Sweets: Happily Ever Holiday

By Shaw Hart

She's a ray of sunshine. He's a gruff giant. Can these opposites attract? 

Maple Aster has just moved to this tiny Michigan town to open her candy store. So far, things aren't going well. Her roommate ran off with her half of the rent and now Maple is stuck living out of the back of the shop. She's still looking on the bright side, though. At least she has her store and the grumpy piece of eye candy next door to keep her spirits up.

Burke Masters is the town loner. He moved here a few years ago after his mom passed away and he needed a fresh start. He runs the town hardware store, fixing up properties on the side. He likes being left alone. That is, until Maple moves in next door.

One look and he knows that he's screwed but nothing can keep him from wanting her. Will he be able to convince her that he's willing to be sweet—at least to her?

• Language: English
• Publisher: Shaw Hart
• Release date: Jun 1, 2023
• ISBN: 9798223092445

Book preview

1

It’s night like these when I miss my mom the most.

Or I guess, maybe I just miss having a family. Someone to go home to.

The wind picks up outside, sending snow flurries and long-dead leaves tumbling down the deserted street. At close to six o’clock in the evening on a Tuesday in February, the town of Destiny Falls, Michigan is dead. Everyone is at home, cuddled up with their loved ones and trying to stay warm.

We got another three feet of snow dumped on us last night and they’re calling for even more tonight. Growing up in Seattle, I’m used to cold weather, but for some reason, it always feels colder out here along the Great Lakes.

I continue to stare out the window, watching as Tom Hartford, the manager of the bank three doors down, wraps his big puffy coat tighter around him, hurrying across the street to his car. I see him smile and wave at Betty Ginter before he climbs in, but even though my store lights are still on, they both ignore me.

I’m not one for small talk and over the years, everyone has learned to just let me be.

That’s the way I like it. It’s easier to keep yourself safe that way. They can’t leave you if you were never in each other’s life to begin with.

Is it better this way? My subconscious asks, but I push the thought aside.

Betty finishes locking up her craft store before she hurries over to her car. The wind slams the door closed before she can pull it shut and I watch as she pulls away from the curb, heading toward the West side of town. I should probably be getting ready to head home myself before the weather gets too bad.

No sooner does that thought run through my head, than the bell above my front door rings and someone comes rushing in.

Thank goodness you’re still open! a sweet melodic voice rings out and I grunt, wishing I had locked the door just a little sooner.

The girl winds her way down an aisle, the top of her hoodie popping in and out of my view as she searches for whatever it is she’s looking for.

Can I help you find something? I ask, my voice decidedly not friendly.

Oh! I should have introduced myself! I’m Maple Aster, your new neighbor. I just bought the place next door and I’m opening up my candy store in a few days.

Sweets? I ask, remembering the bright pastel colored sign they had put up yesterday.

That’s me! she says excitedly and I scowl.

I glanced in the store window the other day and it looks like Barbie threw up in there. Everything is bright pink, purple, and yellow. I wonder how she can work there and not have a headache at the end of the day. You couldn’t pay me to step foot in that store.

Great, I mumble, just as she comes around the corner and dumps everything she grabbed onto the counter.

You know those moments when you just get this feeling that you’re completely screwed? That sinking feeling in your gut, like you just know your whole world is about to turn upside down?

That’s what happens the first time I look at my new neighbor.

Hair so pale that it looks white hangs down to her waist and I can’t stop from imagining what it would feel like to wrap all of that hair around my fist and tug while I’m riding her hard from behind.

She’s got the biggest, bluest eyes I’ve ever seen in a round face with high cheekbones and a sweet button nose. Freckles dance across her nose and cheeks, and I have the strangest urge to kiss each one of them.

I scowl, not liking the way she’s making me feel, but unable to stop. My eyes scan over her thin hoodie and I scowl harder. She should be wearing something heavier if she’s going to be running around in this weather. I want to hand her my jacket, but I stop myself as my eyes linger on her hips.

Her face may look like an angel, but as my eyes dip down her body, I know that she’s meant for sin.

A perfect hourglass figure that my fingers itch to explore. Her hips are wide, leading to a nipped in waist that my hands could really grip. She’s got curves for days and my mouth starts to water as I picture spending hours exploring every inch of her.

Just this, she says, staring up at me with the cutest blush