Page 106 of Meet Me at the Fudge Shop

I know I hurt you. Please give me a chance to make it right.

I’m hoping you’ll meet me on Saturday at nine in the morning, at the fudge shop.

Yours,

Declan

She clutched the letter to her chest. Somehow, despite the professional tone of the letter, this man still made herfeel. Lily didn’t even think more about it. She had to go.

If she didn’t, she might just regret it forever.

She ran to her room, tugged on her favorite pair of leather leggings and a flowing tank top she tied at the bottom corner. Tossing on some lip gloss, she headed out the door and toward her bike.

A chill hung in the air, fog over the harbor as she rolled past the Grand Hotel and the Center for the Arts. Ahead of her, Martha’s on Main already had a line waiting on the sidewalk, and Main Street itself had lots of foot traffic even though many of the shops wouldn’t open for another hour. Lily might not have a shop anymore, but it was still thrilling to see her hometown coming back to life.

She approached the old Hart fudge shop—which she’d successfully avoided all week. She expected to see the Kelley name already plastered across the door and sign.

Instead, there hung a simple hand-painted white and yellow wooden sign with purple lettering. Squinting, Lily parked her bike on the porch and read it.

The Fudge Shop on the Corner.

She blinked at it. That was the name she’d created forherfudge shop. The one in her very simple, pitiful business proposal.

What was that all about? It seemed a bit cruel, but maybe Declan was trying to pay her some sort of homage?

A flash of white filled the window—and there he was, on the other side, staring at her.

An ache hit her chest. He looked as handsome as ever with his plain T-shirt, jeans. He even wore a bomber jacket.

Huh. Mr. Top Gun.

Declan opened the front door, where the sign was still flipped to Closed. “Hey.”

“Hey,” she croaked out.

“Thanks for coming.”

She couldn’t think of a response, so just moved through the space in the doorway he’d created. He closed it behind them, locking the door and facing her again. “Do you mind joining me in the kitchen?”

“I guess not.” Lily clutched her small cross-body purse to her side as she followed him through the newly painted door—it was now the same yellow color as the sign.

Wait. Hadn’t she proposed using that color in her business plan?

As Lily entered the kitchen, she gasped. There was no longer any evidence of damage. Every surface sparkled and gleamed—even the brand new, high-end stove, yellow cabinets, and stainless steel prep stations. The only thing that remained of the old kitchen were the marble tables that had been used for generations by her family to make fudge.

“Wow.” She ran her fingers over a table’s cool surface. “How did you get this all done so quickly?” It was no secret that renovation projects on Jonathon Island could be difficult, what with getting materials over on the ferry and finding contractors ever since Joe Barrett’s construction company no longer serviced the island.

Declan grabbed a file folder from one of the marble tables. “Liam hooked me up. He had some workers and materials that could be spared for a few days since some other project on the hotel was running behind. He also had some contacts to get the insurance adjustor out here in a matter of days.”

“That’s impressive.” What would it be like to create in this kitchen? It felt invigorating just being here, pulsing with the nostalgia of tradition mixed with the freshness of the new. “And the sign?”

“Mia painted it for me.”

“But…the name.”

“Oh yeah.” He scratched behind his ear. “I may have gotten a peek at your business plan a few weeks ago when you left it lying on the desk in our shared office.”

Shared…just like it never would be again.

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