Page 68 of Charm

Her face lights up with a brilliant smile. It reaches all the way to her eyes. “Meeting ormeeting?”

The subtle difference in how she says meeting the second time makes me laugh out loud. “Martha!”

“There’s no law that says a young, beautiful, single mom can’t have some fun, Greer.” She glances at the stairs leading up to the second and third floors. “You deserve to have as much fun as you can as often as you can.”

“I’m not sure about that.”

“Why not?” she spits both words out quickly. “You’ve devoted your entire life to Olive since the day she was born, and the business takes up so much of your time, too. I know you want to fulfill Celia’s dreams, Greer, but…”

“Who had a dream?” Olive comes racing around the corner.

It looks like my little sneak took the back staircase to get to this floor. That’s her usual trick when she is on the hunt for a candy before dinner since that staircase leads straight to the kitchen.

“Is that a cinnamon chew in your mouth?” I ask to change the subject.

Her tongue darts out to show me what’s left of the small candy. “They are so good, Mom. They’re the best.”

“I agree.” Martha’s hand dives into the pocket of her dress to scoop out three of the brightly wrapped candies. “I always keep a few right here in case I need a little hit of spice.”

“Mommy is the best candy maker in the world.” Olive runs toward me with her arms outstretched.

I take her in for a hug, holding tightly to her.

“One day, I’ll be the best candy maker in the world, too,” she whispers. “I’ll go to our store every morning. I’ll tell people how great our candies are, and everyone will keep coming back for more.”

Martha smiles softly at me as I cling to my daughter. “Sweet Indulgence is a very special place.”

It is, and it’s part of my family’s legacy now.

I’m not sure I have the strength to let it go.

I rap quietlyon the door to Krista’s apartment. She lives in a two bedroom on the third floor of a walk-up in Brooklyn. Her apartment is a testament to the best this city has to offer. Her neighbors are phenomenal, and the view is as New York as one can get, with the skyline of Manhattan in the distance.

I’m not sure how she’s going to leave this all behind, but she will. I realized earlier as I heard my daughter talk about a possible future at the helm of Sweet Indulgence that I can’t let the company go.

What I can do is let my surviving best friend go.

I can encourage her to chase her dreams.

Krista swings open the door with a wide grin on her face and what looks like a spot of pink cloud on her nose.

I fall into laughter immediately. “You have cotton candy on your nose.”

“Oh, fuck.” She swipes her hand across her nose. “I was craving it so badly. I sent Howie out to get me some earlier.”

I lift a hand in greeting to her fiancé. “Hey, Howie.”

“Hey, you!” he calls from where he’s sitting in an armchair reading a book. “There’s plenty more cotton candy on the table.”

I take a step in and glance at their small dining table. It’s covered by an array of see-through containers. Each holds a different shade of spun sugar.

“I’ll pass.”

“Smart move.” He slides to his feet. “I’m going to take my book to the pub across the street. I indulged my fiancée’s cotton candy craving, so it’s time to satisfy mine for a cold beer.”

He scoots past us, stopping to kiss Krista on the cheek before he hugs me. “You love each other. Never forget that.”

“We won’t,” we whisper in unison as he walks out of the apartment.

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