Chapter Seven

Eli stood across the road from Starlight Chocolate Confections. He adjusted his leather jacket and tried to feel as Benjamin would when he first saw the shop. Depressed, and hopeful that it would offer some reprieve in the form of alcohol-infused chocolate.

At ten o’clock in the morning, it wasn’t early, but the sign in the front window had just flipped to OPEN. Despite the sign and the unlocked door, when he entered the shop, it appeared empty. Eli looked for one of those small bells that people could tap if they needed something. Not seeing one, he called, “Hello?” The British accent came out naturally, without a second thought.

Silence.

Eli had time. He could wait. Things had been so busy with preparations that he hadn’t had the opportunity to revisit the store since Adeline had signed the paperwork, giving him permission to use the chocolate shop in Amaretto. Eli’s gaze travelled over the displays that were neat and tidy, nothing out of place. It was obvious that Adeline took pride in her little shop.

It wasn’t a moment later that Adeline bustled in, her arms full of boxes.

“I was beginning to scheme how many samples I could sneak before you caught me,” Eli said with a grin.

Adeline shrieked, and the boxes she held tumbled out of her arms, chocolates spilling from their containers when they hit the ground. She raised a hand to her chest, her breaths coming quick, and she released a nervous laugh. “I didn’t realize anyone was—” When she saw it was Eli, she frowned. Not the reaction he had expected. “I thought you aren’t filming in my store for another week,” she said while pulling a phone from her apron pocket. She tapped the screen a couple of times. “Yup. Eight days. November thirtieth. Right after Thanksgiving.”

Thanksgiving. Right.

Eli had originally meant to start filming in January, once the holidays were finished, but there were so many conflicting schedules between the cast and crew, they’d determined to start right after Thanksgiving, work for three weeks, then take a week off for Christmas.

It was just as well. The holidays weren’t going to be the same without Diane, and he’d rather have something to keep his mind busy. It was too bad he couldn’t go home to Oklahoma and see his dad, though.

When Adeline dropped to the ground to clean up the chocolates, Eli followed suit. “You’re right, we don’t. I just wanted to ask you a couple of questions before we got started.” He sat back on his heels, surveying the damage. Adeline crawled around, trying to salvage what she could, but he was afraid it was a lost cause. What would Benjamin do in this situation? He may be an alcoholic, but he wasn’t a bad guy. Just…lost. “I really am sorry. How many boxes are here? I’ll buy them all.”

She seemed surprised by the gesture, staring for a moment. “Do you normally have an accent? I thought you were from the Midwest.”

Oh, right. This part always got a bit confusing. His costars wouldn’t be surprised that he suddenly sounded like he’d come from across the pond, but he never quite knew how to handle it with the locals. “Depends on the movie,” he finally said.

Adeline’s eyes registered understanding, but her lips pursed, like it annoyed her. “I see. Well, I’m going to still call you Eli, if you don’t mind.”

Eli let it go; it wasn’t worth arguing over. He picked up a couple more boxes. “How much do I owe you?”

Adeline shook her head as she attempted to gather up more chocolates. “It was my fault.”

“I’d like to buy them,” he repeated.

Adeline hesitated, but she must have realized that Eli wasn’t going to back down, because she finally relented and counted the boxes that surrounded them. “You want all eight?”

“Yes, please.”

She stood and brushed chocolate flecks off her pants, then retrieved a large bag from behind the counter. It had the store’s logo on it. She paused to pull on a pair of disposable gloves, then knelt back down over the mess.

Eli had to hold in a smile as she examined each chocolate and tried to get them back into their designated spots. Her brow furrowed when she couldn’t quite make out the flavor of one, because the top had been damaged. “I think this one is strawberry daiquiri, but it could also be caramel,” she said, squinting like that would help her distinguish which one it was.

“It’s all right if they don’t make it back into the right boxes. I like surprises. It’ll be fun, never knowing what I’ll get.” That was how Benjamin liked it, anyway—chaotic. Eli was the type to compare each chocolate to the back of the box so he knew what to expect.

But Adeline seemed relieved by his statement, and Eli was grateful that he was less himself and more Benjamin at the moment. Once all the chocolates had made it back into their boxes, she made sure each one was properly taped shut before placing it in the bag. “I normally secure the lids before I bring them in from the back, and I thought I had,” she said, seeming flustered.

Eli wished he could somehow help her feel better. Purchasing the chocolates just didn’t seem enough at the moment. Adeline handed him the bulging bag and moved toward the cash register.

