Page 105 of Moonstruck Kiss

“We’re back in business,” Josie murmurs.

“This is all good,” my dad says loudly to Brax, “but it doesn’t tell us anything about your innocence.”

Brax checks his watch before taking a huge breath. “I’m not sure if you’d want me to share it in public, Roger.”

“What do you mean? We don’t have anything to hide. Is this your avoidance technique because you actually can’t prove your innocence in all this?”

My eyes sting. I so want Brax to convince us—convince me—that he didn’t use me for his own gain. Right now, all he has are unproven or unprovable words.

“Spit it out, Brax, whatever it is,” orders my dad.

Brax runs a hand over his face before speaking again. “Your stepbrother Ford was also approached by my boss to help bring down the value of your business.”

Dad springs up from his seat. “Do you have any proof of that?” he shouts.

“Not right now. I?—”

Pandemonium ensues with people throwing accusations at Brax.

I cover my face with my hands, overwhelmed. Doesn’t Brax have one shred of evidence to show?—

I hear someone shouting in a shrill voice, “Excuse me! EXCUSE ME!”

The room becomes silent as we all look at the speaker.

“Ford!” Dad says in surprise.

My mouth drops. Uncle Ford is here?

Ford joins Brax on stage and grabs the mic from him.

“I heard what Brax said,” he starts, “and it’s all true.”

I gasp along with the rest of the audience.

Ford gives my family a grim smile. “Shortly after I called you to say that I’m not sure if I want to invest in your business anymore, I met a man at a classic car show. How he befriended me is a long story so I’ll cut that out. Anyway, we got to talking about Moonstruck Chocolatier and Chelsea’s negative review. He told me that if I were hanging my hat on your business making it big because of Theo Cresswall’s recipe, then I was being taken for a ride. He said you had no capacity whatsoever to make Theo’s chocolates and that you were only using it to lift your profile. Then you’d sell Theo’s recipe to the highest bidder and my investment in you would not be realised.”

“That’s not true at all,” my dad says in horror. “What I told you is exactly what we plan to do. We are going to release Theo’s First. We were on track until Chelsea’s bad review came out.”

Ford nods. “I know that now. About two weeks ago, Brax reached out to me over the phone and introduced himself. Told me his suspicions. I happened to have a picture of my new friend from the classic car show. Turns out he was Brax’s boss, Lando Johnson. He even gave me a fake name. I was incensed. I hate being duped and used. Anyway, Brax and I hired a very good—and expensive—private investigator to dig into Lando’s past dealings. Turns out he’s a real piece of work because it didn’t take long to find a couple of people willing to tell their story. When Sean Son started to sniff around because of Chelsea’s extraordinarily scathing review, Lando spread a rumour about that investment banker mole here in Moonstruck Cove. His intention was to point to Brax as the dodgy one to save his own skin.”

Tears instantly fill my eyes. I glance at Brax, and I find him staring at me.

Suddenly, I’m ashamed. Ashamed that I let my old hangups and past hurt dictate how I reacted to the rumour that Brax is a mole sent to hurt my family business. Ashamed that even though he tried daily to get me to hear him out, the only thing I listened to was my fear of more heartbreak. Ashamed that I didn’t trust him the way he trusted my family with a report that could have gotten him sacked, maybe even ostracised from his profession.

And still he went through a ferocious storm, and more, to save the things that are important to me.

I start sobbing quietly.

“Aw, Joey, darling,” Ford said. “I can categorically confirm that Brax is not in on any shenanigans by Lando. We reported him to his employer. They’re ramping up investigations to uncover more. Anyway, they already sacked him and offered Brax his job.”

“Oh, that’s wonderful!” Elsa cries out. “Congratulations, darling.”

Applause rings out, with calls of congratulations bouncing around the room.

More tears cascade down my cheeks. Brax is definitely leaving. He doesn’t want to stay here in Moonstruck Cove. Can I blame him when he didn’t get any support from me?

“Hey.”

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