How Sweet It Is (12 page)

She managed a small smile. “I’ll be out in a
minute.” After Brad left, she tried to repair her appearance. The
redness around her eyes persisted despite her attempts. Delphine
dusted fresh blush on her cheeks, deciding that was the best she
could do.

Before meeting him in the living room, she
went to her parents’ room and found her father propped up in bed
watching TV. He smiled as she entered.

“Ah, here is my devoted daughter come to
check on me,” he said in French.

She sat on the edge of the
bed and looked at him with worried eyes. “
Maman
said you weren’t feeling
well.”

He waved his hand in a dismissive manner.
“You both worry too much. My stomach is a bit upset, that is
all.”

Delphine knew how much he loved his wife’s
cooking. He must feel rather bad to miss one of her special meals.
“Have you been taking your medication properly? Should I call the
doctor?”

“No, please do not talk nonsense!”

She blinked at the sharpness of his tone. It
was unusual for him to be so harsh.

“I am sorry, Delphine, but you fuss about me
too much. Please go and enjoy your time with Brad. Girls your age
should not be so concerned about every little thing. You should be
having lots of boyfriends, lots of fun.”

Lowering her eyes to hide
her frustration at his words, she squeezed his hand.
“
Maman
has Brad’s
cell phone number if you need to reach me.”

“We will not need it. You go and have
fun.”

Delphine saw that her father had turned his
attention to the TV. Feeling summarily dismissed, she went out into
the living room. Clarice sat smoking a cigarette with a trembling
hand. She stood at her daughter’s entrance.

Delphine gave her mother a
fierce hug. “I am sorry,
Maman
. I’ve been a bear tonight and
after you went to so much trouble on my behalf. Forgive
me?”

“Of course!” Clarice said, returning the
embrace.

Delphine squeezed her eyes
shut. Her voice broke on a half-sob. “I love you and
Papa
so much. You’re all I
have in the world. I just want you to take care of yourself,
d’accord?
”

“
Mais oui, enfante
.” She pulled back
and patted her cheek. “Now off you go.”

Taking a breath to calm her nerves, Delphine
gave her mother a lingering look before following Brad out the
door.

Brad’s hands tightened on
the steering wheel as he thought of Delphine’s words to her
mother.
You’re all I have in the
world
. He didn’t like the idea of her
feeling all alone like that.
Besides, she’s
got me. Doesn’t that count for something?

During the trip to the shop, he darted
concerned looks in her direction. She seemed composed, but her face
was pale and her dark eyes, troubled.

He wondered if she thought about their kisses
from the night before. He couldn’t think of anything else, and
wondered how soon he could have her in his arms again.

After they arrived at the shop, Delphine went
straight to the storeroom and began to pull recently delivered
chocolate ingredients from the shelves.

“You’re going to make candy? I thought we
planned to touch up the paint now that we have all the cases moved
in.”

A small noise was her only response. Was it
his imagination or did Delphine just sniff? He tried to look
closely at her to see if she was crying, but she’d turned away.
“Well, um, while you start that, I guess I’ll go finish working out
front.”

He waited for her reply, but when she
remained silent, except for the banging of copper pots and pans, he
shrugged and went to the front of the store.

Just as he was finishing up his chore an hour
later, the smells emanating from the kitchen finally overwhelmed
him. He dropped his paintbrush into the paint pan and went into the
kitchen.

On the wooden table, a tray of chocolates
grabbed his attention. He would’ve snatched one, but figured they
were still setting up and not quite ready to eat. Delphine stood at
the stove stirring something in a large pot. She’d somehow piled
her hair on top of her head and wore a crisp new apron.

Standing close behind her, he peered over her
shoulder and saw her stirring a pot full of creamy, liquid
chocolate. Overcome by the heady combination of a beautiful woman
who could create such ambrosia, he slid his arms around her waist
and nuzzled the back of her neck.