“I know you work really hard to have a nice store,” he said, following her to the counter. “And I’ve made a mess of things. Literally.” Brown streaks on the once-shiny floor had been left as evidence of the incident, and Eli scanned the store, looking for a broom. He spied the edge of a dustpan in the doorway that led to the back.

Leaning the overflowing bag of chocolates against the front counter, Eli said, “Allow me to help.” Then, without waiting for permission, he walked past Adeline and grabbed the broom that had been hiding just out of view. At first Adeline watched, an amused smile flickering across her features, but when she realized what he was about to attempt, she hurried after him.

“You’re going to spread the chocolate,” she said. She placed a hand on the broom, stilling his actions. “Don’t worry about the mess.” Her tone was softer than it had been a minute earlier. “I’ll mop it up after I get you taken care of.” Adeline gently took the broom from his hands and leaned it against the wall on her way back to the register. “Your total comes to 78.13.”

Eli gaze swept the counter, but he didn’t see the machine where he could insert his card.

“We do things the old-fashioned way here,” Adeline said with a small smile and held out her hand.

Eli handed her his credit card and she swiped it for him. When it came time to sign the receipt, he wrote in a rather large tip. $121.87, to be exact. He liked even numbers. And $200 seemed like a nice number, especially considering the mess he’d left for her to clean up.

Her eyes widened like she’d never seen a dollar amount that big before. She opened the cash register and started counting out bills like you would at the market, as if he’d asked for cash back.

He stepped back. “No. All of that is for you. I really am sorry.”

Adeline paused, seeming conflicted. She looked like she really wanted to finish counting out his change.

“Please. It’s the least I can do.”

With a small nod, she placed the money back in the register and pushed it closed. “Thank you.”

An awkward silence ensued.

“I…better clean things up,” she finally said, turning away.

Eli moved away from the counter, unintentionally blocking her way. “Let me do it.”

Adeline gave him a curious look and sidestepped him. “You’ve already apologized and paid far more than the chocolate was worth. All has been forgiven. Really, it’s not a big deal. I’ve seen worse.”

“How about if we do a trade, then?” Eli said, taking a few quick steps backwards. Even he heard the desperation in his voice, and it wasn’t at all attractive. He couldn’t help but wonder if this was really how Benjamin would have handled things.

It stopped Adeline’s movements, though, and she raised an eyebrow. He continued, encouraged that she hadn’t kicked him out of her store yet. “I’ll tidy up while you answer a couple of questions. The second I’m done, I’ll take my chocolate and leave you in peace.”

Adeline remained quiet, studying him. She finally nodded and said, “All right. But only because I’m intrigued about what could be so important that Eli Hunt is practically begging me to allow him to mop my floor.”

When she put it that way, it sounded a lot more pathetic than he’d like, but he took some comfort in the fact that it was Benjamin that was the pathetic one, and not in fact Eli. He’d need to speak fast, though, because it would only take him a couple of minutes to clean up the chocolate.

Adeline disappeared into the back, and when she returned, she was holding a mop and pushing a wheeled bucket of soapy water. She handed him the mop, then sat on a stool behind the counter. “Okay. What’s your first question?”

“You don’t like me much, do you?”

Eli froze. That wasn’t the question he’d intended on asking, and it had escaped so quickly, he hadn’t had a chance to stop it. Not only did he not want to know the answer, but Benjamin never would have asked it in the first place. The British actor didn’t care what others thought of him, and Eli was supposed to be seeing the world as Benjamin did.

“Never mind. I’ll ask a different one.” Before Eli had the chance, though, Adeline spoke.

She shifted on the stool, like it was uncomfortable. “It’s not that I don’t like you. Not exactly. I just…” She trailed off, as if searching for the right words. “I don’t trust you.”

Huh. That hadn’t been what he’d been expecting. Usually women who held a grudge against Eli were mad at him for something his character had done in a movie—things that Eli would never actually do, but people tended to associate the real him with his characters. When he thought about it, it was understandable, especially because he would become that character for months at a time.

And then, of course, there were the women who had actually dated him—and the one who had been married to him—but their reasons for not liking him were a completely different matter.

“Did I say something on a talk show that you didn’t fancy?” he asked with Benjamin’s typical bravado. He gave her his most charming smile, hoping it would help get him back into her good graces.

It didn’t work.

Adeline’s lips didn’t even twitch. Surely she had to be fighting a smile, but if she was, she gave no indication.

