Chapter 7 #2
She shrugged. “Like you said, hot temper. I think he hoped that he might pass the fudge shop down to Cody, but Cody was a little fisherman through and through and had no real interest in fudge making. My grandpa was stuck with me, and he was not thrilled about it.” Lily stopped paddling as the fudge reached two-thirty-six. “All right, it’s done.”
He peeked over her shoulder—too close for comfort, and of course his cologne swept over her. “How do you know?”
“Here.” She handed him the paddle. “Stir it. Feel the viscosity? Not too hard, not too soft.”
“Okay, Goldilocks.” He took the paddle from her and swished it around once, twice, three times. Nodded. “Got it. Now we pour it out, yeah?”
“Yep.”
Without saying a word, Declan hoisted the pot and carried it to the table, where Lily took one handle, and they tipped it over the table. The chocolate spilled out, a waterfall of sweet, gooey heaven.
“Wow—that smells good,” Declan said as he held the kettle handles so she could scrape out the remains with the paddle.
“It does. Now, if you were going to add peanut butter, you’d spread it out on the table before pouring this out. Nuts and candies you add later, before it cools.” Lily smoothed the liquid fudge across the table, filling the framing completely.
“Cool. Can you show me how to make that one next? The peanut butter one, I mean.”
“If you’ve got a recipe for it, sure.”
He raised an eyebrow. “What, you think I’m going to steal yours?”
She narrowed her eyes at him.
“Okay. I’ll see if my mother has something.”
“Speaking of recipes, where did you put my recipe cards from last night?”
“I didn’t touch them.”
She glanced up at him, and strangely, believed him. “Huh. Guess I misplaced them, then.” With how she’d been feeling last night, it wouldn’t be too far out of the realm of possibilities.
“I’ll keep an eye out for them.”
“Not too close an eye, I hope.”
Shaking his head, the hint of a smile on his lips, Declan took the pot to clean.
After a few minutes, Lily grabbed a metal scraper and sliced from the corner to the center, testing the fudge for thickening.
It held, so she removed the framing bars and began the process of scraping and piling the fudge toward the center of the table, turning the fudge creamy.
Meanwhile, Declan leaned against the counter, arms folded.
“Yes?” She glanced at him.
“Just watching,” he said, and now heat pressed into her chest.
Ten minutes later, the creaming process was complete, and Lily began to shape it.
The motion of shaping it with a wooden paddle had always been relaxing to her.
Like she might be a sculptor. With every flip of her paddle, the fudge held its shape more and more until it resembled a large loaf of chocolate bread.
“Very impressive, Ms. Hart.”
She looked over. “Thank you, Mr. Kelley. Now, we’ll finish letting this set and then can cut it into half- to one-pound slices—some smaller for samples.” Pointing to the clean pots along the wall, she smiled. “The next batch is all you.”
He rubbed his hands together, got another kettle, and started the process all over again. He flipped in his notebook to a page and started adding measurements according to his recipe.
“What kind of fudge are you planning to make first, once you’ve got the process down? A little pistachio? Pecan-maple?”
“Think I’ll stick with chocolate for now.”
“Chocolate.” Her brow quirked.
“You can’t go wrong with chocolate fudge. It’s a classic.”
“You’re right. That’s exactly right.” She pressed her lips together to smother a smile, then waved her hands toward the kettle. “Please proceed.”
He stared at her for a long moment before grunting and getting back to work. She watched at his side, speaking up if he needed a reminder, but for the most part, he took her advice to heart.
The first sign of trouble occurred when he removed the metal framing and the fudge started to run every direction.
“Shoot.” He ran around the table trying to catch it, but his frantic movements only scattered the warm chocolate faster.
It ran over the edges of the marble table and dripped onto the floor.
What was the saying? Like a chicken with its head cut off? That was Declan—if the chicken were really fit and wore a frilly pink polka dot apron.
And Lily couldn’t help it. Giggles just erupted from her. And oh, it felt good after so much tension over the last month.
She glanced up at Declan again. He’d abandoned the paddle at the center of the table and just stood there, arms crossed over his chest, clear amusement on his features despite the mess behind him. “You done?”
Lily pressed a hand to her mouth. “Mm-hmm.” But then she bent in half, laughing some more.
“I’ll give you something to laugh about, Lil.”
Unfolding, she glanced up at him, at the way his eyes glinted with something dangerous as he rushed toward her.
