Sweet Kiss

By Judy Ann Davis

Hard-working Kate Clark opens a thriving coffee shop that quickly becomes the local hang-out for students and the community. Her one wish is to eventually buy out her sister’s share of the old Florida home they inherited. However, Violet is need desperate of cash and has other plans. Tappe Vanderberg, Kate’s childhood friend and high school sweetheart, has sold his lucrative internet security business to return to Little Heron Shores and fulfill his dreams of owning a marina. Now the handsome Dutch-born businessman is making waves with single women all over town—including loony, post mistress Eva May Poole who’s in search of husband number three. But it’s Kate Clark who’s wreaking havoc with Tappe’s heart, not Eva May. Can he find away to shake the dingbat post mistress and convince Kate to give him a second chance and the sweet kiss he remembers from an earlier time?

• Language: English
• Publisher: The Wild Rose Press
• Release date: Jan 6, 2016
• ISBN: 9781509205684

Judy Ann Davis

Judy Ann Davis began her career in writing as a copy and continuity writer for radio and television in Scranton, PA. She holds a degree in Journalism and Communications from Point Park University in Pittsburgh, PA. Throughout her career, Davis has written for industry and education. Over a dozen of her short stories have appeared in various literary and small magazines, and anthologies, and have received numerous awards. UP ON THE ROOF AND OTHER SHORT STORIES, is a collection of nineteen of her short works. Her first novel, RED FOX WOMAN, published in 2010, is a western, mystery and romance and was a finalist in the International Book Awards and USA Book News Best Book Awards. KEY TO LOVE was her second fictional work, and UNDER STARRY SKIES was her third fictional work, a sequel to RED FOX WOMAN. Her novel, KEY TO LOVE, is a contemporary romantic suspense. Her latest novel, FOUR WHITE ROSE, is romantic suspense with a hint of paranormal and was a finalist in the Book Excellence Awards and Georgia Romance Writers' Maggie Awards. Her only novella,"Sweet Kiss," is part of the Candy Hearts Series. She is a member of Pennwriters, Inc. and Romance Writers of America, and divides her time between Central Pennsylvania and New Smyrna Beach, Florida. Visit her at: www.judyanndavis.com and www.judyanndavis.blogspot.com You can find her on Facebook: Judy Ann Davis and on Twitter: @JudyAnnDavis4

Book preview

Inc.

Tappe picked up the grimy jar of candy hearts.

No way! I can’t believe Fay saved your candy hearts. He twisted off the lid and shook one into his hand.

Neither can I. Don’t you dare put that into your mouth. Those candies are over a decade old!

So? Sugar doesn’t spoil.

Okay, go ahead. Eat it. Poison yourself. Why should I care? she said drily. Just don’t call me in the middle of the night.

With a shake of her head, she turned back to the stove, took out a cold plate from the freezer, and plopped a teaspoon of the liquid from the bubbling pot on it, then ran a finger through the mixture to see if the jam stayed parted and stable, refusing to run together. She removed the pot from the stove, set it on the table, and started filling the pint and half-pint jars.

You don’t mean that. He dropped the candy back into the jar, and came up behind her. He started nuzzling her on the side of her neck.

Do you realize I’m working with hot liquids? She tried to be stern as she squirmed away, still holding the hot pot. She could never quite pull off reprimanding Tappe, especially when he was on a roll.

And he was on a roll. Not as hot as you are. Want to make out?

Kate looked at him askance. Now? Here? Are you sane?

Yes, I’m fairly lucid. But if your answer is a no to making out, then can I lick the pot instead?

If you promise to quit licking my neck.

Praise for Judy Ann Davis

This story is as sweet and irresistible as a strawberry kiss!

~Author Laura Strickland

~*~

If you like stories of first loves reconnecting after life intervenes, you’ll love this light-hearted romance.

~Author Peggy Jaeger

Sweet Kiss

by

Judy Ann Davis

A Candy Hearts Romance

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales, is entirely coincidental.

Sweet Kiss

COPYRIGHT © 2016 by Judy Ann Davis

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission of the author or The Wild Rose Press, Inc. except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews.

Contact Information: [e-mail]

Cover Art by RJ Morris

The Wild Rose Press, Inc.

PO Box 708

Adams Basin, NY 14410-0708

Visit us at www.thewildrosepress.com

Publishing History

First Sweetheart Rose Edition, 2016

Digital ISBN 978-1-5092-0568-4

A Candy Hearts Romance

Published in the United States of America

Dedication

"Take the flower and turn the hour,

and kiss your love again!"

~Rudyard Kipling

Chapter One

With her hands covered in a healthy dose of liquid soap, Kate Clark jerked on the handle of the water faucet to turn it off and stared in disbelief at the kitchen sink drain as if it were a gaping black mouth. A quick glance at her bare ring finger sent her stomach plummeting. The black mouth had swallowed her diamond.

Kate groaned. She was sweaty and tired and her clothes were a dusty mess from rooting through her late aunt’s pantry. All she wanted was some jelly jars for the marmalades and jams she made, used, and sold in Kate’s Coffee Shop, a small bistro she co-owned with her best friend, Melanie Houston. The last thing she needed was to have a ring sitting in a filthy trap. That is, if it really was in the trap and not sailing away to the local sewage plant.

Bemoaning her stupidity, Kate rushed to the small bathroom on the first floor and quickly washed her hands. She hurried back to the kitchen and tied a dish towel around the faucet to remind her and others not to use the water. Through the open window overlooking the sink, she heard the rattling of glass and spied Melanie stashing boxes of jars in the trunk of her car.

Kate sighed. It had started as the perfect day with plans to poke around Aunt Fay’s house, gather the jars, and hunt for old treasures they could use to decorate the bistro. Later in the week, she planned to make strawberry jam to accompany the biscuits, rolls, and breads they sold along with their various hot and cold gourmet beverages. February was strawberry month. Already, luscious plump strawberries with their irresistible sweet smell and rich red color were heaped in baskets at farmer’s markets, flea markets, and fruit stands all over the state.

From her vantage point, Kate could see the vegetation in the yard greening and growing robustly. The weather in Little Heron Shores, Florida, had been exceptionally balmy for the past few weeks as a result of a frost-free spell. With the help of brisk winds, the palm trees had already shed most of their dried undergrowth. Live oaks exploded with multitudes of tiny budding green leaves as if nature had waved a magic wand and given them a new hairstyle. Even the birds, high in the pines, warbled a chorus of cheery notes in celebration of an early spring.

Her wandering reflections were interrupted as Melanie came through the door, swiping her hands on the side of her jeans to remove the dirt and dust from the pantry and jars. Everything is loaded and ready to go. What’s next?

We have a problem, Houston. Kate winced. I washed my ring down the sink.

Melanie’s mouth dropped open. Your diamond? Your Aunt Fay must be rolling over in her grave. How did it happen? She held up a hand, palm out. No, I know how. It vanished just like the spoon, bracelet, and nail clippers disappeared into the garbage disposal in the coffee shop’s sink. Sailed off the drain board into the mysterious black hole down under?

"No, this time it was different. It slipped off my finger when I