Better Than Chocolate Part 36

Once more it was lights, camera, action, as Mimi's crew hit town to film.

Cecily had put together a huge gift basket, which Mimi accepted as her due with only a minimum of thanks. Mom's faint frown of disapproval was barely noticeable. Not that Mimi would have noticed, anyway. She was too busy looking around the gift shop. "Small," she p.r.o.nounced it, "but charming."

Okay, they could live with charming.

After the filming, Mimi and Miles went off to lunch at Schw.a.n.gau, leaving Samantha and her mother and sister in shock.

"Did I hear him right?" Cecily asked faintly.

Samantha nodded. It was all she could manage since her throat was choked with tears. The show wouldn't air until May. Her mind closed the door on the happy vision she'd entertained of orders (and money) flooding in. Oh, orders would flood in after the show aired, but it would be too late to help her family. The new owner of Sweet Dreams would reap the benefits of her hard work.

This was a dark day for the Sterlings, indeed. There went their last hope for keeping their company from floating down the River of No Return.

The thought of Sweet Dreams Chocolates winding up in the hands of Trevor Brown, the king of cheap chocolate, made Samantha want to throw up.

So, what are you going to do about it?

Good question. She went to the office and locked herself in to eat truffles and think.

Chapter Twenty-Six.

Love makes heroes of us all.

-Muriel Sterling, Mixing Business with Pleasure: How to Successfully Balance Business and Love "I wish you weren't leaving, sweetie," Mom said as Cecily pulled her carry-on from the trunk of Mom's car.

"It's time. There's nothing left here for me to do," Cecily said.

She wished there was, but the chocolate festival was over, they'd finally lost the battle to keep the company and that was her cue to ride off into the sunset. Yesterday they'd pulled their hopes off life support. There was nothing more she could do for her sister now. They were out of options.

"Are you sure you have to go?" Luke had asked when she stopped by Sweet Dreams to say goodbye to everyone. He'd walked her outside. Although her mother was waiting at the curb, the car engine idling, and people were pa.s.sing on the street, it had felt like it was just the two of them standing here.

"I've got my ticket," she'd said.

"You don't have to use it."

"I have a life back in California." Consisting of an ex-boyfriend who still tried to hit her up for money and a business she'd shut down. Some life.

"Overpriced real estate and shallow people?"

"You can find that anywhere." And they weren't all shallow. She'd met some great people in the City of Angels.

"Not here," he'd said. "Look, Cec, I know you made it pretty clear that you weren't interested in starting anything, but I think we could be good together."

Luke needed a woman who would appreciate him, not a woman with a foolish heart who was constantly falling for bad boys, not a woman who was fed up with love and men. "I've got to go," she'd said, and backed away. "Take care, Luke."

"He's a nice man," Mom had said as they drove off down the slushy street.

"Yes, he is."

"He's going to make some woman a wonderful husband."

"Yes, he is. I wish I knew someone for him."

"I do."

It had been impossible to misinterpret that motherly expression. "Not me."

"Why not? You're a lovely woman, he's a wonderful man."

"There's just no chemistry," Cecily had said with a shrug. Well, maybe a little, but not enough.

"Maybe you haven't spent enough time in the lab together. Feelings can grow."

So she'd heard.

"After the big city, Icicle Falls must feel ridiculously small, but the people who live in it all have big hearts. I think it did you good to get away, but maybe it would do you even more good to come back."

Cecily hadn't said anything to that and Mom let the subject drop. Their conversation turned to other topics as they drove over the pa.s.s, but her mother's words lingered at the back of her mind.

Once she was in L.A. she'd pack up and sell her condo. And then what? She had no idea. What did she want to be when she grew up? And where did she want to be?

She wanted to be in Icicle Falls. She hadn't realized how much she'd missed the place until she'd returned and gotten involved.

Everyone says you can't go home, she reminded herself as her plane touched down in sunny California. But she wanted to. Wanted to indulge her creativity and spend time with her mother, wanted to start her mornings with lattes from Bavarian Brews or stop by Gingerbread Haus to sample Ca.s.s's cookies.

The plane finally taxied to a stop and cell phones went on all around her. The whole plane buzzed as people told loved ones they'd arrived safely, took their luggage off the racks and began to jostle their way off the plane. Everyone had somewhere to go, someone waiting for them, and she felt oddly alone in that crowd.

She couldn't help remembering the fun she'd had planning the Mr. Dreamy contest, of the nice people she'd met while working at Zelda's. (What was so wrong with being a restaurant hostess, anyway?) She remembered that dance with Luke at the ball. And, unbidden, Todd Black's smirking pirate face came to mind.

Here she was in a big, exciting city and all she could think about was a small town nestled in the mountains. But there was nothing for her to do there, no real way to make a living and build a future.

Just get on with your life, she told herself as she picked up her luggage from baggage claim.

Just get on with your life, Samantha told herself as she hung up the phone. Tears sprang to her eyes. Sorry, Great-grandma. I tried, I really did.

