Sweet as Candy - Karla Doyle Page 0,6

as she approached. A calculated smile tipped his lips. Lips that’d said all manner of filthy things to her in private.

She had to collect her daughter and get out of here. Now. “You must be Vincenzo’s parents,” she said, making eye contact with the boy’s mother. “I don’t think we’ve ever met at the school. I’m Candace, Macy’s mother.”

“Hello, Candace.” Enzo emphasized the ending of her name while offering his hand, thus leaving her no choice but to shake it. “So nice to meet you.” His grip may have appeared courteous and generic, but its accompanying squeeze held far too much familiarity.

She withdrew her hand as quickly as possible and focused on Mrs. Balducci. “Thank you for inviting Macy. I’m sure she had a great time.”

“I hope so. We tried to have something for everyone.”

Just like Lucky’s, with its variety of massage attendants. The thought turned Candace’s stomach. Turned it again.

“I’d say you succeeded,” she said, glancing around in an attempt to avoid further eye contact with either Balducci.

Any kid would have a blast at this party. Bouncy castles, pony rides, a magician, face-painting and a dress-up station, plus tables loaded with pizzas, cakes, and every other kind of party food imaginable. The party was scheduled to end in five minutes, yet the activities appeared to be ongoing and enough food remained to feed the dozens of kids in attendance several times over.

Macy emerged from one of the bouncy castles, waving while skipping across the yard. She threw her arms around Candace’s waist, her beautiful little face beaming upward. “I had so much fun, Mommy. Can I stay longer? Please?”

“No rush at all. You’re both welcome to stay,” Enzo answered, before Candace had the opportunity to speak. Being genuinely hospitable, or did he have ulterior motives?

At this point, Candace didn’t care. She wanted away from him. Away from all men, frankly. “Thank you for the offer, but we have a prior commitment.” She squeezed Macy’s hand in apology. She’d make it up to her later, though how she could top everything her daughter had experienced here, Candace had no idea.

“I understand,” Mrs. Balducci said, then patted her son’s head. “Vincenzo, be a proper host and fetch one of the goody bags for Macy.”

The boy complied immediately, returning from a nearby table with a full-size gift bag. Considerably larger than the one Macy had arrived with.

“Here,” he said, thrusting the shiny, pink bag toward Macy. “You get a girl one.”

Wide-eyed, Macy accepted the bag with both hands, yet it still almost dropped to the patio. “It’s heavy.”

The boy nodded. “We put lots of stuff in there.”

“Thank you,” Macy said, poking around the tissue paper at the top, obviously trying to get a peek at the bag’s contents.

“Yes, thank you again,” Candace said, steering Macy away from yet another situation gone wrong. The story of Candace’s life. A story she’d better rewrite before it ended badly—for her and her daughter.

Chapter 3

Candace

A light tap on the door preceded a soft, female voice. “Candy? Are you available?” The new girl would have to get over her shyness soon, or she’d never make it at Lucky’s.

“Door’s unlocked,” Candace said. “Come on in and talk to me.””

The handle turned, the smile on Adrienne’s freckled face becoming a gaping O as she laid eyes on Candy’s bare breasts. “Oh my God, I’m so sorry. The last guy left ten minutes ago, so I thought you’d be, um…”

“Decent?” she asked, fastening her bikini top in place.

Adrienne nodded.

“It took extra time to wash up. The girls got extra greasy with that last massage.” Candace’s explanation garnered a wide-eyed blink from the new receptionist. Not a good sign. “Honey, if seeing me topless has you blushing like a nun at an all-male revue, we need to invest some time in desensitizing you to nudity. You’re going to see a lot of skin working here, and it won’t all be as pretty as my boobs.”

The warning, intended to make Adrienne laugh, instead served to tint her cheeks a deeper shade of red. “I’ve seen naked people before and I know what happens in these rooms, it’s just…” Green eyes that looked too large for her face blinked rapidly.

“Go on, say what’s on your mind. I realize it’s only your second day here, but if you can’t talk to me, how are you going to handle talking to the guys…especially when the time comes for you to do more than talking inside one of these rooms?”

“I-I don’t know. I thought it would