“What?” I ask, so lost in my thoughts I’m not exactly sure what he’s asking. All I know is he said something about freeing her. Does that mean he can read me, realize that my body is aching to break free with this man?
“Miss Mabel. She’s barking nonstop. Want to free her and take her for a walk?”
“Oh, yeah sure.” I step around him, lock the door, and turn the sign to closed. “I’ll be right back.”
“Or I could come up. I suppose I should know what your place is like. You know, since you’re my girl and all.”
My girl.
A fine quiver goes through me as that thought rattles around in my brain. “Yeah, you’re right. I don’t know where my brain is lately.”
>
Sure you do, Josie. It’s centered between your legs at the moment.
“Follow me,” I say. I walk to the back room, and it’s only when I’m on the second step that I realize Brody isn’t behind me. I turn back, and smile as his eyes go wide.
“Wait, you actually make chocolate here? Like make it make it? From beans?”
“That’s what a chocolatier does.”
“The chocolate lab.” He slaps his palm to his forehead and I wonder if he’s always this dramatic. I kind of like his zest, to be honest. “I get it now. I guess I just thought you bought chocolate and sold it.”
“Nope, I actually make chocolate from ethically sourced cacao beans.”
His eyes glisten, with respect. “You’re like a chemist.” My chest swells, appreciating his admiration of my craft.
“Sort of.”
“Where did you learn all this?”
“My parents. They came here from Switzerland when I was just a baby. They had their own shop, and I took it over after they…” I take a breath as my heart pinches. I miss my folks, my family back in Switzerland.
His knuckles brush mine, the simple, barely there touch sending sparks through my body. “I’m sorry, Josie. I didn’t mean to bring up hard memories.”
“No, no,” I say quickly. “They’re still alive. They moved back to Switzerland when my Dad’s mother got sick. My life was in Boston, so I stayed.”
“You haven’t been in Holiday Peak long?”
“No, not that long.”
His look is full of playful indignation when he says, “Yet you had the nerve to call me an out of towner.”
I laugh at his teasing, which he does a lot. “Like I said, I’ll make up for being grouchy somehow. But this town. It was my favorite place to visit when I lived in Boston. My favorite place to shop, especially at Christmas.” I go quiet for a second, remembering all the fun Jon and I had visiting during the holidays, all the craft markets and winter activities. The memories warm me and make me sad at the same time. “Holiday Peak kind of sucks you in, and in no time at all, you feel like you’ve always belonged.” It’s no wonder I moved here last year and relocated my chocolate shop shortly after.
He nods, and looks down, like his thoughts are a million miles away. “I walked into Declan’s house, and his folks took me right in, like I was one of their own.”
“You get it then.”
He nods, an almost sad, melancholy look briefly crosses his eyes. I’m about to ask him why he’s here with Declan and not with his own family, when Miss Mabel barks again.
He snaps out of whatever trance he’d been in and smiles. “We’d better get her out.”
“You’re right.” I hurry up the stairs and he follows behind. I open the door, and Mabel pushes past me and nearly knocks Brody down the stairs. “Why hello to you too,” I say, and after Brody gives her a good amount of love, she comes running back to me. “Everyone’s a traitor.”
“What’s that?”
“Nothing. Come on in. Let me feed her, and then we’ll take her out.” I get her food from the pantry, dumping it into her bowl. She’s a food-driven dog, but apparently, she likes Brody more than her kibble. I stand there with my hands on my hips as he drops down to the floor with my oversized pup, and I can’t help but smile as he plays with her. Mabel nips and yelps, her tail going a million miles an hour. I had no idea how much she’s been craving male attention until now.