Chapter Ten

Leanne stepped out of the office feeling like she could take on the world. The bandages had done wonders, and the pain pills hadn’t hurt either. Yeah, she was scratched up. The doc said she’d be sore for the next week, which meant no surfing that weekend. But at least she didn’t have any broken bones, and she wasn’t hobbling anymore. All in all, Patty said that Leanne was very lucky it hadn’t been worse.

That was the last time Leanne would ride without a helmet. Or with her eyes closed. Patty couldn’t stop laughing when Leanne had told her. Apparently, it was ill-advised to ride a bike when you couldn’t see.

Some people learn from their own mistakes. Others learn from the mistakes of others.

Leanne was usually the one who took one for the team and helped others learn what not to do.

She walked out to the waiting room, about to apologize for making Isaac wait so long, but didn’t see him. Her gaze scanned the waiting room, twice, just to make sure she hadn’t missed him in one of the corners.

Nope, he definitely wasn’t there.

Disappointment settled in her stomach. She hated that she cared so much—Isaac had already helped her more than he’d needed to. What had she expected?

With an angry shake of her head, she pushed through the door to leave the office. She wasn’t mad at him—she was mad at herself. For allowing herself to hope, even for a brief moment, that they could be something more. Maybe not what they used to be, but something more than they were now.

Leanne wouldn’t make that mistake again.

She paused once she got to the sidewalk. Going right would take her home. But turning left would take her to the boardwalk. And consequently, to Starlight Chocolate Confections.

It was a no brainer.

Leanne hadn’t gone through all of that just to go home empty handed.

She wasn’t leaving without those truffles.

Even though she wasn’t hobbling anymore, Patty had been right, it was going to take some time to heal. Everything felt stiff, like her body didn’t want to move. The more she walked though, the more things seemed to loosen up, and it didn’t take long for Leanne to walk the two streets that led to the boardwalk.

She stood for a moment in front of Adeline’s display window, taking in all of the different types of chocolates she had out. It was going to be impossible to choose—she might just have to buy one of everything. Better yet, she’d just buy the store.

Adeline must have seen her from inside, because the door to the shop abruptly swung open, and Adeline practically jumped on top of Leanne, wrapping her in a hug.

Ouch.

“I can’t believe you’re back,” Adeline said, completely unaware of the fireworks that had erupted over Leanne’s skin. “I mean, I can, because it’s all everyone has been talking about. You probably think I’m the worst friend, not having come by to visit you yet.” Her embrace only seemed to tighten.

Double-ouch.

“I’ve only been back a few days now,” Leanne mumbled against Adeline’s hair.

Adeline stepped back. “I know, but I bet Jessie’s already been by with a basket of tarts. And Erwin with a platter of shrimp—” She broke off, her gaze landing on the bandages covering Leanne’s upper arms. “What happened to you?” Then her eyes widened with realization and a hand flew to her mouth. “I just attacked you, while you’re injured.”

“You didn’t know. It’s okay. I’m just a bit scratched up is all.” No sense in making Adeline feel any worse about things. “Crashed my bike on the way here.”

“Just now?” she asked, glancing back up the street as if she’d see some evidence of the accident.

“Yup.”

Adeline opened the door to her shop to allow Leanne to step past. “I take it that the good doctor patched you up?”

Leanne nodded and entered the chocolate shop. “Yeah, I didn’t realize how much I missed Patty until I saw her again.” She inhaled deeply. Oh, the scent of freshly made chocolate. “But even injured, there was no way I was going to miss out on your truffles.” She paused. “And visiting you, of course. I did want to say hi and see how you’re doing.”

“That’s sweet of you,” Adeline said with a laugh. “But I wouldn’t be offended if you said you’d only come for the chocolate. Tell me what you want, and it’s yours. On the house.”

Leanne rubbed her hands in anticipation and looked around the brightly lit store. Shelves lined the walls, filled with every flavor she could think of. Even the checkout counter housed display shelves inside of it. Those ones were the individual pieces, not yet boxed. The mint truffles were usually her go-to, but the caramel pecan was pretty good too. That was when she noticed a large display of boxes sitting directly in front of the cash register. “What’s in those?” she asked, walking closer.

“Good eye,” Adeline said with a grin that told Leanne that her friend had been hoping she’d ask about the display. “That’s our newest flavor.” She paused, allowing anticipation to settle over Leanne, before saying, “Chile.”

Leanne didn’t think she’d heard right. “Like…serve me up a bowl with cornbread, kind of chili?”

Adeline’s grin grew wider. “No, like grab a glass of water, because these chile peppers are spicier than you can handle.”

