A moment for you
After inheriting a candy shop, Evelyn can’t see how she can afford to keep it…until handsome Tom opens her eyes to all the sweet possibilities
You’re really selling it, Evelyn?” I studied the vintage window display, the faded mint facade of a building in need of a refresh. I didn’t have the cash for a project this big.
It was a simple, sad fact.
Six months ago, I had been bequeathed the old sweet shoppe after my grandma’s sister, Tracy, had left it to her only living relative: me. I’d never met her, though Nana told me she was kind. Unmarried and childless, she’d spent her life at the shop. We were similar there: A week shy of 36, I had no family of my own either and no prospects.
Emma, Tracy’s lawyer and my tour guide, cleared her throat, shaking me from my revery. “Are you really going to sell it?”
“What’s the alternative?” I twisted the ancient key in the door. “It’s too much for a broke artist to maintain. Just look at it.”
The door cried on its hinges as I pushed into the dimly lit shop where a thick layer of dust seemed to swallow the bell’s ding. The counter held a vintage till with shelves of heavy glass jars. It was gorgeous, a portrait of a bygone era…but from the looks of the faded wallpaper and cracked ceiling, time had not been kind to the little shop. “When did she close it?” I asked Emma. “Ten months ago,” she whispered. “But it’s been here for ages. I remember coming as a kid…best part of every week.”
My heart swelled at the fond sentiment. My great-aunt had made something unique here, a memory none would forget. It was the kind of mark I hoped to leave. But what about the money? I fretted.
My mind spinning, I didn’t hear the ding of the bell announce a newcomer. I missed his firm steps on the floor behind me. I couldn’t miss the rich sound of his voice, though.
“Is it true?” I heard just behind me. “Tracy’s is gone ?” Heart hammering, I whirled to find the stranger before me. In jeans and a tee, he cut a breathtaking figure, his brown eyes pinning me in place as I tried, unsuccessfully, to stop myself from gaping at him. “I’m sorry, I didn’t know anyone else was here…” I choked, blushing as he smiled.
He stepped closer, extending his hand. “Sorry—i’m Tom,” he said sheepishly.
“A warm tingle shot up my spine as our hands met”
“Evelyn,” I said, my voice barely a whisper as we shook hands a beat too long.
“Beautiful name,” he said, releasing me gently as he made his way into the shop. My eyes followed him as he turned to face me. “I’ll make my pitch then, Evelyn. This shop is a hidden gem and I think, with some work, we could get it running again.”
I was being drawn to him, the enthusiasm in his voice sparking something in me. “We? I wouldn’t know where to…there’s a roof that needs fixing and the wall—”
“There’s always hope,” he interrupted softly. “There are no places like this anymore. You’re really going to sell it?”
It was the third time I’d heard that question. “I…well, wait—when you said we before, what did you mean?”
“He means he can help,” Emma’s voice sounded. “He’s a contractor. A good one.”
Embarrassed by the notion of asking for help from a stranger, I shook my head.
Emma continued. “Tom loves this place as much as I do. In fact, he used to walk me here every week when I was little.”
Tom winked at me. “Until going around with your big brother got embarrassing.”
Ah— this was the brother Emma had been talking about since I’d arrived. Sensing a setup, I narrowed my eyes at her as she batted hers back at me innocently.
“This is a great town,” Tom continued. “When I saw you here the other day, I sensed that you’re the same kind of wonderful as your aunt…from the warmth in your smile to your beautiful blue eyes…”
He blushed, smiling at me like we’d known one another for years. “What I mean is, I would be happy to help you do anything here, no charge. Everything. Just tell me what will make you stay.”
I gazed at him as the shop’s enchanted air propelled me toward certainty. I reached out and as a warm tingle shot up my spine as our hands met once more, I suddenly felt like I was where I needed to be. “Let’s get to work.”
Don’t miss Amy’s latest novel,
Unabashedly Yours, about rebel legal assistant Rina and the by-thebook lawyer who steals her heart. (Amazon.com)