“Just before Gary and I split over a year ago.” She slapped her hand over her mouth, unable to believe she’d just blurted that out.

Missy didn’t miss a beat. “See, I’m right. You really do need a night of hot, sweaty sex with some hunk. Practice safe sex and nobody gets hurt, but you’ll certainly feel much more relaxed about things.”

Candy chuckled in spite of herself. Missy always did know how to make her laugh and help her gain perspective on a problem. “I don’t have time to relax. What am I going to do about Lucas Squires?” She switched topics easily, knowing Missy would drop the subject. For now. “He won’t take my phone calls and I can’t leave a message because he doesn’t have an answering machine. What kind of person doesn’t have an answering machine or some kind of message manager in this day and age?” She took a deep breath when she heard the frustration in her own voice.

“Obviously a person who wants to be left alone.”

Candy scowled. “You’re not helping. I know he wants to be left alone, but as a publicist for this company, I’ve got to get him to do some promotion for his new book. It’s due out in two months and I haven’t been able to set up any kind of advance publicity at all that involved the elusive Mr. Squires.” This was her own very personal pet project and she desperately wanted it to succeed.

“It’s not your fault that he’s being reclusive.”

She knew that Missy was right, but it didn’t make her feel any better. “But I do feel responsible. I was the one who brought this project to the company in the first place.”

It had all started innocently enough at a downtown Chicago art gallery. Candy had fallen in love with the work of local painter, Katie Benjamin, and had attended the showing. She’d been thrilled to meet the artist and even more thrilled a few months later when Katie had called and asked her out to lunch. Over dessert, the other woman had produced the rough draft for a cookbook and asked Candy’s opinion.

She’d been enthralled by the idea of the book from the beginning.

Filled with original artwork from Katie— everything from simple line drawings to elaborate oil paintings— it was, quite simply, gorgeous. The text of the book consisted of recipes for all manner of desserts and treats as well as anecdotal stories about Coffee Breaks, a well-known local coffee shop. It was only after they’d talked for a while that Candy had come to realize that Katie had compiled the work, but the person behind the recipes was Lucas Squires, the owner of the shop.

Fired with enthusiasm, she’d convinced the editors at TK Publishing to take a chance on it. They loved the idea of combining the artwork of an up-and-coming artist with the recipes from a popular local coffee shop. They figured it would be a hit with locals and tourists alike and would have mass appeal as well. The recipes went from the simple to the complex, but there was something for everyone.

Now the book was close to release and management was pushing for advance promotion to coincide with the grand reopening of the new Coffee Breaks location. They wanted local television and media coverage, and she had yet to be able to track down Lucas Squires long enough to say one word to the man. It was frustrating, to say the least.

She was damned good at her job, but he was quickly becoming a mark on her otherwise unblemished record. And that, she could not allow. She knew she could do this job. After all, she’d done most of her old boss’s work before finally being promoted after years of hard work. There was no way she was going to allow Lucas Squires to ruin everything she’d worked for. All she wanted was a few hours of his time over the next few months. That certainly wasn’t unreasonable to expect considering the money her company had put behind this project.

“Earth to Candy.” Missy waved her hand back and forth. “I recognize that look and it means you’re up to something.”

Candy jumped. She’d been so lost in her thoughts, she’d all but forgotten that her friend was still sitting there. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.” She pasted an innocent look on her face, but Missy just laughed at her.

“I know you too well to be fooled by the ‘I’m not doing anything’ look.”

Placing her hand over her heart, she shook her head sorrowfully. “I’m so misunderstood.” Missy laughed but made no motion to leave, and Candy knew she wouldn’t budge until she knew what was going on. “Okay.” She leaned back in her own chair. “There’s a party this afternoon, by invitation only, to celebrate the fact that the new location of Coffee Breaks will be ready to open its doors next week.”

“And you know this because…” Missy’s voice trailed off.

“Katie just happened to send me an invitation.” She felt a large smile spread across her face. “And Mr. Elusive has to be at his own party, right? All I have to do is corner him and keep at him until he agrees to give me a few hours of promotion time.”