At least it looked as if her company might end up in good hands. If the Elegance Chocolates people liked what they saw when they came up on Friday.

What was not to like? They were getting a fabulous company at a bargain price. Yes, the past year had been a bit of a mess, but she'd sent them the financials for the past five. Anyone with a head for business could see this was a temporary blip.

She'd been a.s.sured her people would be able to keep their jobs. The only one out of a job would be her. She could hardly stand to think of someone else coming in and taking over Sweet Dreams but that was exactly what would happen. After a brief transition period, she'd be history. The Elegance executives would, naturally, want to move in their own person to run the company. She knew that without even asking. A new broom sweeps clean. Out with the old, in with the new.

She'd never thought of herself as old before, but in this instance that was exactly what she was. You did the right thing, she reminded herself. If Elegance took over the company, all would end well. Yes, Sweet Dreams would be no more, but their chocolates would live on and her employees would still have jobs. That was what mattered. As for her, she'd do...something.

And speaking of that, what would she do if, after seeing it, the Elegance people decided they didn't want her company? She felt sick.

Elena buzzed her. "Blake Preston is here to see you."

That didn't make her feel any better. This was how it felt to be dying in the desert with the vultures circling. Well, we're not dead yet. She set her jaw. "Send him in."

He entered her office like a man on a mission. "Blake, I don't know what you're doing here but I still own this company till the end of the month," she said.

He smiled at that. "Till the end of the month and beyond," he corrected her, and laid a check on her desk.

"What's this?"

"It's about keeping a family company where it belongs-with the family who started it."

She felt like Alice after she'd tumbled down the rabbit hole. "I don't understand."

"Merry Christmas early, or happy Valentine's Day late. Or whatever you want to call it," Blake said, and nudged the check closer to her.

She picked it up and stared at it. What in the name of- "A personal check?"

"All you have to do is endorse it and deposit it. I'll expect you in tomorrow." He turned to leave.

"Wait." She jumped up from her desk and ran to him. "But where did you get this kind of money?"

"Does it matter?"

"I need to know," she insisted. How on earth had he come up with it?

"Let's just say I used my bank connections," he said.

Her brows knit. "What do you mean?" Suspicion turned to horrified understanding. "Tell me you didn't take out a loan."

He shrugged. "Even bank managers can qualify for employee loans. I should have thought of it sooner. My only excuse is that there was no way I could come up with what you needed at first, so this wasn't even an option. But after you left for California I got thinking and realized that, thanks to the festival, we were down to a number I could manage."

It was still a huge amount and a huge commitment, and she couldn't, with a clear conscience, let him make that kind of sacrifice. "I can't accept this," she said, holding out the check.

"Why not?" The look in his eyes lit those sparklers inside her.

"It's too much."

"Yeah? You're saying your company isn't worth saving?"

"I'm already saving it. I'm going to sell it to Elegance."

He nodded, apparently thinking that over. "I a.s.sume they make good chocolate."

"Fabulous," she said, struggling to keep her voice even.

"Is that what you want, Samantha?" he asked softly.

"Of course it's not what I want," she cried, "but I can't just take money from you."

"Can you take a personal loan from a friend?"

How she needed a friend! She bit her lip.

He took a step closer. "From a friend who would maybe, someday, like to be more?"

"I...don't know." Were there conditions that came along with this loan? Would he want to run her company? Expect her to sleep with him? Hmm. Would that last condition be so bad?

"There are no strings attached," he said as if reading her mind. "I think you can rebuild this company and that will be good for the whole town. If you're uncomfortable with doing this on just a handshake we can draw up a contract. Either way, that money is yours. I went into banking to help people, and there's no one I'd rather help more."

"I can't believe I'm hearing this," she said. She had to be dreaming. Where was Great-grandma Rose with more recipes?

"I told you, Samantha, I'm not your enemy."

Her mind was a Tilt-a-Whirl, sending thoughts zooming in all directions. She'd tried so hard to keep this company, run down every blind alley she could find, and in the end her solution was as simple as someone unexpected coming through for her? How could that be? "I don't know what to say."

"How about thank you?" he teased.

"Thank you," she said, and burst into tears.

He gathered her in his arms and she felt his lips brush the top of her head. How wonderful it was to be held by her archenemy. Make that former archenemy, she corrected herself.

"There is one more thing you could say," he murmured.

"What?"

"That you'll go out with me."

Now she was crying and laughing. "I might have some free evenings on my calendar."

They sealed the deal with a kiss, a big juicy, melt-your-panties kiss. Oh, yes, there was something better than chocolate and Blake had just given her a very nice sample of it.

He suddenly turned serious. "I do have a confession to make."

Uh-oh. Samantha braced herself. "What's that?"

"I'm allergic to chocolate."

She gaped at him. "Those chocolates I brought you?"

"My gram's book club loved 'em. Everybody loves Sweet Dreams chocolates."

"Except you." How ironic.