Turning my attention from the dad and laying it on with all-natural, organic cane sugar (no HFCS here!), like I initially intended, I point to a more suitable choice for the little man.
“How about the snakes?” I ask, pointing to a jar of six-inch gummy serpents.
Milo’s face lights up. “That’s perfect. Lucy hates snakes.”
I look at their father, and he just shakes his head. Pointing to the jar beside it, he says, “And you’re scared of spiders. Suppose Lucy gets those to torment you?”
Milo pushes his lips forward, thinking it through. “True. I promise to not let one bite you, ‘kay Luce?”
She smiles at him, then standing on her tiptoes she looks at each jar, debating her choices. “I want the candy necklace.”
“All right,” their father says. He may be a married man, but my eyes can’t help but look at his rear as he reaches for his wallet. Not wanting to be a creeper, I take out cellophane bags and package the candy for the kids. “I’m Clive, by the way. I work down the street at Forest Expeditions.”
“I’m Hazel.” I bite my bottom lip, immediately imagining myself going on an expedition with him. Getting lost in the woods. Oh, my gosh, get it together! “And I work here, obviously.”
He smiles, but it doesn’t stretch wide across his face. He may be unintentionally sending hot-tamale signals to every woman on this street—and yes, I’ve been watching. Every lady is checking him out. I can respect him for not engaging in the I-want-to-break-my-jaw-on-you vibes, considering he is married.
And with the next sentence out of his mouth, it’s clear his mind is certainly on her.
“Should we get your mom something?” he asks.
Lucy and Milo smile and my heart warms that he thought of getting his wife something. It’s no surprise that I’m pretty much in love with the idea of a man who is a sweetheart.
“What is her favorite candy?” I ask him.
He frowns and then shrugs. “I have no idea.”
I hold my tongue. How can a husband not know what his wife likes?
“Maybe something sour?” He looks at Lucy.
She shakes her head. “Mama hates sour anything.”
“That’s not true,” Milo argues. “She likes the lemon tarts Auntie Maggie makes.”
Lucy crosses her arms. “Not really. She just pretends she does.”
Not wanting them upset over nothing, and wanting to help turn them into loyal customers I suggest my grown-up line. “I have these champagne bears and peach Bellini hearts. Maybe your mother would like them?”
Lucy giggles. “Champagne!” She grins. “That’s perfect for Mama. She has a shirt that says Rosé All Day.”
“Even better, I have Rosé Roses.” I pull out the rosette-shaped gummies. “Pink roses are my favorite flower, and these candies are pretty much perfection.” Lucy nods, agreeing. “Now that that’s settled. What about something for your dad? We don’t want to leave him out.”
Immediately Lucy’s face crumbles and Milo looks at her with a heavy frown.
I look at the man in front of me not understanding my error.
“We don’t have a daddy,” she says. “Not anymore.”
The man clears his throat. Takes a deep breath. He leans closer to me and quietly says, “Their dad, he uh, died three years ago.”
“Oh my gosh, I’m so sorry…”
He cuts me off. “It’s okay. You didn’t know.”
I look down at the kids who are watching our exchange. “Well, um, should we get your, um, your...” I realize I don’t know how Clive fits in with the kids. Is he their mom’s boyfriend, their nanny, their neighbor?
Lucy helps me out. “We should totally get Uncle Clive something. He doesn’t like Rosé though. You like whiskey, right?”
He ruffles her hair as if wondering where she comes up with this information.
“What?” she asks laughing. “He does!”
I exhale, relieved that she helped me out of that one. He is Uncle Clive. Though the kids mentioned an aunt. He could still be married.
“Whiskey? Hmmm... Don’t have any of that. The closest I’ve got to that is root beer.”
“I’m good, actually,” he says, looking at the ground, the ease of our conversation gone. I feel terrible for bringing up a tough topic with the kids, and him—all of it. “Just ring these three up and we’ll be going.”
As I turn to ring up the order, a woman my age stops by and asks Clive if he has plans Saturday night.
With a curt nod, he says he’s busy. She frowns and then adds, “If you keep saying no to every date you’ll be single forever.”
She pats his arms and leaves and Lucy looks up at him, giggling. “You should have a girlfriend, Uncle Clive. Don’t you ever get lonely?”