“Want me to take over for you?” she asked, nodding to the mop that Eli still held but hadn’t even begun to use.

“No, no, I got it,” he said, turning his attention back to the brown streaks on the floor. Eli dipped the mop in the bucket, then swished it back and forth a couple of times. Unfortunately, the soapy water only seemed to spread the chocolate, making the mess worse. He stopped and leaned on the mop handle. “Do you use alcohol in your truffles?”

That finally got a reaction. Adeline’s eyebrows popped up. “No, it’s not that kind of chocolate shop.”

Eli dared to laugh. “And I’m not that kind of bloke.” Oh, wait. Yes, he was. Or at least, Benjamin was. What was it about Adeline that was throwing him off his game? It wasn’t usually this difficult to immerse himself in his characters, even the deeply dark ones, which Benjamin wasn’t. “I’m not usually,” he amended. “The thing is, Benjamin…er…I…happen to be an alcoholic actor who is shooting a film in a small coastal town that doesn’t have a single pub or liquor shop.”

Adeline’s eyes crinkled in amusement. “Sounds vaguely familiar.”

“Are you familiar with amaretto?”

She nodded slowly. “Yes, but I’ve only used it when baking or in truffles or that kind of thing. I like the almond flavor.”

“So, you have used alcohol in your chocolate-making endeavors,” Eli said with a grin.

“Only in my personal kitchen,” she said, casting a furtive glance around her shop, like she was afraid someone would overhear and think she’d been spiking their chocolates. When she saw they were alone, she quickly changed the subject. “So, what happens to your poor alcoholic actor?” Eli didn’t miss the slight hint of sarcasm. Adeline apparently didn’t think much of Benjamin.

“He buys twelve boxes of amaretto truffles.”

Adeline got a knowing glint in her eye. “And he doesn’t get the least bit buzzed, does he?”

“Benjamin only makes it through the first six boxes before he pukes his guts out.” Eli took his time dipping the mop head back into the bucket, squeezing out the excess water, then swishing it over the floor. “It isn’t because he’s drunk, though. The bloke has just eaten over seventy truffles in a vain attempt at getting plastered, and gets completely sick to his stomach.” He watched Adeline as he mopped. “That leads me to one of the questions I wanted to ask you. I wondered if it’s even possible to get drunk off truffles.”

“Not in the way you’re describing. Now, if we’re talking about liqueur-filled chocolates, it’s possible, but you’ll stop eating them before you’re drunk, mostly because the crazy amount of sugar will make you feel like you just died.” Adeline stepped down from the stool. “Not that I have any experience with such things.” Tiptoeing across the wet floor, her arms out to the sides as if she were on a balance beam, Adeline approached him. His heart beat faster than it should. When she stopped next to him, she said, “I think I better take over from here.”

Eli snapped out of his stupor. “Really, I don’t mind doing it,” he said, not relinquishing the mop.

“So you keep telling me.” Adeline nodded at the floor. The chocolate streaks were gone, but the once-cream tile had taken on a muddy hue. Eli had definitely made things worse.

“Blimey, I guess you better.” He sighed as he released his grip on the mop and carefully made his way back to the counter, leaving chocolatey footprints in his wake. “I wish there was a way I could make it up to you.”

Adeline seemed to be fighting a smile as she made quick work of the mess he’d left behind. “I think you already did by buying eight boxes of chocolate. Just don’t eat them all in one sitting like your alter ego.”

“Duly noted.” Eli watched Adeline work for another moment, but she sent an occasional glance his way that told him his presence was making her nervous. He supposed having a stranger staring at you while you mopped the floor could be unnerving. “I should probably get going.”

Adeline’s movements didn’t slow as she rinsed out the mop. “Okay.”

“So…I’ll see you next week, I guess.”

“Yup. Next week.”

All righty, then. Eli was careful to stay on his tiptoes, feeling ridiculous, like an off-balance ballerina, as he made his way toward the door. He glanced over his shoulder and saw that Adeline was watching him, her eyes bright, laughing at him. When she realized he’d caught her staring, her gaze dropped back to the newly cleaned floor, and she pushed the wheeled bucket toward the back of the store.

His hand was on the door handle when Adeline called from the back of the store, “Nice jacket, by the way. It suits you. As does the accent.”

And then she disappeared with her mop bucket.

He grinned. So, the chocolate-shop owner had a soft spot for leather jackets and British blokes. He’d need to talk to wardrobe about letting him hang on to Benjamin’s jacket after filming was finished.