“Well, slap me sideways! Congrats on landing a Richie Rich!” Carlotta’s voice booms as she approaches with the subtlety of a wrecking ball. “I heard all about the bad girl meets millionaire story—sounds likeFifty Shades of Cashto me.”
I’d be happy to slap her sideways, and honestly, she wouldn’t need to ask twice.
Gina looks momentarily confused but amused by the enthusiastic lunatic heading our way.
“Gina, meet Carlotta,” I say quickly. “My biological mother, who moved to Honey Hollow a few years ago and has been making inappropriate comments ever since.”
“Call me if you need someone buried, Blondie Bucks,” she says, quickly shaking the woman’s hand. “And honey, you are living proofthat good things happen to girls who know how to work what they’ve got.”
Gina belts out a genuine laugh that lights up her whole face. “I like you already.”
“Of course, you do! We’re two of a kind—I can spot a woman who knows how to handle men from a mile away.” Carlotta eyes Gina’s designer outfit as if it were made of hundred-dollar bills. “So tell me, how many hearts did you have to break before you landed the chocolate prince?”
“Only a few dozen,” Gina replies with a wink and a honk. “But who’s counting?”
“A woman after my own heart,” Carlotta honks right back. “I’m currently engaged to the mayor, but that doesn’t mean a girl can’t window shop, right?”
“Carlotta!” I wrinkle my nose at her. “Must everyone know about your testosterone obsession?”
“What? The girl married into chocolate royalty! We’re talking generational wealth here. If she gives me a few tips, I might just trade up financially.” She turns to Gina. “Does your hubby have a rich uncle?”
“Ignore her,” I tell Gina as I try my best to hold Carlotta back before she pounces on the poor woman, literally.
“Speaking of the family,” Gina says, “let me introduce you to everyone.” She waves toward the chocolate booth area where a blonde and a sandy-haired gentleman look as if they’re locking horns. “Bunny! Duncan! Come meet my oldest friends!”
A petite blonde with long honey-colored hair loosely pulled into a messy bun breaks away from what appears to be an intense conversation with a tall, imposing man. She’s wearing flowing organic fabrics in earth tones that scream wellness guru meets expensive yoga retreat, and even from a distance, there’s something serene yet sharp about her movements.
The tall man beside her radiates the kind of commanding presence that comes with inherited wealth and the absolute certainty that he’s right about everything. His sandy brown hair clings to his scalp, andhis gray-blue eyes survey the crowd with a calculating expression as if he were tallying up potential profit margins.
They both approach, and the tension between them follows as an unwelcome third party—the kind that makes small talk impossible and family dinners feel like hostage situations.
“This is Bunny, my sister-in-law,” Gina says as the woman reaches us. “She runs the most amazing wellness retreat, plus she’s a best-selling author many times over. Her new book,Sweet Poison: How Sugar Is Destroying Your Soul,went completely viral on social media. She’s got like half a million followers hanging on her every detox tip.”
Bunny’s smile tightens slightly, as if being introduced by her accomplishments makes her uncomfortable. I can tell she’s very humble.
“It’s really about helping people find their authentic selves through mindful living,” she says, her voice carrying that particular blend of earnestness and authority that only a wellness guru can provide. She forces a smile that doesn’t quite register in her warm brown eyes. “Lovely to meet you. Any friends of Gina’s are friends of ours.”
The tall man arrives a beat later, and his presence seems to suck some of the joy out of the immediate vicinity. “This is Duncan, my brother-in-law,” Gina continues. “The chocolate king himself.”
“Charmed,” he says, though his tone suggests he’s anything but.
“Duncan was just explaining to me the importance of family loyalty,” Bunny says, her voice carrying an edge sharp enough to cut down every tree in the woods surrounding the lake.
“And Bunny was demonstrating her usual resistance to sound business advice,” Duncan replies smoothly.
The tension between them could start a kitchen fire.
“Well, isn’t this cozy?” says a new voice, and we turn to see a curvy woman with gorgeous auburn curls approaching with a professional camera around her neck. She’s beautiful in that effortless way that makes other women want to check their lipstick, but there’s something guarded in her bright blue eyes. I recognize Muffin instantly because she’s been the secretary down at Honey Hollow Covenant Church for years.
“And this is Muffin,” Gina says brightly. “Duncan’s wife and our resident photographer. She’s working on that hunky calendar project everyone’s talking about.”
“Calendar?” I ask, pleasantly surprised. “I don’t remember the church ever putting one out, but that’s a great idea,” I tell her.
Her face turns the same inflamed color as her curly locks. “It’s not for the church,” she says before clearing her throat a notch. “It’s The Hunks of Honey Hollow calendar,” Muffin clarifies, though she doesn’t look at her husband when she speaks. “It’s for a local charity that supports the women’s shelter in Burlington.”
“Hot dog, now we’re talking!” Carlotta practically bounces right out of her randy shoes. “Now that’s a charity I can stand behind. Where are you getting all the hunks? Just let me know if you need help rounding them up. I’ve got an eye for these things—it’s like a sixth sense, but for attractive men in compromising positions.”
Lainey laughs. “That’s pretty much Carlotta’s specialty.”
