Recipe for Kisses

by Michelle Major

  “Thank you,” Chloe whispered, the ball of tension that had been weighing on her since she’d received the lease letter beginning to ease.

  Kendall took her hand. “We’re going to make this right for you.”

  “Enough with the Hallmark moment,” Sam interrupted, taking a pen and notepad from her purse. “Let’s make a plan. How about a sidewalk sale or an open house to draw in more customers? We’ll work on getting publicity for the programs you do with my campers. Anything that helps get people through your front door.”

  Chloe sat up straighter, for the first time feeling hopeful that she might have a chance of making her crazy scheme work. “There’s the big neighborhood festival over Fourth of July weekend. Normally I shut down the store because the crowds make some of the women nervous. But if I explain to them why we need to stay open, I’m sure they’ll support it.”

  “What you do for those women is wonderful,” Kendall began.

  “But you need to start acting like you’re running a business and not a charitable foundation,” Sam finished. “Your heart is in the right place, but that won’t mean a thing to Ben Haddox.”

  Chloe winced but had to admit her friend was right. She’d bought the toy store on a whim, needing something to anchor her life when her marriage fell apart. But it had become much more to her, and she refused to give it up without a fight. She had to prove to Ben, and to herself, that The Toy Chest was worth saving.

  CHAPTER FIVE

  Ben got out of the car in front of his dad’s house Friday afternoon, tipped the driver then waved to the women gathered on the front porch of the house across the street. This section of the city had a few young professionals but consisted mostly of families that had been there for decades. The area was bordered by the Highlands neighborhood, where The Toy Chest was located, to the north and Sports Authority Field at Mile High to the south. His dad’s house was a boxy brick home built in the early 1900s and hadn’t changed much since Ben was a kid. It was in need of a fresh coat of paint and some major landscape upgrades, both of which he’d offered to pay for. Of course, his dad had told him where he could shove his new money. Stubborn ass.

  “I never thought someone could get paid for being as mean as you are, Ben Haddox,” one of the women shouted to him, her voice carrying in the still summer air.

  “Nice to see you, too, Mrs. Peterson.”

  The other ladies on the porch snickered, but another one came to the edge of the dilapidated house’s front steps. “My Angie’s getting married in two weeks,” she called. “We were going to order platters from Marcelli’s deli, but if you want to try out some of your newfangled recipes, I’ll pay you the same per-person rate.”

  He held up a hand and turned to make his way toward his father’s house. “I’ll keep that in mind, Mrs. Donata. Appreciate the offer.”

  Before they could give him any more grief, Ben pushed through the front door and slammed it shut behind him. “I’m home,” he called, waiting for the thunder of Zach’s footsteps on the stairs.

  When the house remained silent, he dropped his duffel bag and headed for the kitchen. Ben had lived alone for years, but in the last month he’d gotten used to the sound of the kids’ voices, the bickering and joking and the noise that followed them everywhere.

  He’d only been away twenty-four hours, one night of tossing and turning in a swanky Vegas hotel suite after he’d made his appearance at the tasting event sponsored by bon appétit magazine. Those events were a normal part of his life, even though he’d come to dread them almost as much as he did taping the show that had made him famous.

  Last night had been no exception. The party was filled with D-list celebrities, socialites, and people with money looking to snap a selfie with someone famous. The food served was pretentious, more style than substance, which had an unsettling similarity to his life.

  A woman he’d known when he’d worked in Vegas had dropped less-than-subtle hints about an invitation back to his hotel suite, at one point groping his junk under the table. A year ago he would have welcomed the bottle service at the event in the exclusive VIP section and a mindless liaison to cap off the night. For so long he’d let his circumstances define who he was, which had left him at the end of the day sitting on a big throne of hot air.

  Now he just wanted to hear what he’d missed—how many diamond swords Zach had collected in his favorite video game and if Abby had eaten sugary cereal for all three meals yesterday. Hell, he wanted to cook for the kids and his dad, barter with Zach to try to get him to eat something green from the plate. He was in deep.

