Sweet as Candy - Karla Doyle Page 0,79
she’d already made the decision to quit her job.”
Curtis’s eyebrows rose. “She quit? That should be great news, even if she did hide some details from the past.”
“It would’ve been awesome, except I found out from the guy. He was at Lucky’s on Monday morning when I went there with flowers. I wanted to show Candace I love her no matter what. The slick asshole from the gala walked out, goaded me about her, then told me she’d quit Lucky’s and accepted his offer to be his exclusive call girl.”
“It was a lie, I assume.”
“I didn’t want to believe it, but some of the shit he said…” Recalling the conversation turned his stomach. He shook his head to break the replay loop in his mind. “I stormed into Lucky’s, found out Candace had met with the guy, then quit and taken off.”
Curtis grimaced. “This is the part of the story where you did something stupid, am I right?”
Time to reveal the showstopper of the shit show. “I went to her house. Accused her of everything the guy told me.” He braced himself as his friend rose to glare at him.
“Did she kick you in the nuts, slap your face, tell you to go to hell, or all of the above?” Curtis crossed his tatted arms over his chest. “Because, even if everything that guy said had been true, you still weren’t entitled to treat her like shit.”
“I know. She should’ve done all those things. All she did was tell me to leave.”
“I suppose she’s had years of experience dealing with assholes verbally abusing her.”
Jake winced, the gravity of what he’d done slamming him so hard, he dropped onto the bench. “I’m fucked. I screwed this up so much, there’s nothing I can do to come back from it.”
“Probably not.”
“That’s it? You don’t have some Lawler pearls of wisdom to impart?”
A grunt passed through Curtis’s straight-as-an-arrow mouth. “If you think I’m wise when it comes to women, you’re even stupider than I gave you credit for.”
“Shit.” He leaned forward, catching his head in his hands before the rock-laden thing weighed him right down to the floor.
Above him, Curtis sighed. “Get up, Campbell. Moping like a sad puppy isn’t going to do anything, other than annoy the shit out of me and ruin a decent workout. Figure out what you want and make a plan. Take a shot. If it works, great. If it doesn’t, learn from it and move on.”
Moving on wouldn’t be that simple. He might not have a choice, but he wasn’t going to roll over and accept the option, either. He already knew what he wanted, he just needed a plan. Maybe a little help from a friend, or, more accurately, the mother of a friend. Time to make some phone calls. Then take his shot.
Candace
The dread that’d mounted in her stomach while driving to the school dissipated as she scanned the waiting adults. No sign of Enzo, thank God. The pickup line was free of pickup lines. This time.
He’d been here yesterday afternoon, smiling at her with smug entitlement. He’d even had the nerve to say hello to her, to address her by name. The bastard. Obviously, he knew he’d torpedoed her relationship with Jake. Hence the smug. But the entitlement part…
Thinking about it had her blood boiling. Again.
If Enzo actually believed she’d reconsider his offer now that Jake was out of the picture, his intelligence was clearly limited to business endeavors.
Jake. He’d broken her heart. Disappointed her epically.
She missed him anyway.
Macy’s appearance at the kindergarten door soothed the ache in her cracked heart. “Mommy!” she called, running toward Candace with her arms outstretched. “I’m supposed to give this to you.”
“Thanks, baby girl. Is it from your teacher?” she asked, hugging her little sweetheart. No answer required after turning the manila envelope faceup. Her stomach lurched at the sight of the Balducci Holdings crest and her name, written in Enzo’s strong, all-caps style.
“Why does Vincenzo’s daddy keep sending you letters?”
Because he’s a domineering jerk who’s used to getting whatever he wants. “Jake and I ran into Vincenzo’s parents at the fancy party on Saturday night. It’s probably just a note about that.”
Regardless of the envelope’s contents, Candace knew one thing for certain—this would be the last note Enzo Balducci passed in class.
Candace
By the time she parked in front of the Balducci Holdings office building, her pulse had reached jackhammer level at her temples. She needed to calm down. No, she needed to step aside and let Candy