“He did,” I replied as I set the basket down and took another bite of the apple.
“Holy shit. Is he…is he staying here? You know he’s filming a movie not far from here.”
Turning to look at her, I asked, “How did you know that?”
She laughed. “Please, I keep up with fine-ass actors like that. Last year it was rumored he had a girlfriend, but no one could figure out who it was—only that she lived in Boston because he was there all the time. Lucky bitch.”
I stiffened, my eyes darting around the room before I looked at her again.
Candace leaned against the counter and looked at me with an appraising eye. “Wait a minute.”
“What?” I asked.
“Why don’t you seem the least bit fazed by him being here? How long has he been here? Did you already fangirl over him?”
“Please, I do not fangirl over anyone, especially him.”
Candace tilted her head. “He kind of looks like that old actor you like. What’s his name?”
“Gene Kelly,” I stated with a sigh. I poured a glass of tea for both of us and handed her one. “And if Gene Kelly walked in here, I would fall all over him. But he can’t because life is not fair, and he’s dead.”
She nodded and took a drink. “True. Still, you aren’t acting how you should. It’s almost like you…already know him.”
Her brows rose in a questioning way, and I felt like I was about to cave under her intense stare. Nothing got by Candace, and she wasn’t going to let this drop. I knew that.
“I’ll tell you at dinner,” I said. “Right now, I want to hear what happened with you and Rick.”
She waved her hand in front of her as if that conversation wasn’t the least bit interesting. “He cheated. I broke up with him. He said I was spending too much time at The Queen Bee.”
The Queen Bee Café was Candace’s dream and one she was able to make happen with Arabella as her partner. Candace had originally moved to Boggy Creek to help Greer with her bookstore, Turning Pages. But her real dream was cooking and baking. At the time, Arabella was running a small café at the apiary her family ran, and Candace had helped her there off and on. Then Bella and Candace decided to form a partnership and rented a building on Main and Althorpe. Candace was going to run the café and bakery while Bella had a retail side where she featured items from the apiary, as well as other local businesses.
Bella’s main focus was the apiary, especially now that she and Hunter were married. I loved that they were featuring items from local folks. Like honey from Bella’s apiary, flowers and seeds from Abby’s parents’ flower farm, and Christmas items from Abby and Bishop’s Christmas tree farm, Wonderland Trees.
“Does he understand what it means to take on something like this?” I asked. “I mean, you guys had to nearly gut the place and start over.”
Candace shrugged. “He says I’ve been spending all my time there, and I have, but this is my dream. I’ve never been so happy, and I really thought he was going to be supportive. But it turns out he likes having me tucked away in the bookstore. Well, no one’s putting Candace in a bookstore corner.”
I crinkled up my nose in an attempt not to laugh. “You better not let Greer hear you say that.”
She smiled, and I was happy to see a bit of spark come back into her eyes.
“It looks beautiful, by the way,” I said. “You’ve done an amazing job.”
Candace reached for my hand and squeezed it. “I couldn’t have done this without the love and support of all my friends. I know Bella is a partner, but she’s more of a silent one, and she truly has given me full control over it all. I’m just…I’m so happy, if I’m being honest with you. I don’t know if I was crying because Rick cheated on me, or if I was crying because I knew deep down he wasn’t the one. I feel such a lightness in my heart. That clearly has to mean he wasn’t the one, don’t you think?”
A sharp pain squeezed my chest. I hadn’t felt that way when Luke walked out of my office. In fact, I felt like I’d given up half of my heart. Half of my soul. What did that say?
Candace felt light and free after breaking up with Rick, as she should. Deep down, I knew in my heart that Luke hadn’t been sleeping with Kathleen. My pride wouldn’t let me admit it, and the fear of the unknown had been more of my pushing him away than anything.
I moved around the counter, took Candace into my arms, and hugged her. When I stood back, I looked into her deep brown eyes. “I’m glad you’re happy, Candace. You’re better off without him, if you want my two cents. You deserve someone who wants the same dreams you want.”