Read Sweet Revenge (Cocoa Narel Chocolate Shop Mysteries Book 1) for Free Online Page B

with. Then she started opening at various hours at her whim. For example, sometimes she only opened on Saturdays, and sometimes she didn’t open it all through the week. They lived a long way out of town, and if she was busy with the farm, then she just didn’t show up.”
    “That’s right,” Carl said. “I often used to buy chocolates from there to send you, Narel, but half the time I went, it wasn’t open. That’s why she didn’t succeed.”
    I was relieved. I followed Carl and Borage up the road. I found myself checking out Borage. I had never really looked at attractive men before, not in that way. They were always so far out of my league that staring at them seemed to be an exercise in futility.
    My thoughts turned to Tom Fletcher. The Populars in high school had been cruel to me, but to Tom particularly so. The memory of Ridgewell Dugan came to me. He was the reason I was afraid to go to the gym. On one occasion, Ridgewell swapped my shampoo for brown hair dye and when I came out of the showers after gym class, my normally blonde hair was a ghastly shade of brown. Ridgewell told everyone I had turned into a giant chocolate because I ate so much of it. It took at least two months for the color to fade despite me washing it about twenty times the first night. Ridgewell had once swapped the clothes in Tom Fletcher’s gym bag for girls’ clothes. As poor Tom had nothing else to wear, he had come out of the gym shower in girls’ clothes. The principal had been walking past and had given him detention for impersonating a girl.
    I wondered if the attractive Borage Fletcher was in fact Tom. High school was over ten years ago, and people’s appearance can change in ten years. I certainly looked different now, but I assumed that Borage hadn’t had a car wreck and had reconstructive surgery on his face.
    I had a good vibe about the store as soon as we arrived and stood in front of it. For a start, the best coffee in town was at the café next door. There was good parking outside, unusual for this town, and huge glass windows comprised the front. Carl and I followed Borage inside.
    “I’ll take it,” I said upon entering. “How much is it again?” I supposed I should’ve asked that question before I said I’d have it, but I had told Borage my price range, and I didn’t think he’d show me anything too much over my budget.
    He turned to me with a surprised look on his face. “Don’t you want to look over the whole premises first?”
    “Sure.” I said that in order to appear businesslike, but I was going with my gut, and my gut told me that this was the ideal place. It was in the Main Street and all traffic had to pass right by it. It was light and airy, and had a decidedly cheerful feel. I followed Borage into the back room, with Carl traipsing along behind me. The back room was simply a combination office and small kitchen, and there was a long corridor behind which led down to a tiny bathroom. The back door opened onto a lawn which seemed to double as a parking area. At least the grass had been cut recently.
    I could really stamp my mark on this place, and I wouldn’t have to rush into doing anything. It seemed to be in good condition and the floorboards had been painted white, as had the walls. I liked the look. It was bright and airy. There was nothing that needed replacing, fixing, or renovating. I had spent so many months in the hospital, and as I started to recover, I had focused on my dream of opening a designer chocolate shop. I had looked through magazine after magazine. This place would do nicely. I was impressed with the size and the character, as well as the location. It seemed just right.
    “Well, it’s quite lovely,” Carl said. “You won’t need to do any work on it and you can move straight in.”
    “That’s just what I was thinking,” I said. I turned to Borage. “Where do I sign?”
    Carl tapped my elbow. “You’re supposed to haggle,” he said in a stage whisper.
    “Not