How Sweet It Is (18 page)

“Do you miss that life?”

Brad shrugged. Delphine sensed he was
hedging. Who wouldn’t miss a life of sun, sand, and surf? Why
plunge into the world of the nine to five if one didn’t have to?
She swallowed, keenly aware of the contrast between his former life
and his current one—dealing with all her problems.

He squeezed her shoulder and sent her a lazy
grin. “What I don’t miss is my life before you, Delphine.”

His words pierced her heart in a painfully
sweet sensation. She gazed up at him, feeling like she was drowning
in the caressing way he looked at her. He dipped his head and
brushed his lips across hers. The roar of the surf faded, eclipsed
by the roar of her heart.

They wended their way along the water’s edge.
The only sounds were the shouts of children in the distance and the
waves at their feet. The sun beat down on top of her head, and
combined with the warmth of Brad’s body, Delphine felt languorous
and content.

She tried hard not to let her cerebral side
interfere with the pleasure of having him so close. When familiar
pang of worry or uncertainty of where she really stood with him
imposed, she forced her mind to enjoy the beauty of her
surroundings—the present comfort of his company.

They eventually made their way to the Pier
and stood, leaning against the wooden rails, watching the colorful
sailboats tack across the calm waters of the bay. From there, Brad
took her to a restaurant in Riveria Village, where he kept her
entertained with funny stories from his childhood while they
ate.

They returned to the beach in time to watch
the sun slip below the horizon. Brad hugged her close. Delphine
pressed her face against his shoulder, almost wishing she’d never
experienced anything so wonderful. If circumstances changed, she’d
be forced to live with discontentment.

Delphine fought against her
negative mind-set.
Just because it’s so
ingrained, do I always have to give in to it?

When Brad tilted up her face and lowered his
lips to hers, she slid her arms around his waist. In the way the
waves lapped at her feet, she let the feel of his kiss wash away
her nagging qualms.

****

Brad gripped the wheel of the Jetta as he
maneuvered through the heavy weekend traffic during the trip from
the beach to Delphine’s apartment. Towering palm trees lining the
avenues were silhouetted against the orange-charcoal color of the
sky.

He chanced a glance at Delphine and found her
staring out her window. He sensed her emotionally receding from
him.

Is she still thinking about that stupid
loan?

Brad drew in a breath and
willed his heartbeat to slow. He wanted to kick himself for ever
suggesting it in the first place. After her comment about wondering
if he considered her part of the deal, he wondered if he could ever
fully trust her words of affection. When she said
I love you
did it
mean
I had better return the sentiment or
this could jeopardize me financially?

Brad knew Delphine didn’t have a mercenary
bone in her body, but at the same time when push came to shove, did
that loan weigh so heavily on her that it crushed any real
affection she might have for him?

Or worse, did she feel obligated to him,
inwardly dreading his touch? He thought about her response to his
kisses. What if she was faking it?

Bile rose in his throat at the idea. No, she
couldn’t, wouldn’t, do that to him.

Would she?

Brad wondered what her reaction would be when
she discovered she no longer owed the money. How could he keep it a
secret? Would she be more angry than relieved? Her dark eyes seemed
to reveal so little of what she really thought about.

Brad suddenly realized he’d entered her
neighborhood without really being aware of how he’d arrived there.
He gave himself a shake and looked over at Delphine.

She smiled and put her hand on the car door.
“Brad, I want to thank you for a wonderful day.” She lowered her
gaze for a moment, before looking back up at him. “Do you want to
come in for a little bit?”

As if he could refuse spending time with her.
“Sounds great.”

They got out of the car and walked into her
building. At her door, Delphine dropped her keys. It took her
several moments before she got the door open. Brad wondered if she
felt as tense as he did.

Inside it was dark. Delphine walked across
the room and turned on one of the beaded lamps. A warm glow filled
the space.

“It’s so quiet here now,” she said. “I’m
still not used to it.”