What—? “Stop, Dec!” She raced around the dirty marble table, nearly slipping in the pooling—and now cooling—chocolate on the floor. Her sneakers squeaked as she tried to outrun him, but then he caught her around the waist, pinning her back against the table.
His laughter was deep and warm and full of…delight? The sound of it settled over her as warmth soaked the back of her shirt.
And then his laughing stopped. And her heart thundered against the quiet intensity of his stare.
Both of their breathing turned ragged, and time suspended in that moment. It was almost like she was transported back to that day at Disney World, when they’d been paired together on their senior trip scavenger hunt—the day that had changed everything in Lily’s world.
Even though they’d been in second place, she’d convinced him to skip the rest of the list. To make their own adventure. After all, they were only there for one day.
And what a day it had been.
The rides. The cotton candy. The coy smiles. The laughter.
And their first kiss, as they snuggled on a bench under the fireworks.
He hadn’t been a Kelley, and she hadn’t been a Hart. And they’d returned to Jonathon Island, decided to try. To continue the adventure at home. To see if it was possible to undo the last fifty-five years of family feuding.
It hadn’t worked then, and it wouldn’t work now.
But for some reason, the thought didn’t move her. She was frozen, wondering. What if…
“Lil.” The whispered word was like a caress against her cheeks. But no, that was Declan’s actual thumb, stroking softly upward until he tucked a loose piece of her hair behind her ear.
Just what was she supposed to do with that? Her entire body heated at his nearness, and slowly her hands—which had somehow gotten pressed to his chest—worked their way up and around his neck. “Dec.”
His Adam’s apple bobbed, his jaw tightened, and then he was moving closer.
“What’s going on here?”
They both turned their heads to find Declan’s younger brother, Isaac, standing just inside the kitchen.
Declan jerked away from her so fast, she might be made of flames. Lily’s elbows slumped backward in a pile of mostly cooled fudge. Ugh.
Grabbing a towel, Declan tossed it her way. “Nothing’s going on,” he said, his attention on Isaac. “Lily just fell, and I was helping her up.”
“Is that what the kids are calling it these days?” Isaac shook his head, tsked. “I warned you, brother. But did you listen? Nope.”
Warned him? About what?
Whatever it was, it lit something in Declan. “Shut up, Isaac. What are you doing here, anyway?”
“Mom sent me over to make sure things were going well for you.” Isaac pulled a stick of gum from his hoodie pocket, unwrapped it, and stuck the gum in his mouth. “Apparently, yes.” He gave a wink.
Oh, now she felt gross. She walked to the sink to finish wiping off the chocolate. What in the world had just happened…or almost happened? What would Declan have done if Isaac hadn’t shown up?
What would Lily have done?
Maybe she should be grateful his kid brother showed up.
Declan grabbed Isaac by the shoulders and started to push him through the door. “Let’s go.”
“But—”
“Now.”
“Sheesh, big brother. Fine. Just remember what I said. Don’t let her get her claws into you.” The door swung open, and Declan hauled Isaac through—but not before Lily heard the rest of what he had to say. “You made that mistake once before, and Grandma paid the price.”
Grandma paid the price.
She shook her head, refusing to listen. But shoot, Isaac was right.
And then Declan’s retort rose, angry, from outside, through the open window. “I know, bro. I know.”
Yeah, they both knew.
Declan stuck his head back in, taking off the apron. “I’m just going to take care of this little pest problem, all right? Be right back to finish our lesson.”
She gave him a thin smile.
But nope. They’d had enough lessons. She’d learned all she needed to.
* * *
She’d put a blue line of tape down the middle of the shop.
He’d spotted it yesterday when he’d returned after his short visit to the diner to tell his mother that really, he didn’t need a babysitter.
But maybe she did deserve an update, rather than what Isaac might tell her.
Yeah, that would be great—the entire Kelley clan rallying to reignite the Hart-Kelley war. And he and Lily caught in the middle again.
Except, no worries there—she wasn’t talking to him. Again.
“Thank you so much for coming in.” Declan wrapped up yet another order of Kelley’s Classic Fudge—yes, plain chocolate—and handed it to a forty-something woman and her two preteen daughters, who were showing each other something on their phones, glancing up at Declan, and giggling.
“I highly recommend enjoying that with a cup of coffee or some hot chocolate. Because you can never have too much chocolate, am I right?”
The woman’s eyes brightened. “We’ll definitely do that. Can’t wait to try it. The sample was delicious.”
Yes, making fudge had been anything but simple. But selling it? That was where he shined.