Page 30 of The Love Ambush (The Sullivans #1)

Shit. I send him a quick text to remind him, and he texts back, promising to hang me up by my thumbs from a clothesline if I don’t leave him alone. Do people even use clotheslines anymore? Cash is right. Sebastian is as old as dirt, and he acts even older.

He might be only eleven years older than me, but it’s enough for him to have grown up with entirely different technology than I did.

I text Sophie again, but get no answer. Then I text Emily, in case Sophie’s phone died.

While I wait to hear from someone, I pace the sidewalk. I’m fully aware I’m probably overreacting, but I have no idea when the movie started. What if it’s over and they’ve been looking for Gentry and their phones are dead and Liza took her kids and left them alone in a strange town and…

I force myself to stop, and box breathe for three minutes. I’m catastrophizing. They’re probably fine.

My phone dings with a text.

Emily: Movie just started. Txt ltr.

Okay, then. Guess I have a couple of hours to kill.

What do normal people do with downtime? I can’t buy anything, because I don’t have room in my suitcase to take it home with me. If I was home, I’d hit the gym, catch up on one of my two jobs, or play a video game if I was completely desperate.

I step into the next shop I pass, one with a window display that includes an actual chocolate fountain and a toy train that’s running in a continuous loop.

Inside, the smell of sugar and chocolate slaps me in the face like a childhood fantasy come to life.

“Welcome to The Gourmet Candy Shoppe. How can I help you?”

The man behind the counter smiles distractedly, his focus on a laptop. He’s big and brawny, with a thick beard. Not who I’d expect to see at a candy store.

Wait, didn’t Gentry want chocolate? “If I want to make a gift box for my girlfriend, what would you recommend?”

I have his full attention now as he steps out from behind the counter with brisk efficiency. “That’s easy.” He shows me a section with box sets laid out. “What’s your girlfriend’s favorite kind of candy?”

“She wants chocolate, but I’m not sure what kind.” Shit. I don’t want to screw this up. “Maybe I should wait until she’s with me.”

“Hard to go wrong with chocolate,” he says. “What you need to get her is the mixed set. It’s got all my chocolate bestsellers. Something for everyone.”

“That sounds perfect.”

He rings me up and upsells me a few more candies for myself, Emily and Sophie. It’s not a hard sell. I’m pretty sure I’m already sugar drunk just from smelling all the candy. It smells sweeter than any candy store I’ve ever been in.

“You lived here long?” I ask as he’s bagging my purchases.

“All my life,” he says. “You’re part of the wedding that’s happening over at the new resort, right?”

I take a step back. “How do you know that?”

He holds up a hand. “I’m not a stalker, relax. This is a small town, and we don’t get many tourists this time of year. Plus, the owner of the new resort is a friend.”

My shoulders drop, and I relax. Maybe working for Annabelle is making me paranoid. “It’s a beautiful resort from what I’ve seen. I’m not actually staying there, but I’ve heard all good things.”

“Oh, you must be staying with Jo.”

I must look pretty freaked out, because the guy holds up his hands and laughs. “Shit. I’m not a stalker, man, I swear. My wife works with Josephine at the reindeer farm. You and your kids and girlfriend are the first guests Jo’s had since she decided to make the farmhouse into a bed-and-breakfast.”

The guy seems nice enough, but this is too much. “Thanks for the candy, but—”

“Shit. Jo’s going to kill me if you leave a bad review because of me.” He holds out his hand. “I’m Xavier Shaw, and I own this candy store. I also make most of the candy I sell here. I wouldn’t have time to get up to anything nefarious even if I wanted to.”

I shake his hand. “I thought I lived in a small town.”

He crosses his arms over his chest. “Yeah. It can be a little much sometimes. But seriously, man, don’t hold it against Jo. She’s really banking on this bed-and-breakfast being a hit with the tourists.”

“I won’t leave a bad review.” I hadn’t considered leaving a review at all. “Of the bed-and-breakfast or your candy.”

“Thanks. I appreciate it. Sorry again about freaking you out.”

The guy seems genuinely distressed. “It’s possible I’ve been watching too many spooky thrillers lately and overreacted.” I’m not about to tell him the real reason for my paranoia. Helping Annabelle, I’ve seen some things. “Thanks for the candy.”

I start for the door, but stop as I realize I have no idea where I’m going. I turn back to the guy. “Got any ideas how I can spend the afternoon? I’ve got two teenagers to entertain for a few hours.”

He grins. “I have a few.”

***

“Thanks again for getting us on the tour at the last minute,” I say to our hiking guide, Garrick Evergreen, as we step back into the parking lot outside the headquarters of his outdoor adventure business. “I’m sorry about all the complaining.”

Garrick grins over at the four teenagers I dragged out on what I thought would be a fun two-mile hike through some of the prettiest scenery I’ve ever seen. Sophie and Eden are totally into it, but Emily and Ivy are not happy.

Emily hates the great outdoors because of bugs, and Ivy is dehydrated from the movie theater popcorn and wishes she’d gone home with her mother for a nap.

The two of them took turns complaining for the last mile and a half of the hike.

Though when they weren’t complaining, one or the other of them was exclaiming over the views.

“It’s not a problem,” Garrick says. “I’ve had far louder complainers on my hikes. Once, a ten-year-old boy sat in the middle of the trail and refused to keep going. I had to get one of my staff to meet us at the nearest access road on a four-wheeler to bring him and his family back here.”

“Who knew kids could be so…” I don’t know how to finish that sentence. It’s just that when I scheduled this hike, I’d pictured us all smiling and skipping along, having a great time. Aren’t kids supposed to be full of energy?

“Unpredictable?” Garrick offers. “Head-strong? Human?”

I laugh. “I guess I haven’t spent much time around teenagers.”

“They seem like good kids,” Garrick says. “And you all did really well considering you’ve only been at this altitude for two days.”

“I’m starving,” Eden yells.

I give Garrick a tip and head over to the kids. “Dinner it is. Liza said there’s nothing planned for tonight, so why don’t we get something out? What are you in the mood for?” I already got a list of great restaurants from Xavier, and I’m ready for whatever they throw at me.

“I just want to go to bed,” Ivy says, yawning.

“No problem. I can take you back to the resort before we head to dinner. What about the rest of you? What are you in the mood for?”

“I only like cheese pizza,” Eden says. “And macaroni and cheese, but only the way my granny makes it.”

“Okay. Cheese pizza’s easy enough.” Not what I was hoping for , but I like pizza. “Sound good to you two?” I ask Sophie and Emily.

“I hate pizza,” Emily says. “Can we get Thai?”

“Ugh, that’s all you ever want to eat,” Sophie says. “I’m fine with a pizza place, but I’ll probably just get a salad and garlic knots.”

Emily glares at her sister. “Of course you will. You know there’s nothing at a pizza place I can eat.”

“How about we go back to the farmhouse and order pizza and Thai food?”

“Aunt Daphne said restaurants don’t deliver out here,” Eden says. “We have to go pick it all up, and that’ll take all night.”

“I’m exhausted,” Ivy says, her head drooping. “Can we talk about this in the car on the way to my bed?”

“Great idea,” I say. I am entirely out of my depth here. “Let’s get on the road.”

I get lost on the way back to the resort, and takes us over half an hour to get there, when it should have taken ten minutes.

Any goodwill I’d gained with Sophie and Emily on the plane is lost by the time we drop off Ivy and head back out to find dinner.