This book would not have been written without the
support and friendship of the following:
Natalie Damschroder and Lauren Dane, who read my book
and held my hand through all of Elleâs adventures (and who told me they loved Dan);
Scissors and Piston, my fellow Maverick Authors:
long live the Power of the Three!;
CPRW, the most fantastic and supportive
group of writers Iâm honored to know;
Kelly, Sal and the rest of the Manor crew for the hours
and hours of entertainment, and to Jena for the cowboy hat dancing and delicious emo angst! *MWAH*
The staff and owners of Mary Catherineâs Bakery in
Annville. Thanks for the space to sit, the coffee to drink and the encouraging words.
Special thanks to Mary Louise Schwartz of the Belfrey
Literary Agency for believing in me, and to Susan Pezzack for giving me the chance to share this book with the world.
And to all of my family and friends who supported me,
but most particularly my mother, Emily, for supporting my dreams since childhood, my father, Don, for helping to shape the person Iâve become and my sister, Whitney, for being not just my sister but my best friend.
Chapter 01
This is what happened.
I met him at the candy store. He turned around and smiled at me. I was surprised enough to smile back.
This was not a childrenâs candy store. This was Sweet Heaven, an upscale, gourmet candy store. No cheap lollipops or chalky chocolate kisses, but the kind of place you went to buy expensive, imported truffles for your bossâs wife because you felt guilty for fucking him when you were both at a conference in Milwaukee.
He was buying jellybeans, black only. He looked at the bag in my hand, candy-coated chocolate. Also in one color.
âYou know what they say about the green ones.â The rakish tilt of his lips tried to charm me, and I resisted.
âSt. Patrickâs Day?â Which was why I was buying them.
He shook his head. âNo. The green ones make you horny.â
Iâd been hit on plenty of times, mostly by men with little finesse who thought what was between their legs made up for what they lacked between their ears. Sometimes I went home with one of them anyway, just because it felt good to want and be wanted, even if it was mostly fake and they usually disappointed.
âThatâs an urban legend made up by adolescent boys with wish-fulfillment issues.â
His lips tilted further. His smile was his best asset, brilliant and shining in a face made up of otherwise regular features. He had hair the color of wet sand and cloudy blue-green eyes; both attractive, but when paired with the smileâ¦breathtaking.
âVery good answer,â he said.
He held out his hand. When I took it, he pulled me closer, step by hesitant step, until he could lean close and whisper in my ear. His hot breath gusted along my skin, and I shivered. âDo you like licorice?â
I did, and I do, and he tugged me around the corner to reach inside a bin filled with small black rectangles. It had a label with a picture of a kangaroo on the front.
âTry this.â He lifted a piece to my lips and I opened for him although the sign clearly said No Samples. âItâs from Australia.â
The licorice smoothed on my tongue. Soft, fragrant, sticky in a way that made me run my tongue along my teeth. I tasted his fingers from where theyâd brushed my lips. He smiled.
âI know a little place,â he said, and I let him take me there.
The Slaughtered Lamb. A gruesome name for a nice little faux-British pub tucked down an alley in the center of downtown Harrisburg. Compared to the trendy dance clubs and upscale restaurants that had revitalized the area, the Lamb seemed out of place and all the more delightful for it.
He sat us at the bar, away from the college students singing karaoke in the corner. The stools wobbled, and I had to hold tight to the bar. I ordered a margarita.
âNo.â The shake of his head had me raising a brow. âYou want whiskey.â
âIâve never had whiskey.â
âA virgin.â On another man the comment would have come off smarmy, earned a roll of the eyes and an automatic addition to the ânot with James Deanâs prickâ file.
On him, it worked.
âA virgin,â I agreed, the word tasting unfamiliar on my tongue as though I hadnât used it in a very long time.
He ordered us both shots of Jameson Irish Whiskey, and he drank his back as one should do with shots, in one gulp. I am no stranger to drinking, even if Iâd never had whiskey, and I matched him without a grimace. Thereâs a reason itâs also known as firewater, but after the initial burn the taste of it spread across my tongue and reminded me of the smell of burning leaves. Cozy. Warm. A little romantic, even.
His gaze brightened. âI like the way you put that down the back of your throat.â