Delphine stiffened and stopped stirring. Brad
wondered what she was thinking about. He cleared his throat. “I
talked to the Glendale newspaper today to set up a time for them to
come out and interview you. They’ll call to confirm the
appointment.”

When she didn’t respond, he closed his eyes
and inhaled the scent of her skin, tightening his arms around her
waist.

“Please don’t do that.”

Unwilling to relinquish her so soon, he tried
for humor. “What? Make calls?”

She turned in his embrace and looked up at
him. Brad caught his breath at the sight of unshed tears glittering
in her eyes.

He gave her a little shake. “What’s the
matter? Are you regretting last night?”

Delphine lowered her gaze, her hands at her
sides, her fists clenched. She averted her head. “The chocolate
will burn. I need to stir it.”

Brad reached around her, switched off the
stove, and set the pan on an adjacent burner. He turned back to
her. “Talk to me. What’s wrong?”

She bit her lip, her expressive face
revealing shadows of unnamed emotions. Brad could tell she
struggled with something. A part of him didn’t want to know what,
especially if it was bad news—like maybe she wanted to dump him.
His stomach tightened into a knot.

When she looked up at him with an odd appeal
in her eyes, he couldn’t help it, he had to kiss her. Brad cupped
her face in his hands and did what he’d been dreaming of for the
last twenty-four hours.

At first, she remained passive, but soon her
hands shyly stole around his neck. Brad rejoiced at her response,
but too soon, she twisted her face away.

He suppressed a perturbed sigh, wondering how
she could be upset, yet kiss him so fervently at the same time.

Brad reached for her once more, experiencing
a sliver of triumph when she responded for the barest moment. Then
she pushed him away.

The look in her eyes didn’t bode well.

Uh oh
.

Nine

Delphine knew her face must
be scarlet. Her breaths came rapidly. She needed space—away from
Brad’s beguiling kisses so she could
think
. “
Y’en a
marre!
No more!”

She saw what appeared to be a flicker of
impatience in Brad’s eyes.

“Tell me what’s wrong, Delphine.”

She swallowed, unable to think clearly with
him so close. Every fiber of her being wanted to be in his arms,
taking of the strength and comfort he so freely offered. But what
was the true nature of his affections? Did he feel a little
dalliance with her was something owed because she’d taken his
family’s money? And could she really trust someone with such a
lighthearted nature?

She felt even worse knowing that despite her
best intentions, she’d fallen in love with him.

The realization made her want to collapse in
a heap and cry a puddle onto the floor. Instead, Delphine swiped at
a wayward lock of hair and made a tremendous effort to reign in her
unruly emotions. “I, um, lost my job today.”

Brad frowned. “What? Why?”

“Nothing dramatic. Just
cutbacks. I haven’t even told my parents.” She gave a wan smile. “I
think I’m still a little in shock.” That’s the understatement of
the
year
.

He reached up and tucked the lock of hair
behind her ear. It took every ounce of Delphine’s willpower not to
start crying again.

“I’m sorry,” he said. “But since you were
eventually planning to quit anyway, it’s not too horrible, is
it?”

“It’s a week or two of income I won’t have.
Bills tend to be relentless, you know.”

“I can help you out. How much do you
need?”

Anger, combined with shame at being so needy
all the time, surged through Delphine like a wave. She clenched her
teeth, fighting to tamp down a surge of fury. “I don’t want any
more of your money!”

Brad’s expression became shuttered. He leaned
against the stove and crossed his arms. “Why? I have more than I
need, and you don’t have enough. Sounds to me like we belong
together.”

“There are some things money can’t solve,”
she said. “And…and just because your family has given me a loan,
just because you’ve helped out here, doesn’t mean I’m part of the
deal.”

Delphine instantly regretted her words. And
by his appearance, Brad didn’t appreciate them either. His face
flushed under his tan and his lips thinned. She never imagined such
a cheerful, easy-going man could appear so incensed. She took an
involuntary step back when he approached her, his eyes glinting
with anger.

“I can’t believe you just said that,” he
said, his voice deceptively calm.

