Page 41 of Meet Me at the Fudge Shop

Once loved.

She made it worse by adding compassion into her blue eyes. “Is she all right?”

“She’s okay. Back home and resting. I visited her yesterday, and she’s looking stronger. But ever since Grandpa died, she’s been…” He sighed. “Well, just a shell of her former self, you know?”

She nodded then, as if shedidknow. Huh.

“Anyway, don’t ask me how she did it, but Mom worked it out so that her house could be part of the whole revitalization program. The one that promises a house for a dollar to new business owners.”

Lily’s mouth opened. “And so the house that’s tied to this business…”

“Is Grandma’s. Yes.” His eyes searched Lily’s. The hard edges had melted, softened. “The whole reason I’m here is to save her house.” He swallowed. “And because it’s my fault that she’s in this mess in the first place.”

She frowned. “How do you figure?”

“Grandpa took care of paying the bills, the property taxes.”

She drew in a breath. “Right. And because he died that night…” She folded her arms across her chest, drew in a breath. Nodded. But the softness had hardened again. “Funny, all this time I thought it wasmyfault. You blamed me.”

And it was back—the terrible words, her hurt. “I never really blamed you—it wasn’t your fault that…well, that I got caught up in the idea of us.”

She flinched. “Sure seemed like it when you said you should have listened to your family and never gotten involved with ‘someone like me.’ When you shut the door in my face and left me crying in the rain outside your house.”

“Grandpa was missing—I needed to help find him. But you’re right, it wasn’t your fault. It was mine.” His voice softened. “I owe you an apology, Lil. I was grieving and my family blamed me. Still blames me.” He reached out for her, but she took a step back.

He dropped his hand. “After you left, I did call to apologize, but you ghosted me.”

She said nothing but her eyes misted. “You destroyed my reputation.”

He hadn’t thought about that, how she’d lost her home, her legacy. “I’m sorry. But therewereconsequences to our actions. I shouldn’t have left Grandpa.”

She said nothing.

He sighed. “And it’s the same now. We both have responsibilities, things we are trying to do here. I recognize your position and respect your reason for doing this. Hopefully now, you can respect mine. So, what do you say? Can we call a truce?”

She considered him, and a tear dropped onto her cheek.

Shoot, and once again he wanted to reach out, pull her to himself…

He reached for his jacket instead.

“Fine,” she said quietly. “A truce. For now. But that’s all, Declan. Don’t start thinking we’re going to be friends—or anything else—again.” She said it without softness, void of emotion.

Right. “Of course not, Lily. I wouldn’t dream of it.” Then he pulled on his jacket, straightened his tie, and headed for the door.

ChapterSeven

Today, her future would go down in flames.

Lily flipped on the lights and removed the heating blanket from the first of the three marble tables in the middle of the kitchen. Hart Family Fudge had always used them to keep the tables at just the right temperature for the first morning run. She’d helped make thousands of batches of fudge in this very shop—and there was no way she’d relinquish it to the Kelleys.

What had Lily been thinking, offering to help Declan make fudge?

Guilt, that’s what. But today, she’d repay her debt—and then, hopefully, be free of Declan Kelley.

At least, metaphorically speaking.

Sunlight burned at the eastern horizon, glazing the sky in orange, pre-dawn light casting through the front windows. She loved the early morning quiet of the shop kitchen.

---