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you love it. And I seriously doubt that has anything to do with continuing your mom’s legacy or whatever.”
    Dulcie crinkled her brow. “Why?”
    “Like I said, anyone can see you love it. And you can’t fake that.” She paused. “Besides, where would I sleep? Everywhere else in this city smells like sewer.” She grinned, and Dulcie found herself smiling, too.
    She’d never really thought much about it before, but she realized Jess was right. “I do love it. It’s kind of insane how much, actually. How many twenty-two-year-olds have their dream job?”
    “Not too many, I imagine,” she said.
    “I mean, there’s this one thing that could help…”
    Jess turned to face her. “What one thing?”
    Dulcie shrugged. “It’s this competition, for the best new flavor or whatever, and the prize money would really take the pressure off.”
    “Is it expensive to enter?”
    “No, it doesn’t cost anything.”
    “Sounds like a no-brainer.”
    Dulcie pulled her knees in, hugging them. “But what if I’m not good enough?”
    Jess sighed and leaned back. “I may not be an expert at too many things, but I am an expert at regret.” She turned to face Dulcie again, serious. “It sticks with you. For a long time. Believe me, if you have a chance to save this place, you’ve got to try. It might be hard, but you’ll be so mad at yourself later if you don’t.”
    Her eyes bobbed back and forth, looking from one of Dulcie’s eyes to the other and back again, like she really wanted to get through to her.
    And it worked. The way Jess talked about regret…she obviously knew from experience.
    Except…Dulcie was still terrified.
    She took a deep breath. Jess was right. If she didn’t at least try, she’d hate herself. And honestly, what did she have to lose? At least, that’s what her head thought. Her heart, on the other hand, was thinking she’d lose customers, the store, her mind, perhaps…
    Then again, those were all things she stood to lose already.

     
    The day tumbled downhill from there, and as Dulcie opened the web page showing the grade on her last Economics paper, any confidence and ambition she may have had in that alley shriveled to the size of the raisins she was cooking that morning for their Butter Tart Slice, special because it was drizzled with white chocolate.
    The only thing her mother had ever asked of her was to get her degree. Every bit of money she’d had in the world had gone into education savings, and all Dulcie could seem to do to repay her was let her down. If she couldn’t figure out a way to get her grades up, there was a very good chance her hopes of a Masters would be over, along with any chance she had of learning something that might help her run the business.

Chapter Five
     
    For as small a city as Port Leyton was, Nick thought they had one of the best open-air markets around, especially during tourist season. Cocoas and spices from all over the world, fresh fruit waiting to be made into essences for frosting, and some of the best sugars you could find. Living relatively near a major international trading center certainly had its advantages, and Nick sometimes spent his lunch breaks wandering the booths. He was hoping to find some inspiration for the contest recipe, but instead he found himself studying the people more than the booths, secretly wondering if he might run into a certain maddeningly adorable brunette.
    As he glanced up, his breath caught.
    The wind blew her hair, but she didn’t seem to notice, an expression of utter contentment washing over her.
    Nick didn’t want to be the one to wipe that expression from her, but he found himself paying for his purchase as quickly as possible, his feet rushing toward her before the rest of him caught up.
    He shouldn’t talk to her; she was the enemy. His father had made that point clear over and over again. Nick didn’t know why his father was so adamant about the feud, but Nick remembered well when it started. Several