Page 18 of Heaven Leigh’s Little Halloween

“Anyway, after she was gone, I had a lot to deal with. We had a small chocolate shop by then. Nothing fancy, but we had a steady stream of customers. I continued because she would have wanted me to, but the joy had gone out of it for me.”

“Oh, I know what that’s like. I guess I felt the same way after Barbara died. Every time I baked, I’d think of her and… it was too much, I guess.”

He nodded, completely understanding. They really did have a lot in common. He wondered if that was part of what made the boss think they’d be a match. Derek was probably the only one at the Ranch who knew he was a widower. Well, Derek had probably told Sadie, but she’d never mentioned it if so.

“I kept the shop going for a couple of years, but in the end, I sold it to her father. He… blamed me for her death. He’d never really accepted our marriage anyway, so that was no surprise, but he made me an offer.” It had been ridiculously low, but he’d implied Angel owed him for taking Merry away.

“To be honest, I was just tired, so I agreed. And then I was free… free to make a new start somewhere. In a way it was a relief to let the store go. There were too many memories.”

“And then you came here?”

Angel shook his head. “Not quite. First, I traveled a bit. I read a lot, took classes from some of the finest chocolatiers in the country, even visited a cacao farm. I thought about opening a new place on my own. Maybe I would have eventually, but Derek saw one of my creations on display at a benefit for a women’s shelter. It was a chocolate carnival with moving parts—way too much work since my time was donated.”

He laughed. “I was showing off some of the new skills I’d picked up, but I guess it was worth it in the end, since he offered me a place here.”

Heaven blinked. “Wow. I mean, I’m glad he did. And you like it here?”

“I do. I get paid generously to do what I love and I have almost complete creative freedom.” He pointed at her lunch. She’d stopped eating again. “If you want me to keep talking, you do need to finish your lunch though.”

She rolled her eyes but picked up a handful of crisp apple slices and made a point of crunching into one loudly. “Happy?”

His mouth twitched. “Yes, thank you. I do like it here. There’s something healing about Rawhide Ranch. Not surprising given the history, but the whole welcoming atmosphere was a big help when I arrived. I have a place here and it suits me.”

She pushed another apple slice into her mouth. “Um, what about the kinky stuff?” The words were slightly garbled as she talked around the apple.

One eyebrow went up, but he didn’t correct her for talking with her mouth full. It was there on the edge of his tongue, but he refrained. “Are you asking if I’m kinky?”

She nodded.

“Yes, and yes, I’m Dominant, in case that was coming up next.” Her cheeks suddenly bloomed like roses, making him sure that had been her next question.

She made a point of focusing on her food and not asking anything else. He struggled not to grin. She was adorable, and very unlike his wife, which was probably a good thing.

He didn’t want reminders of what he’d lost. He wanted opportunities for the future, and Heaven… maybe she was that. He looked for a new topic, one that wouldn’t leave her flushing. “So, that’s an interesting name you’ve got. Almost sounds like Heavenly. Is that because you’re from heaven? It’s funny be—”

Her head snapped up, eyes wide and upset. “I have to go. Sorry,” she blurted as she got to her feet. She left the remains of her lunch and hurried away without another word, leaving Angel perplexed.

“Shit. What did I do?” he wondered. Had his past been too much for her? It was dark, he understood that, but she hadn’t seemed upset until he’d asked about her name.

He hurried to pack up the lunch leftovers, but by the time he got it all together, she was out of sight. If he’d been her Daddy, he would have hunted her down for answers, but he wasn’t. Not yet anyway. He wasn’t sure if it would be crossing boundaries if he did seek her out and he was still considering what to do when he got back to the kitchen.

Hayleigh was just coming out and she waved when she saw him. “Hi, Angel!”

His mood lifted. “Hayleigh, exactly who I needed to see.” He headed straight for her.

“Uh-oh.” Her eyes widened. “Whatever it is, I didn’t do it. Honest,” she assured him quickly.

His brow furrowed and he snorted a laugh. “Guilty conscience, chiquita?”

“Um, well…”

“Don’t worry, this isn’t about any trouble. I seem to have upset Heaven accidentally and I’m not sure exactly what happened. I know you’re friends so I thought…” He gave her a quick rundown of the picnic, explained how they’d been talking, and what he’d asked.

“Oh.” Hayleigh frowned. “She has a thing about her name. It’s Heaven Layyyyy, never Heaven Lee, and especially not Heavenly. She gets upset about it but… um, I’m not sure exactly why. She actually doesn’t talk much about before she came here.”

Angel shook his head. “Looks like I put my foot into it somehow. I just thought it was funny that we have so much in common and then our names… Heaven Leigh and Angel.” He shook his head.

Hayleigh grinned. “So, you have a lot in common huh? Do I smell chemistry?”

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