Candy Man Read Free

now the boy was flashing it as he delivered Darrin’s daily lettuce-chicken wrap, and Darrin was grateful for both. True to his promise to Joni, the past two days had been almost miserably busy as people gathered big bowls of specialty candy for their Thanksgiving Day centerpieces and candy bowls. If it wasn’t for Finn’s father’s sandwich shop, Darrin wasn’t sure he and the rest of the staff would have had time to eat at all. He’d been running the store on full cylinders, working his employees as long and as often as he could, up to and including overtime, and they all needed a little help.
    So Finn’s arrival was worth taking a little break, if for nothing else than to see that smile.
    “Still looking,” Darrin said, thinking his new employee would show up damned soon. The Pixy Stix never lied. “In fact… ah! There he is!”
    And sure enough, here was Tall, Dark, and Broody, with brown eyes under sunglasses, bold cheekbones, an equally bold nose, and full lips. The confidence of his no-bullshit military strut and haircut didn’t quite compensate for the lines of anxiety around his eyes and mouth.
    Darrin’s next project was in dire need of some fixing up.
    Finn looked over to where Darrin was looking, and in spite of the fact that the store was full of people, his little gasp of “Oooh” was unmistakable.
    The door closed behind the newcomer, and Darrin raised his eyebrows. “Oooh” indeed.
    Finn turned to Darrin with big, infinitely blue eyes. “Can I come back?” he asked, his knockout grin lighting up the store. “I want to meet this guy!”
    “I don’t know, sugar,” Darrin drawled, playing for time. “Do you work tomorrow?”
    “Tomorrow’s Saturday, so that’s a yes! See you then if you don’t need me before!”
    Finn saluted over his little puppy-dog hat (something to do with a cartoon show—Darrin was not ashamed to say he was too old to follow it) and hustled out of the front entrance, past Darrin’s soon-to-be new employee. The store was crowded, and although Finn made an attempt to sidestep, the two of them were jostled together—and that was when Darrin saw it.
    New Guy’s eyes popped open just as he was raising his sunglasses over his head, and when he met Finn’s merry blue eyes, a look that Darrin could only describe as wistful crossed his face. The whole world seemed to hold its breath, whether the people in the crowded store knew it or not. It didn’t breathe again until Finn flashed his grin at Tall, Dark, and Broody and then skedaddled, dynamite in jeans and a hooded Sac State sweatshirt, delivering sandwiches from River Burger to the cobbled streets of Old Town.
    Tall, Dark, and Broody had a moment of visibly pulling his shit back together, and then he seemed to remember the Help Wanted sign in his hand and the thing he’d set out to do.
     
     
    A DAM LOOKED around the bustling little candy store, and he had to agree: Candy Heaven was definitely in need of help. He remembered visiting Rico on leave. Adam had liked the charm of Old Town Sac, the little tourist trap across the bridge from Raley Field. After a day of rest (and a chance to coax Rico’s skittish tiger-striped cat, Gonzo, from under the bed), he figured he’d take a bus and start there.
    This was the fifth place he’d gone into with a Help Wanted sign, but so far all the positions had been filled. He’d been a little disheartened—and very hungry—when he’d seen the sign in the candy store. And the kid he’d run into—the one with the bright eyes and knee-melting grin?
    Yeah. That kid had smelled like sandwiches.
    At least that was what Adam told himself, because the sizzle-spark- zing that had traveled his spine when he and the kid had danced, trying to get around each other, had no business taking up residence anywhere in his body.
    Home. Job. School. C’mon, Adam—remember the basics!
    So basically, Adam had to find the boss and ask for a job, and to that end, he had to find….
    Well, the