  After working at La Lune, he’d made a point of only cooking on the clock. It was his job and he was well paid for it. Why did anyone else deserve his time and effort? Now he understood why he’d held that piece of himself back from the so-called friends in his life. It was the part that mattered most, and he only wanted to share it with people who really meant something to him.

  None of whom he could find anywhere in the damn house, which was royally pissing him off.

  He yelled for the kids and his father, stomped up the stairs, and barged through closed bedroom doors, but no one was around. As he came back down the steps, he heard a noise from the back patio and stalked out there. Sure enough, his father sat in the midday sun on a worn lounge chair with frayed edges. He was wearing the headphones Ben had sent him for Christmas, noise-canceling Beats plugged into the iPod balanced on his stomach. One hand loosely gripped a tumbler of iced tea, but Ben could tell by the rhythmic rise and fall of his chest that his dad was fast asleep.

  In one movement, he kicked the side of the chair and snatched the headphones off his dad’s head. “Wake up, old man,” he growled.

  “What the hell?” His father sat up sputtering, and the drink tipped onto the concrete, dark liquid spilling everywhere. “Christ, Benny, you about gave me another heart attack.”

  Ben tossed the headphones toward the chair. “Where are Abby and Zach?”

  “I dropped them off at the toy shop this morning. First day of work for those two.” Harry plopped his feet on either side of the chair. “I told Abby to call when they were ready. I haven’t heard anything. Maybe they’re walking home. This is a safe neighborhood. They have friends around.”

  “Friends who are likely getting up to the same sort of trouble as Cory and me when we were that age. Abby’s fifteen and, in case you haven’t noticed, she’s a pretty girl. The boys around here—”

  At this, Harry shot out of the chair. “If any boy so much as looks at her, I’ll dust off my old boxing gloves.” He made fists with his meaty hands. “Or maybe I’ll go bare-knuckled. I’ve still got moves, you know.” Harry did a few seconds of footwork that left him panting.

  Ben pressed his fingers to his temples. “You didn’t think to pick them up? It’s possible they’ve been stuck at The Toy Chest all day.”

  “It’s a toy store, not boot camp.”

  “Fine,” Ben muttered. “I’ll go get them.”

  Without waiting for his father’s response, Ben slammed back into the house, grabbed his keys from the counter, and headed toward the Range Rover parked in the alley behind the house. Within minutes, he wedged the hulking vehicle into a spot around the corner from the toy store. He needed to get Abby a cell phone. She’d asked for one shortly after he’d arrived, but it had seemed unnecessary at the time. Now he was kicking himself. Maybe he was overreacting, but these kids were not going to get into trouble on his watch. He’d done a crappy job of keeping his brother on the right path and was determined to do better this time around.

  The store was filled with more customers than he’d seen before, and a couple stopped him as he came through the door.

  “You’re ‘The Beast,’ right?” the woman said, whipping out her cell phone as she asked the question. “Can I get a selfie with you?”

  Ben narrowed his eyes. “I’m busy,” he snapped.

  The woman only laughed. “You sound just like you do on TV. That’s awesom
e.” She threw an arm around his shoulder, held out the cell phone in front of her, and snapped a picture.

  She was gone before Ben could even reply, which was a good thing since his response wouldn’t have been appropriate for a toy store. He saw Zach’s dark head peeking over an aisle on the far side of the store and made his way past several other groups of shoppers.

  The older hippie woman from his first visit to the store was crouched next to his nephew, and they appeared to be in deep conversation. Ben released a breath, some of his worry easing. Maybe his father was right and he needed to release his anxiety. He had no doubt they were safe with Chloe, but it felt right to confirm it.

  “Ninjas should go on the shelf above dragons,” Zach said, pointing to the display of building sets.

  “But the dragons are more colorful, so—”

  “Doesn’t matter,” Zach argued. “The ninja boxes are smaller so you can fit more of them on one shelf and they’ll be easier to spot up high.”