Delphine continued to take steps backward
until she bumped into the wooden prep table. She lifted her chin,
deciding to lay it all out on the line. Either way she was going to
be dealing with some form of regret.

“Admit it,” she said breathlessly. “That’s
why you kissed me. Because I’m around. Because you have…a hold over
me.”

He shook his head, his color high. “That’s
ridiculous and you know it.”

When he didn’t say anything further, Delphine
wanted to scream. She could feel him emotionally retreating from
her. When he avoided her gaze, she felt sure she’d expected too
much from him too soon.

He doesn’t love
me
.

What did you expect? You’re a charity case
and he’s a flirt. Duh!

Delphine stared at the floor until the shades
of the tiles began to blur. She should’ve heeded her instincts and
avoided getting mixed up with someone like him. But it was beyond
bearing having to say goodbye to the friendship, the safety, and
the affection she’d known with him these past few weeks.

Stupid, stupid, stupid!

“Delphine.”

She looked up at his handsome face and felt
her heart wrench. She shrugged, steeling herself against a tidal
wave of well-deserved anguish. “So what, Brad? I love you and you
don’t love me. Happens everyday. And you know how I always take
things way too seriously. It’s my problem, not yours. Okay?”

His eyes widened. He took another step toward
her, his voice low. “You have to know that I’m not taking advantage
of you.”

His hesitation and uncertainty confirmed her
worse fear. The wave inside her crashed, leaving mortification
foaming into the recesses of her heart. “So, I’m not the
attraction? What is?” She walked over to the tray of candies. “Is
it the chocolate?”

Delphine grabbed a handful of chocolate
truffles, fueled by a helpless rage that eclipsed reason. “Are
these what you want? Then take them!”

She hurled them at his
chest. Before he could react, she scooped another handful and threw
them as well. “
Coquin!
” she grated. “
Malotru!
”

“Hey! Stop that!” Brad pawed his hands
through the hail of candy, finally grabbing her wrists and pinning
them to her sides. The remaining chocolates in her hands dropped to
the floor and rolled away.

Brad glared at her with a
furious expression, breathing hard. Delphine’s heart lodged in her
mouth.
I’ve finally gone too far. Well,
fine!

Her false bravado felt flat
as tears rolled down her cheeks. Brad’s searching gaze made the
last of her anger fizzle and die. This is it.
He’s going to dump me and disappear forever
. That’s what he gets for venturing inland from the
beach.

His cell phone rang, making her jump.

It rang and rang.

“Aren’t you going to answer that?” she
squeaked.

“No. I’m going to talk to you, Miss
D’Arleux.” He loosened his grip on her wrists but didn’t release
her completely. The ringing stopped. He blew out a heavy sigh.

“Now, if you’ll give me a chance to speak, I
will. No more throwing chocolate at me, okay?”

Delphine, deeply ashamed by her tantrum,
could only nod. Her lips quivered with the renewed urge to cry.

His cell phone rang again. Brad made a noise
of disgust and turned a step away from her. He snatched the phone
from his shirt pocket and put it to his ear. “Yes?”

He swung back toward her, his blue eyes stark
in his suddenly pale face. “We’ll be right there.”

Delphine grabbed his arm, alarmed by his
expression. “What? Who was it?”

Shoving the phone back in his pocket, he
gently took her hand. “C’mon, I’ll tell you in the car.”

After the shop had been locked up and Brad
started his car, he turned to her. “It’s your dad.”

Numb from shock, Delphine sat in a stunned
silence during the drive back to her apartment. She feared the
worst. Brad told her that Clarice had given no other information,
only for them to get to the apartment right away. When he called
back, she didn't answer.

Delphine felt sick to her stomach. Her
silent, agonized prayers raced heavenward until she saw the
flashing ambulance lights near her building. Crying out in terror,
Delphine scrabbled for the door latch as Brad parked.

She bolted from the car and raced around the
ambulance to the steps of her apartment. Brad was right behind her,
trying to take her hand.