Page 15 of Meet Me at the Fudge Shop

“Fine. I’ll do it.”

“Oh, Declan, thank you. I’ve already called an emergency meeting of the council on Monday. Seb is out of town, but that will just make it easier.”

“Easier? Why?”

“Oh.” She made a face and Declan stiffened in his seat. “The lease you’ll be taking over, it’s a bit complicated. A bit of history there, and I’m afraid Seb might not give us a fair shake.”

“What’s complicated about the lease, Mom?”

But somehow, he knew.

“It’s for The Fudge Shop on Main.”

He finally let loose the groan he’d been holding in. “Seriously, Mom?” How was he supposed to take over the space that had once been occupied by the family—by the woman—who had changed his life, and not for the better? “That space belongs to theHartFamily Fudge shop.”

“Not anymore. Because the lease expired. And they’ve had it shut down for years.”

“Still. You really want to reopen that old wound? You might start that stupid feud up all over again.”

“Calm down. Randy Hart retired from his fishing business. Nancy Hart retired from fudge making. And that shop is just sitting there, perfectly good real estate rotting away. It’s just begging for a new resident, and Kelley’s Classic Fudge needs a rebirth.” She stood up.

“Does it, though?”

Mom’s eyes flashed. “For Grandma’s sake, yes.”

Right. It came down to that, didn’t it? And that was why Declan was here.

Apparently, if he had to make fudge, he’d make fudge.

Anything to save Grandma’s house.

Anything to show how sorry he was for his role in Grandpa’s death.

So, he’d open a fudge shop, and maybe then he’d finally be free of this weight he just couldn’t shake.

“Fine.” He stood up. “But for the record, I hate fudge.”

ChapterThree

“Creepin’ cobwebs, Mom. When was the last time you used this place?” Lily entered the front door of Hart Family Fudge shop ahead of her mother and dodged a trailing diaphanous web. “It looks like you’ve decorated for Halloween. You’re only three months too early.”

“Oh, stop.” Mom closed the door behind them and turned the latch. “It isn’t that bad—and it hasn’t been that long.” She wore her salt-and-pepper hair piled in a messy bun, her faded jeans and green T-shirt reflecting her casual island life.

Lily shivered. “You sure about that?” She swatted several more sticky tangles away and took in the shop. Cloths draped the marble fudge tables in front of each of the pop-out windows, and a layer of dust covered the black-and-white checkered floor.

Along with everything else.

This open door of Lily’s was looking a little less sparkly in the light of day than it had seemed five days ago in her Florida apartment.

“I was in here at the beginning of May when I made a dessert spread for our ladies’ book club,” Mom said. “You know I’ve slowed down on catering orders.”

Aw, Mom. At fifty-five, she was far too young to be plagued by debilitating joint pain when her arthritis flared up, but Lily was glad she hadn’t given up her catering altogether. “Maybe you should have hired a housekeeping service in between.”

“You’re here now.” Mom elbowed her playfully.

“I am.” She was. “And I still can’t believe it.”

After spending the last several days packing up her room, helping Sadie find a new roommate, and spending way too much time on Pinterest creating a fudge shop mood board, Lily had finally arrived on Jonathon Island yesterday on the last Sunday evening ferry. She, Mom, Dad, and Cody—along with Mia Jonathon Franklin and her two young kids—had spent the night eating burgers, laughing, and reminiscing about old times.

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