Oh. That kind of chile. “That’s kind of…” Leanne was unsure how to finish that sentence. Adeline had never been very risky with her chocolate making, always sticking with the tried and true flavors.

“Weird?” Adeline answered for her.

That hadn’t been the exact word she’d been looking for, but yeah, weird. Leanne didn’t want to say that to her friend though, so she settled for, “unique.”

Adeline reached under the counter and pulled out a piece of tissue, then grabbed a dark truffle from a tray that sat in front of her. “It’s okay, I know it’s weird. Trust me, I fought Bree on it for six months before I finally caved and said I’d see if I could come up with a recipe for it.” She held out the truffle for Leanne to take. “I expected it to be a one-time batch disaster.”

Leanne hesitated before taking the truffle. She eyed the boxes. “That looks like more than one batch.”

“Oh yeah. I have to make five batches a day during our busy season. Nowadays I can get away with just one batch, but everyone in town usually buys me out before closing time.”

Leanne stared at the small chocolate in her hand. “Bree convinced you, huh? She’s from New Mexico, right?”

“Yup. We were roommates in college. I learned to love chile as much as the next New Mexican, but chocolate was where I drew the line.”

She knew Adeline wouldn’t steer her wrong when it came to chocolate—it was almost a sacred art for the shop owner. But still…

Leanne glanced at her friend, and she couldn’t ignore the excitement she saw there.

Fine.

She closed her eyes, then bit the truffle in half.

Huh. She opened her eyes. It tasted like a normal, dark chocolate truffle. She didn’t know what she’d tell Adeline, who was still watching Leanne eat, her eyes bright. Maybe Adeline had given her a dud. Or she’d boxed up the wrong flavor, thinking it was chile. That didn’t seem like the kind of mistake Adeline would make though.

Leanne determined she’d just tell Adeline it was delicious and call it good—then the chile showed up. It was subtle, but the spiciness was definitely there. And it grew. Not to where it overpowered her senses, the dark chocolate helping to tone down the flavor, but Adeline had been right about one thing.

She’d need a glass of water.

Before she could ask, Adeline held out a miniature plastic water bottle out to Leanne. “I’ve learned to have these on hand for those who want to test taste them.”

Leanne nodded her thanks, unable to speak, and fumbled with the lid. It took a couple of tries, but she got it open and guzzled down half the bottle. “Wow,” she finally managed to say.

“What do you think?” Adeline asked.

Leanne had no idea. Chile didn’t belong in chocolate. And yet, it had a unique flavor that left her wanting more. She popped the other half in her mouth and chewed, savoring the sweet with the spicy. Yeah, she still had to drink the rest of her water. But she now knew why everyone in town kept coming back.

“That is the best chocolate I’ve ever had,” she told Adeline. “And I want an entire box, please.”

Adeline squealed and clapped her hands, like that was the best thing she had heard all day. “I better give you two, otherwise Isaac will eat all of yours.”

Leanne’s heart dropped, and her smile with it. “Um…no, it’s okay. One will be fine.”

Her friend had been reaching for a second chocolate box, but paused. “Is everything okay?”

Leanne started to nod—pretending like everything was fine—but the movement morphed into a shaking of her head. Nothing was okay. She’d come back from LA a failure, not having accomplished the one thing she’d set out to do, and managed to lose the love of her life in the process. But because she’d been acting like everything was fine, everyone in town was planning her and Isaac’s wedding—a wedding that would never happen. If that wasn’t enough, her entire body ached because of a brief moment of incredible stupidity on her part. Seriously, who closed their eyes when riding a bike?

Leanne didn’t need to say a word for her friend to understand.

“I’m throwing in two boxes, but not to share,” Adeline said, placing them in a bag. “These are all for you. And I know how much you like the mint ones, so you get one of those too.” She paused. “Does this mean I should hold off on the chocolate fountain?”

“Indefinitely,” Leanne said. She’d been trying to stay busy helping her parents at the bed and breakfast, ignoring the feelings she’d buried deep inside. Leanne had even managed to keep them from resurfacing when Isaac had come to her rescue that afternoon, her physical pain helping mask the emotional pain.

But now…with Adeline watching her, obvious concern etched in her features, Leanne felt herself losing her walls—her composure.

“This wasn’t how it was supposed to happen,” she managed to choke out. “None of it.”

Adeline looked like she wanted to hug Leanne again, but thankfully refrained. “What happened?” she asked instead, her voice soft. “You two have been together for your entire lives. I can’t imagine you two not being together and—” She cut off, seeming at a loss of words.

Leanne knew the feeling.

“I betrayed him,” she said, lifting one shoulder. “And I can’t fix it. He hates me.”

