Page 4 of Moonstruck Kiss

While I stop to wait for Gia outside our shop’s door, I put the last piece of croissant into my mouth and glance up at our ornately carved signage. Dad never fails to run a long-stick duster all around it every morning to keep it clean.

This place is thirty-three years old and my parents’ first baby. At twenty-eight, I’m their second, and my younger sister, Josie, twenty-five, is third.

Moonstruck Chocolatier ismybaby, too, even though I only work here part-time because I’m also an art teacher and a painter. I’m responsible for marketing, designing all of our packages and merchandise, and taste-testing. My parents passed the trait of superb chocolate tasting on to me while they passed the trait of being a great chocolate maker on to Josie.

“Morning!” Gia says as she approaches.

“Morning,” I say in a lower voice. “Did you see Chelsea Banton’s post last night?”

“Yes, I showed Theo.”

“Well, he’s so popular that our website crashed.”

Her eyes widen. “Seriously?”

I nod. “It’s fixed now, but we panicked at first, not knowing what was happening until Josie saw Chelsea’s post.”

“Now I know why your dad asked us to be here early.”

I push open the glass door with the “Closed” sign still in place. Hanging bells chime gaily and, as usual, my heart sings at the multitude of delicious smells that hit me.

We both greet our salesperson, Liss, who’s arranging the discounted products table before she opens the store to the public.

Lissandra Quinn has a special aura that makes customers trust and buy more. She’s the best upseller we’ve ever had. Unfortunately, she only works for us on weekend mornings. On weekend afternoons, she’s at the Crystals and Essences shop to read tarot cards for clients. The rest of the time, she’s at Moonstruck Lodge, helping her parents run it.

Oh, and she’s also Brax’s youngest sibling, but I’m not holding that against her.

“Morning, Joey, Gia,” Liss says. “I don’t need my cards to tell me that we’re gonna be exceptionally busy today—and that we’ll leave a lot of customers disappointed because there are no Theo’s First for sale.”

“I know,” I lament.

The door leading to the back rooms opens and Josie sticks her head out. “Oh, there you are. Mum and Dad are ready for the meeting.”

Gia and I follow Josie to the big kitchen.

Theo’s already here, and he’s in full disguise because it’s full-moon week—when we get a large number of visitors descending into Moonstruck Cove to climb our famous Lover’s Hill. At any other time, Theo doesn’t bother going incognito.

He and my parents are standing around a bench, admiring a batch of chocolates. Theo’s First, I presume.

We all greet each other, and Theo’s face breaks into the sweetest smile as he reaches out for Gia and kisses her temple. Geez, it’s as if they hadn’t seen each other in a while. It was literally two hours since they parted—if that!

I’m so very happy that they finally ended up together, being both childhood friends of mine. And I’m so terribly annoyed at the envy needling my chest right now. If there’s ever been a woman with bad luck in love—or terrible taste in men—it’s me. That I still got excited at the thought of a fling with Braxton Quinn despite what I now think of him is proof of that.

“The reaction to Chelsea Banton’s post is all so exciting and great,” says my mother. “But how are we gonna meet demand? We are known for handmade, artisanal chocolates, and we’ve always planned to only make small batches of Theo’s First. We should have expected that would never be enough.”

“I’ve probably given you more problems with my recipe,” Theo says ruefully.

“That’s not what we’re trying to say,” my dad says hastily. “What we want to ask you is if you’d rather work with a bigger chocolatier who could meet demand. We might not be the right people to take Theo’s First to its full potential. We’re too small.”

Theo shakes his head. “This is not about money for me, Roger. You allowed me to indulge in my chocolate-making hobby here, and you helped me refine what turned out to be a great chocolate recipe. I thought that giving you the rights to it could be my form of thanks for everything, especially all the support you gave me as a rebellious teen.”

He looks at each of us. “I can’t thank all of you enough for that. You gave me a job, also lots of guidance, and that responsibility helped me steer the Glowing Devils to where we are right now.”

My mum gets a tissue and blows her nose loudly. “That’s so sweet of you, Theo,” she blubbers. “But we’re worried that you won’t get what you deserve out of this.”

“Do I look like I need more money or fame, Lola?” Theo asks jokingly. “Theo’s First is my gift to you, and it’s yours to use as you please. You can even sell it if that’s what you want. I honestly won’t mind. If anyone asks me about it, I’ll send them to you. I hope you won’t get too busy fielding questions,” he says with a laugh before looking at Gia. “Is that all right with you, too, babe?”

“Of course,” she answers in surprise. “It’s your recipe.”

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