“Very sneaky. I like that about you.” Missy glanced at her watch, sighed and stood. “I’ve got to get back to work, but take it easy at the party. Maybe he’s got a reason for avoiding you. Maybe he’s just shy.”

Candy nodded. “Maybe.” In fact, she had a picture of the man in her head. She knew he was in his early forties and she figured he was short and probably balding. He also spent most of his time in a kitchen, so he was probably portly as well. She could relate to that as she was no lightweight herself, perpetually trying to shed that last ten pounds that would never go away and sat right on her hips and belly.

“I’ll call you tonight for the scoop on the success or failure of your party crashing.” Missy wiggled her fingers goodbye as she strolled out the door.

Turning back to her desk, Candy dug through the pile in her in-box. She was sure she’d tossed the invitation in there when she’d gotten it. Ah ha! She plucked the creamcolored envelope out from between two magazines and waved it in the air. Today, she would meet the infamous Lucas Squires. He’d soon find that he could run, but he couldn’t hide from her.

Lucas stood in the shadows of the far corner and stared around the room. Pleasure filled him. He couldn’t believe how much the building had changed since he had purchased it. Even though it had been rundown and in need of major repairs, it had still cost him a pretty penny. But it was worth every cent, he thought as he took in the changes that weeks of hard work and sweat had wrought.

The main area of the coffee shop was warm and inviting. Hardwood floors gleamed underfoot— a pleasant surprise that they’d found when they’d ripped up the old linoleum. Wainscoting adorned the bottom half of the wall, while a rich French vanilla cream color topped the upper half. Wood tables and chairs were scattered strategically around the room, while five cozy booths lined the far wall. The sinking February sun was shining in through the series of small windows that ran across the front of the shop. All in all, Lucas was pleased with the work that had been done and in such a short time.

Right now the space was filled with people, many of them long-time customers or suppliers, as well as a smattering of friends and neighbors who’d all come today to celebrate the finish of the renovations. Chatter filled the air as people drifted from group to group, talking and laughing and eating. He’d already replenished the buffet table twice and this crowd showed no signs of letting up. Good thing he’d made plenty.

“So, what do you think?”

Lucas recognized the arm that slipped around his waist and he automatically draped his arm across her shoulders as he looked down at the woman standing beside him. Until recently, there had only been two people on the face of the planet that Lucas considered family, and Katie Wallace, former employee and the sister of his heart, was one of them. Not related by blood, they had long ago decided they were family. But in the past year, that small circle had expanded to three and now included her new husband as well.

“Lucas?” She was frowning at him now, so he gave her a quick squeeze of reassurance.

“It looks good.”

She laughed, the sweet sound filling the room. “Honestly, could you tone down your enthusiasm?”

The corner of his mouth kicked up slightly as he glowered at her in mock anger. “All right,” he conceded. “I love it.” He gazed around the room again and his voice lowered. “I really love it.”

It was the first home he’d ever owned. And that’s what it was, really. He’d taken the main floor for the new shop, but the top floor of the modest three-story building belonged to him, and he was slowly renovating it to suit his own tastes and needs. The second floor had been gutted but still needed to be remodeled. He had plans to rent the entire floor either as office space or as two apartments. He hadn’t quite decided yet.

“I’m glad. You deserve to be happy.” She went up on her toes and kissed his cheek.

“Making time with my wife, Squires?” a male voice growled. Cain Benjamin was a huge man who stood well over six-and-a-half-feet tall. With a black patch covering his left eye and his long black hair flowing to his shoulders, he looked more like a pirate than a multimillionaire businessman.

Lucas just cocked his eyebrow at the large man who’d strolled over to stand beside them. “You treating her right?”

Katie laughed again and gave him another quick kiss before going over to slide into her husband’s arms. “Honestly, anybody listening to you two would think you couldn’t stand each other.”

Lucas was glad that Katie had found a man who loved her as much as Cain obviously did. Their relationship hadn’t been an easy one from the very beginning and for a while it didn’t look like they’d make it. They’d had more than their share of problems to sort through, but the big guy had finally come to his senses, and not a moment too soon as far as Lucas was concerned. Now the two of them were happy together and Lucas had found himself with an unexpected friend.