Brad put his hands in his pockets. “How are
you holding up?” He was ashamed to admit he hadn’t thought a whole
lot more about Delphine’s grief. His desire for her clouded
everything else in his mind.

She gave a little shrug. “Okay, I guess. I
remind myself my father is better off, away from all my nagging and
bossiness.”

Her sad smile wrenched his heart.

“I also miss my mother despite the fact that
she was such a handful.” Delphine waved to the couch. “Can I get
you something to drink? I have some iced tea in the
refrigerator.”

Brad walked over and plopped onto the couch.
“That’d be great.”

When she left the room, he heaved a sigh.
Lacing his hands together between his knees, he considered just
asking Delphine outright about her true feelings for him. She’d
professed her love, but could he rely on her words?

Then again, she’d probably be offended that
he doubted her.

A moment later, Delphine returned with two
glasses of iced tea and joined him on the couch. He took a sip of
his tea and looked at her over the rim of the glass, aware of the
warmth from her body, the light scent of her hair. Her eyes seemed
so black and fathomless. He suddenly wanted to spark some emotion
there—an emotion he could name.

Brad set his glass down on the coffee
table.

“Delphine.” His voice came out husky.

She put her own glass down and moved easily
into his arms. Threading his hands into the silkiness of her hair,
Brad kissed her with a single-minded intensity that eclipsed
everything else. He thought he’d die if she didn’t return his love,
if she only endured his embrace out of some kind of misplaced
obligation. Brad raised his lip a breath from hers, struggling to
make sense of his emotions. “Is this the way you’re protecting the
loan, Delphine?”

The sharp sound of her
intake of breath made him realize he’d said aloud what he only
meant to think, and that it had come out
all
wrong. “That’s not what I
meant—”

Delphine pushed him away so hard, he nearly
sprawled off the couch. He scrambled to his feet and put up his
hands. “Slow down, just hold on.”

She stood, her hands clenched into fists, her
face flushed. Her words, all in French, were spoken with such
blistering venom that he could only back up across the room while
she advanced on him. When he came in contact with the front door,
he made one last desperate attempt.

“I’m so sorry. You have to believe I said
the wrong thing—”

Delphine stood breathing hard, staring at him
with plenty of identifiable emotion blazing from her eyes. Rage,
shock, and hurt. Oh God, he didn’t want to hurt her. Brad took a
step forward.

She pointed to the door. “Go!”

Too shocked to do anything but obey, Brad
grabbed at the doorknob and slid through the opening, wincing when
the door slammed behind him.

He stood for a moment,
staring at the door, feeling dazed and mindless.
What in the world came out of my mouth? Is it
possible I said such a rotten thing?
It was
like looking back on the actions of a stranger.

A really stupid one.

Realizing Delphine wouldn’t listen to him at
the moment, Brad finally turned and made his way on shaky legs down
the steps and out to the street. He drove home, feeling as if he’d
awakened from a dream—no, a nightmare.

I never meant to say such a
thing. I might as well have accused her of using her body to
placate me
.

How had it come out so
wrong? How had it come out at
all?

Please God, forgive me for being such an
idiot. Please let Delphine forgive me. Help restore our
relationship.

What’s left of
it
, he added grimly.

When he returned home, Brad entered the house
as silently as possible, not wanting to alert his parents of his
presence. He could hear the television on in the den. Peering
around the corner to the kitchen, he saw it was empty. Quickly
crossing the hall, he padded up the stairs, breathing a small sigh
of relief when he made it to his room unnoticed.

His conversation with Mark
from the beach popped into his head.
I
wiped-out in my own way tonight, Dude. I mondo hemo-ed today. Right
over the falls.

Collapsing onto his bed, Brad squeezed his
eyes shut and prayed sleep would come quickly.

Fourteen

Delphine slowly opened her eyes and groaned.
She could tell they were still puffy. Closing them tight, she felt
another wave of pain and sadness wash over her.