I hand Clive back his debit card with a flutter in my belly. So, he is definitely single.
A few moments later they walk away, and I can’t resist checking him out. His ass is finer than any I’ve seen, and his sweet cheeks soften the cold hard fact that he doesn’t give me a second look. In all honesty, I don’t think he hardly gave me a first glance either.
He may be man candy, but it appears that his jar is on a shelf I won’t be able to reach anytime soon.
WANT THE REST OF THIS SUGARY SWEET ROMANCE?
DOWNLOAD NOW:
MOUNTAIN MAN CANDY
AND
MOUNTAIN MAN CAKE
ABOUT MOUNTAIN MAN CAKE:
Charlie’s known around this mountain town for his hook-ups and one-night stands, but local-bakery owner, Maggie, wishes she had the recipe to keep this man cake all to herself.
Maggie knows it’s time to tell her brother’s best-friend that she wants to lick his bowl of batter clean.
And even though she’s kept her cupcake all this time, she’s ready to share her frosting.
For one hot night, Charlie takes a bite, and finds out Maggie’s the sweetest thing he’s ever tasted.
But things aren’t always so perfectly baked—and when Maggie finds out there’s a bun in her oven she realizes she may have bitten off more than she can chew.
Dear Reader,
This is the perfect slice of insta-love. It’s adorable, over-the top, and everything you want in a piece of man-cake. Charlie’s got a warm-from-the-oven body that will make your chocolate chips melt. Ooey, gooey, goodness, guaranteed!
xo, frankie
P.S. ask for seconds, you deserve them!
MOUNTAIN MEN OF LINESWORTH: MOUNTAIN MAN CANDY
MOUNTAIN MAN CAKE
MOUNTAIN MAN BUN
Also by Frankie Love
THE ENTIRE FRANKIE LOVE COLLECTION:
NEW RELEASE: B.I.L.F.
The Mountain Man’s Babies:
TIMBER
BUCKED
WILDER
HONORED
CHERISHED
BUILT
MOUNTAIN MEN OF LINESWORTH:
MOUNTAIN MAN CANDY
MOUNTAIN MAN CAKE
MOUNTAIN MAN BUN
Stand-Alone Romance:
BEAUTY AND THE MOUNTAIN MAN
HIS Everything
HIS BILLION DOLLAR SECRET BABY
UNTAMED
RUGGED
HIS MAKE BELIEVE BRIDE
HIS KINKY VIRGIN
WILD AND TRUE
BIG BAD WOLF
MISTLETOE MOUNTAIN: A MOUNTAIN MAN’S CHRISTMAS
Our Virgin:
Protecting Our Virgin
Craving Our Virgin
Forever Our Virgin
F*ck Club:
A-List F*ck Club
Small Town F*ck Club
The Modern-Mail Order Brides:
CLAIMED BY THE MOUNTAIN MAN
ORDERED BY THE MOUNTAIN MAN
WIFED BY THE MOUNTAIN MAN
EXPLORED BY THE MOUNTAIN MAN
CROWN ME:
COURTED BY THE MOUNTAIN PRINCE
CHARMED BY THE MOUNTAIN PRINCE
CROWNED BY THE MOUNTAIN PRINCE
CROWN ME, PRINCE: The Complete Collection
Las Vegas Bad Boys:
KING
MCQUEEN
JACK
Los Angeles Bad Boys:
COLD HARD CASH
HOLLYWOOD HOLDEN
SAINT JUDE
THE COMPLETE COLLECTION
❤️❤️❤️
The Charlie Hart Collection
(Frankie's reverse-harem pseudonym)
Our Virgin:
Protecting Our Virgin
Craving Our Virgin
Forever Our Virgin
Daughters of Olympus:
Their Siren (12/1)
Their Mate
Their Phoenix (2/23)
Their Shade (4/6)
Six Men of Alaska:
The Wife Lottery The Wife Protectors
❤️❤️❤️
❤️❤️❤️
About the Author
Frankie Love writes sexy stories about bad boys and mountain men. As a thirty-something mom to six who is ridiculously in love with her own bearded hottie, she believes in love-at-first-sight and happily-ever-afters. She also believes in the power of a quickie.
Find Frankie here:
www.frankielove.net
frankieloveromance@gmail.com