be.
Like a sparrow against an eagle while Declan stood over her, somewhere near six-foot-two.
Maybe she could just make him stand here, never letting him inside.
Of course, that would mean never going inside herself, and that would hardly lend itself to a profitable shop.
“I really don’t have a choice, Lily.”
“Sure you do. You can head on back to the airstrip and fly on out of here, back to Chicago. Out of my life.” Where he should have stayed.
“Can we just go inside?” He held out his arm, glanced behind him. “You’re making a scene.”
She peeked around him. Across the street outside of the diner stood Mia’s mother-in-law, Constance Franklin, and a frail-looking older woman along with retired nurse Peggy Martinez.
They were looking their direction with raised eyebrows before turning with grins and slipping inside Martha’s.
A pair of older gentlemen also watched them from one of the café’s large picture windows.
“Argh. Fine.” She opened the door and forced herself to hold it for him. A whiff of his annoying, expensive aftershave settled over her when he passed by. “But this isn’t because you told me to. It’s because I’m being generous, Slick . Don’t get comfortable, because you won’t be here long.”
“Whatever you have to tell yourself.” He had the nerve to walk straight through, taking a position behind the main counter.
Like he already owned the place. His fingers glanced across the left-most display case as he slipped his briefcase from his shoulder and pulled a laptop from inside. “Now, how do we want to approach this?”
Lily opened her mouth to respond that there was no we here, but shock stole her words.
Because the entire lobby—from the counter and display cases to the two marble demonstration tables that sat in front of the large front windows, to the supplies and copper pots lining the left side of the shop and even the counter-height table and barstools along the right window overlooking Jonathon Boulevard—was spotless.
Lily turned a circle. The floors gleamed. The windows exhibited nary a spiderweb or crusted section of grime. Even the light fixtures hanging over the counter had been scrubbed clean.
“Did you do this?” It must have taken him hours. All afternoon and late into the evening. When Lily had been busy trying to find a way out of the contest, Declan had been dirtying his hands.
As if it were already his shop. Her hands flexed at her sides. He was seriously so…
“You’re welcome.” Flipping open the laptop, he clicked around on the keyboard. “Ah. Okay, here it is. I think?—”
“You had no right.”
His left eyebrow lifted. “Excuse me?”
“To do all of this.” She flicked her finger around the room. Then she walked over and shut his laptop lid, leaning forward. “This isn’t your shop—and it never will be.”
“I’m sorry, are you actually mad at me for cleaning up the shop that your family left in disrepair?”
What—? “My mother has arthritis, you jerk. She can’t exactly keep everything spotless on her own.”
The hard planes of his face eased just a bit. “I am sorry about that. But I didn’t clean this place so I could stake some sort of claim over it.”
“Right.” She pulled back, slipped her own backpack to the floor, and crossed her arms over her chest. “Seems everything you’ve done since arriving here has been calculated. But that’s your way, isn’t it?”
“Better than just improvising, hoping it all just works out.” He finger-quoted the last words.
For a second, too, his stony expression seemed to falter.
Emotion flashed through his eyes, then vanished.
His hard gaze returned. “Because that’s not how the world works.
And for your information, I cleaned the shop because you were nowhere to be found, and it needed to be done.
Now.” He reopened the laptop lid and looked at her with those cool blue eyes.
“I think it would be easier if we could work together when need be. Like ordering supplies. It’ll be a lot cheaper if we bulk order and split it up when it?—”
“Work together ? Are you serious? I’d rather shave fifty pounds of chocolate by hand than work with you.” She didn’t need his Kelley ego, sucking the oxygen out of her airspace.
He cocked his head. “I don’t like this any more than you do.”
“Really? You’re not enjoying the opportunity to stick it to a Hart?” To her .
“Grow up, Lily. We’re adults now. This childish feud is a thing of the past.”
She didn’t know why his words felt like a slap.
Shoot. She wanted— needed —to be away from him.
Before she could reply, he set both hands on either side of the computer. Blew out a breath, maybe of exasperation. As if she were a child . Oh, heavens, save her from arrogant Kelleys, especially the one she used to date.
“This is an unfortunate situation we find ourselves in, and while yes, we are competitors, we’re going to have to tolerate being around each other, at least for the next five weeks. I’d rather we keep things civil. Professional.”
Oh, she’d give him civil. Professional. It was only July in Michigan, but the arctic freeze was beginning early this year. She mustered a fake smile. “If it’s so difficult and unfortunate, I’ve got a solution: you can just give up now.”
He scowled. “Is this a game to you?”
She scowled right back. “Of course not. I gave up my whole life to be here.” And sure, her whole life back in Florida hadn’t amounted to much, but still. She’d moved here for this shop—not to lose everything to a Kelley.
Again.
“Are you sure it isn’t a game to you ? You could do a thousand other things, Declan. Why would you want to come back here and run this fudge shop? Is it just to spite me?”
And maybe her words had landed hard because his mouth opened. Then something sparked in his blue eyes. “Not everything is about you, Lily. This isn’t personal. It’s business.” He paused, glanced up at her before flicking his gaze back to the counter. “Family business.”
“Guess I shouldn’t be surprised.” Because it always came back to that, didn’t it? Family loyalty over everything else.