With a shake of her head, Adeline said, “He could never hate you. That man has been a mess ever since you left.”

Oh great. Now Leanne felt worse.

Adeline must have seen it in Leanne’s expression because she raised a hand and said, “Let me finish. He’s been a mess, because a part of his heart left with you. But now that you’re back, you can help him become whole again.”

Leanne wished that were true. “One person doesn’t hold that kind of power—shouldn’t hold that kind of power.”

Adeline walked across the shop to a display shelf on the opposite end. “I would normally agree with you. But you two—you’re different.” She picked up a box. “I’m throwing in a box of caramel pecan, just for good measure.”

“Don’t you think it would be better for me to stop holding onto hope for something that I don’t deserve though? Because that’s the fact of the matter—I don’t deserve Isaac. And I think he knows it.”

Just then the door to the chocolate shop burst open and both Leanne and Adeline whipped toward the disruption.

There stood Isaac, panting, his gaze on Adeline. Leanne’s purse was slung over one of his shoulders so it crossed his chest and rested on his opposite hip. “Have you seen Leanne? She had an accident and I was waiting for her at the clinic but I had to use the bathroom and…” His voice trailed off as Adeline gave a pointed look in Leanne’s direction.

His gaze traveled to Leanne, and relief smoothed out his wrinkled forehead. “Oh my gosh,” he said, placing a hand over his chest. “I came out of the bathroom and Patty had said you’d already left.” He sat down on a stool at the display counter. Isaac must have been booking it, considering how good of shape he was in, and how hard he was breathing now. “I assumed you’d go home to rest like a normal person. I grabbed your bike and threw it in the back of the car and delivered it to the bed and breakfast, but Jules said she hadn’t seen you, and had no idea you’d been in an accident.” He paused to catch a breath. “By the way, she says, I told you so about the helmet.” Isaac stood again, like the adrenaline of looking for Leanne made his body incapable of sitting still. “I should have known that you are anything but normal and would value chocolate over your own health.”

“Hey, I’ve been taking good care of her,” Adeline protested. “Aside from crushing her in a bear hug.” Isaac raised an eyebrow. “In my defense, I hadn’t known about her injuries at the time.”

Leanne took a tentative step toward him. “I’m sorry I worried you. I had thought—well, you weren’t there when I finished up with Patty. I figure you’d…”

“Left,” he answered for her. That thought alone seemed to cause him just as much pain as when he didn’t know where she was. Isaac gave a small shake of his head. “I’d never leave you, Lenny.”

She startled at the use of her nickname, but didn’t have a chance to process it because his phone sprang to life, an 80s rock song filling the small shop.

Isaac glanced at his phone. “Oh shoot, it’s Caleb. I promised him I’d have his car back to him an hour ago and I left it at the other end of the boardwalk. He and Bree have a date planned for tonight.” His gaze flitted between Adeline and Leanne, like he didn’t know what to do.

“I’ll make sure she gets home safely,” Adeline said with a smile. “You better get Caleb’s car back to him. He already threatened to not let you use it again after last time when you drove it into a bank of mud. You wouldn’t want to give him another reason.”

“Empty threats,” Isaac said, but he still seemed anxious about it. He turned to Leanne. “You sure you’re okay?”

Leanne gave him a small smile, wanting to ease his unwarranted guilt. “I’m fine. Besides, the longer I stay, the more free chocolate Addie gives me.”

Isaac laughed at that. “Yup, you’re fine.” He gave them both a quick wave and moved to hurry back out the door.

“Can I have my purse back, though,” she called after him. “It looks good on you and all, but not exactly your color. If I were you I’d go with more of a magenta.”

Isaac paused mid-stride and turned back, and embarrassed smile playing on his lips. “Oh, right. Sorry. It had been trapped under your bike. Some stuff had spilled out, but I think I got it all.” He bent his head as he lifted the purse over it and held it out to her.

“Thank you. It means more than you know,” she said, hugging the purse to her chest.

He didn’t respond, only held her gaze for a moment, then gave her a small nod and disappeared through the door.

As soon as he’d left, Adeline turned a smirk on Leanne. “You still sure that he hates you?”

Leanne stared at where he’d stood just moments before. “Um…yes?” It was easier to try to believe that—better than the yo-yo action her heart had been doing lately.

Adeline shook her head, like she didn’t know what she was going to do with Leanne. “I’m going to send you with Isaac’s favorite, Strawberry Daiquiri. Just in case.”

All that meant was that Leanne was going to have more chocolate to eat herself, because there wasn’t going to be any ‘just in case.’

At least, she didn’t think so.

But after the interaction she’d just experienced, she was starting to question it.