  “That makes sense.” She nodded then noticed Ben standing behind them. She straightened and held out a hand. “We didn’t actually meet when you were here before. I’m Karen Henderson.”

  Ben shook her hand before turning to Zach. “Where the hell have you and Abby been all day? Your grandpa was worried sick.”

  “Language, Mr. Haddox,” Karen said with a soft tsk.

  Zach actually scoffed as he stood, a mature sound coming from the skinny kid. “The Rockies are playing this afternoon and Gramps is off work. He’s outside sleeping in a chair while he pretends to listen to the game.” Zach glanced at Ben. “He doesn’t care where we are.”

  Ben opened his mouth to argue, but the words that came out surprised him. “I care,” he shouted.

  “Inside voice,” Karen added.

  Ben narrowed his eyes at the woman, but she only shrugged. “What was it like in your family? Did you have to raise your voice to be heard? Sometimes there are psychological reasons why people become loud talkers.”

  “My grandpa is always shouting,” Zach told Karen. “He’s not angry all the time like Ben—”

  “I’m not angry,” Ben said then gritted his teeth when he realized he’d yelled the words. Both Karen and Zach gave him a pitying look. “I’m not angry,” he repeated in a quieter tone. “But I will be if you don’t explain why you never called Harry to pick you up.”

  “We’re working,” Zach said, as if that was the most natural thing in the world. “Chloe bought us lunch and I’m reorganizing the merchandise.”

  Karen nodded. “He’s got a talent for it.”

  “And Abby?” Ben asked, curious despite himself as to what could keep his surly teenage niece occupied in a toy store all day.

  “She’s in back with Chloe,” Karen told him, “revamping the website.”

  “What the . . .” He cleared his throat at the older woman’s raised brow. “What does Abby know about websites?”

  “A lot more than the rest of us.” Karen glanced over his shoulder toward the front of the store. “Looks like a family needs assistance with the puzzles. Want to take care of them with me, Zach?”

  The boy nodded eagerly. “You’ve got some cool 3-D puzzle balls up there. I bet we can make a quick sale.” He looked up at Ben, his bright blue eyes innocent. “I’ve made almost a hundred dollars in sales today. We’re going to help Chloe save her store.”

  Ben felt his mouth drop open. “From me?”

  His nephew smiled. “You bet. Abby says you’re going down.”

  “Does she now?” He glanced at Karen, who hitched her thumb toward the back of the store.

  “They’re in the office,” she told him.

  “Great. Because Abby and I need to have a little conversation about whose side she’s on in this deal.”

  He stomped away from them, avoiding the gazes of other shoppers and ignoring the surprised yelp of the woman behind the register when he elbowed past her and through the door to Chloe’s office.

  He had every intention of lighting into both of them then snatching his niece away from Chloe. Ben was all for competition, but turning his family against him was playing dirty even if she didn’t know what this store meant to him and his brother. In some ways he could admire Chloe for it. She didn’t seem the type to have that kind of killer instinct and he had to give her props for manipulating the situation to her advantage. But if she thought—

  His anger dissolved in an instant as he took in the scene before him. Abby sat in front of the computer screen at the ancient wood desk with Chloe leaning over her shoulder. As he watched, Chloe squealed with delight then wrapped his niece in a huge hug before pulling her from the chair to do some sort of bizarre dance to the soft music coming from the computer speaker.

  At first Abby looked as shocked as he felt, but after a moment she hugged Chloe back just as hard then tried to teach her an intricate handshake. Chloe couldn’t master it, but both of them giggled then began to spin in a circle together.

  He was speechless. He’d never seen Abby so animated. The fact that this probably had something to do with the possibility of Ben losing the store wasn’t lost on him, but he couldn’t bring himself to care. For the first time since Ben had arrived in Denver, Abby appeared carefree. She looked her age and not like a wary worrier, always glancing over her shoulder as if she was waiting for someone to sneak up and land a sucker punch.

  The happiness of his niece and nephew was the whole reason Ben had agreed to take care of the kids in the first place. To give them a shot at a normal life. How ironic that the woman who put that smile on Abby’s face was the one who was frustrating him at every turn.

