Sweet Pleasures ✔︎

[13] "𝑺𝒕𝒖𝒅𝒚𝒊𝒏𝒈"

Status : Unedited

❦︎

Josh King knew a lot about... A lot. Jupiter was pretty sure of that. And she had no doubt he was an expert on seducing women with champagne and expensive dinners, but as he sat across from her at the worn kitchen table, Jupiter imagined she was probably the only woman in the world who could get weak in the knees over his explanation of batch process nougat-making.

"It requires an eight percent moisture content before the whipping agent is added to the syrup." He wrote on her scribbled notepad. "The whipping agent is usually egg albumen, gelatin, or milk protein."

When she didn't respond, he glanced up to catch her staring at him. Her heart jumped. His jaw was dusted with five o'clock stubble, giving his strong features a very sexy and dangerous look. She liked him that way. Heck, she liked him ten ways from Sunday.

"Did you learn all this just from making candy?" she asked.

He nodded. "In addition to our branding overhaul, we had to revamp and streamline a lot of the processes when I took over the company. Made everything more efficient."

His cell buzzed again, as it had at least half a dozen times in the past hour with an apology, he checked it and responded to an email.

"Do you ever take time off?" Jupiter asked.

"Sometimes."

"You don't sound very convincing."

He didn't look up from his phone. "I travel often for work."

"Where?"

"Europe. Switzerland, Germany, and France mostly."

"How many times have you been to Paris?"

"I don't know." He swiped the screen on the phone. "I go a couple times a year for business. We consult with several chocolate and candy makers in Paris."

"Really? Like who?"

He rattled off the names of the chefs who ran Fouquet, La Maison du Chocolat, and Alain Ducasse. Jupiter had read their books, visited their websites, learned where they were educated and trained, watched their TV shows.

And Josh King personally consulted with them.

"What about Pierre Lacroix?" she asked.

"We worked with him last year to develop a candy version of macaroons."

Awestruck, Jupiter sat back. She pictured Josh visiting the kitchens of such renowned chocolatiers and patisseries-the air filled with sweet scents and the lyrical cadence of French, watching chefs create towering, sugar-glass confections and tiny, perfect candies of almond paste. Miniature apples and pears, hand-painted animals and sucettes. Caramels, pralines, bon-bons.

She looked down at her textbook. The Hartford course in candy technology was required for the Culinary Arts certificate, and though she was enjoying the class, it was nothing compared to what she could learn in Paris.

She reached for the open bag of Jelly Rolls, which was one of several packages of candy Josh had produced from his briefcase, and plucked out a few red ones. The Candy King version of jelly beans, Jelly Rolls were soft, round candies encased in a smooth icing shell. He'd also brought a bag of Puffles, the gummy candy she had liked, and Chocolate Crackles, crispy nut-and-puffed rice nuggets coated with bittersweet chocolate.

These were my sister Isabelle's favorite when we were kids." Jupiter indicated the Jelly Rolls."She was never really into desserts, but she liked these."