As the details of the
previous evening flooded back into her mind, fresh fury engulfed
her.
How could Brad be such a pig? How
could he treat me that way? I’ll never forgive him.
Never!

All the enjoyment of her time with him and
his family vanished in a deluge of regret so exquisitely painful,
she felt like she’d choke. The knowledge that Brad assumed such
things about her took her breath away. How had she never seen his
true character? How had she been gulled, especially when she knew
better than to trust her heart to someone so flighty and
frivolous?

Delphine had always imagined the notion of a
heart breaking a romantic, poetical one. Now she felt as if a great
weight crushed down on her chest. Hot tears escaped her closed
eyelids. Her heart felt so wrenched apart, she wondered how it
continued to beat. She remained there for several minutes, utterly
drained of energy or motivation.

Soon the stern voice of duty
called. Delphine had a business to run—and a loan to
repay—with
money
. A
glance at the clock on the nightstand told her Stephan and Minnie
would soon be arriving for work, and they didn’t have a
key.

Slowly sitting up and scooting to edge of the
bed, she clutched her aching head in her hands and breathed a
silent prayer for strength to get through the day. Seeing the
stuffed bunny out of the corner of her eye, she grabbed it and
stood. Marching over to the closet, she opened it and tossed it
inside, slamming the door.

Swallowing hard against a new surge of tears,
she made her way to the bathroom.

Fifteen minutes later, Delphine emerged from
a hot shower, feeling incrementally better. She dressed in a light
cotton blouse and slacks and put her hair up in a twist. She
grabbed her purse and headed for the door, her mind already
planning out her day. With the ease of long practice, she shoved
down her troubles and went to work.

When she arrived at the chocolate shop,
Stephan and Minnie were waiting outside the back door in the alley.
She decided then and there to get Stephan a key.

“Sorry I’m late,” she mumbled, edging past
them to open the shop. As she turned toward them, Delphine saw them
pass questioning looks between each other. She wondered if her
attempt to hide her emotional state with make-up had failed.

Once inside the shop, she briskly outlined
their duties and from there, closed herself inside her office.

Stephan raised his eyebrows at the office
door and looked over at Minnie. “Did you see her face?” he
whispered. “Do you think it’s like seasonal allergies or
something?”

Minnie rolled her eyes. “She’s obviously been
crying, silly.”

“Crying about what?”

Minnie scrunched up her nose. “Well, she
doesn’t seem sad. She kind of marched into the shop and then she
slammed the office door shut. So that makes me think she’s mad. We
haven’t been here long enough today to upset her, which means she
can’t be mad at us. So it must be love problems.”

Stephan grinned. “You got all that from sixty
seconds of observation?”

Minnie pointed at her head. “Woman’s
intuition.”

“Well, if you’re so intuitive, what am I
thinking right now?” He came closer and stood over Minnie, enjoying
the sight of the flush mantling her cheeks.

“I think you’re just up to your usual empty
flirtation tactics so you can manipulate me into doing more
work.”

Stephan slapped his
forehead. “Aw man! You
are
intuitive!”

Minnie scowled at him and poked him in the
ribs. “Get to work, buster, or I’ll tell Delphine you’re
slacking.”

Saluting smartly, Stephan commenced his
duties.

From inside her office,
Delphine could hear her employees’ banter. She hoped they never
passed their friendship stage. If they ever began a romantic
relationship, they could get their hearts broken, which would
ultimately affect their work.
Then nothing
would get done around here, and I’ll really be in hot water with
the Larsen family
.

Delphine idly considered writing up a memo
forbidding intra-office relationships. She didn’t move, but sat
with her chin propped in her hand, staring at the pile of paperwork
she had yet to complete—work she’d neglected to be with Brad for
the day. If only she’d come to work instead, she could’ve avoided
the whole sorry episode of yesterday.