  But right now Ben wished Chloe’s soft arms were wrapped around him. He needed to be a part of the moment and the sweetness that radiated from her. Without realizing it, he took a step forward, alerting both of them to his presence. Abby’s scowl returned almost immediately, and Chloe blushed such a deep pink he was surprised she didn’t pass out from the blood rushing to her face. Unfortunately, the one thing both of them had in common was that neither looked happy to see him.

  Heat rose to Chloe’s cheeks as Ben raked her with his stormy, blue-eyed gaze. But she was more worried about the other parts of her that felt like they were catching fire under his scrutiny.

  Looming in her doorway, he seemed to suck most of the air from the room. Or at least all of it from her lungs. She blamed it on the dreams she continued to have about him where he was gentle and tender, so very different from real-life Ben.

  Except when he glanced from her to Abby, the loneliness she’d seen before flashed in his gaze again. Then he spoke and she realized he still had no clue how to interact with his niece.

  “I can’t believe my brother raised you to be a traitor,” he said, eyes blazing, although with obvious effort he controlled the pitch of his voice. “We’re family, Abby. Why are you helping her?”

  “You’re not my real family,” the girl spat back. “Cory didn’t raise me. He hardly ever saw Zach before Mom died.” She crossed her thin arms over her chest and Chloe noticed her hands were trembling.

  “He’s your legal guardian,” Ben argued. “He loves you.”

  “I’m helping,” Abby said with a sneer, “because you signed me up for this stupid community-service agreement. I don’t care about this store. I don’t care about you.” Her voice caught on the last word, and Chloe wanted to throw her arms around the girl again.

  But when Ben opened his big, gorgeous mouth, she stepped behind Abby and made a slicing motion across her throat. Unbelievably, the man shut up. Chloe placed a hand gently on Abby’s shoulder. “You did great today, sweetie. No matter the reason, I appreciate your help. Why don’t you go see how your brother is doing out front while I talk to Ben?”

  The girl gave a sharp nod then hurried out to the front of the shop.

  As soon as she was gone, Ben held up a hand. “You don’t have to tell me how badly I screwed that up,” he said on a sigh. “I’m a fucking idiot.”
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br />   “No argument there,” Chloe agreed. She pulled out the desk chair and dropped into it. “Come over here. I want to show you something.”

  Ben stepped closer then paused. “It’s not your can of pepper spray, is it?”

  She flashed him a smile. “Tempting, but no.”

  When he was behind her, she scooted a small folding chair closer and patted it. He sat as she clicked the mouse and the screen lit up. “She’s set up accounts for me on all the major social media sites. Look at how she’s updated the store’s website.” She glanced at him out of the corner of her eye. “Did you know she took a web design class at school last year?”

  He shook his head, gaze locked on the screen.

  “I wasn’t doing much with online sales, so she’s started to reengineer the functionality of the whole website—how people search, categories, the ability to review toys, my database of contacts. She’s super smart about all this techie stuff, Ben.”

  “I had no idea,” he muttered. “I sent her a laptop for Christmas because Cory said she needed one for school, but this is amazing.”

  “She’s amazing.”

  He looked at her, and Chloe willed away the blush she could feel starting to creep up her neck.

  “I’m glad she’s working here even if it’s to stick it to me,” he said, a sad smile playing at the corners of his mouth. “I don’t know why I went off like that. It’s just . . .”

  “You want the connection with her. With both of them.”

  “I don’t know what I’m doing.” He dropped his head into his hands. “I barely know Abby and Zach, and it’s clear I’m not cut out to do any sort of real parenting.”

  “You’re here.” She hesitated but couldn’t resist brushing her fingers over the back of his neck. Her husband had taken so much from her, and she’d thought her need for a physical connection had been wiped out for good. But despite his strength, there was an emotional frailty to Ben that made something long buried inside her spark to life once more. She massaged, gratified when a bit of tension eased under her hand. “Give yourself a break.”