Sweet Pleasures ✔︎

[18] 𝑾𝒆𝒍𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒆 𝒕𝒐 𝑪𝒐𝒅𝒔𝒘𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒐𝒑

Status : Unedited

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"You're sure Codswallop won't scare him away?" Isabelle pushed her messy hair off her forehead. She was curled up on the sofa with a cup of coffee, wearing an overlarge T-shirt and a pair of Jupiter's knee socks.

"I'm sure." Jupiter signed. The only thing that could scare Josh was a threat to his family. And a long-lasting relationship. And making promises.

She put her toiletries kit in her travel bag. While her discovery of Josh's paternity suit had explained a great deal about both his workaholic nature and his approach to relationships, she felt sad rather than enlightened.

Sad that Josh had had to go through such pain when he'd already worked so hard to protect Candy King after his mother's death. Sad that one vindictive woman had scarred him so deeply. Sad that he'd thrown himself back into the company with such force that everything else was obliterated.

Except....

He'd agreed to go with her this weekend. Even though Jupiter didn't like leaving while her sister was in town, Codswallop only happened once a year and she wasn't about to miss the chance to take CEO King.

"Do you know when you're leaving yet?" she asked Isabelle.

"I'm still waiting to hear from Dave. He's in Arizona now, I think."

"Is he your boyfriend?"

Isabelle chuckled. "He would like to be, but no. I've found out that's it's easier in general not to have boyfriends."

She took another sip of coffee and looked at Jupiter speculatively. "And, Jupie, I know you like Josh, but I hope you don't think he's going to whisk you off to his castle on the cliff forever and ever."

Jupiter's heart clenched. She turned away to fold a couple of pairs of panties, stuffing them beneath the rolled blanket in her travel bag.

"Of course I don't think that," she said, hoping she sounded as if she were scoffing a little. "Josh and I are just having a good time. Besides, what business is it of yours anyway?"

Isabelle shrugged. "None. Just making sure you know men like him don't do that with girls like us."

"Please." Jupiter shoved two pairs of socks into her bag. "This isn't the eighteenth century. Josh's family hasn't arranged some marriage to a wealthy heiress for him."

But the words rang hollow in her ears as she remembered her encounter with Josh's Aunt Julia who, even if she didn't have her sights set on a wealthy heiress, had some very definite ideas about the type of woman her nephew deserved to be with.

Jupiter shook her head. None of that mattered anyway because even though her emotions were getting involved, both she and Josh had established that neither one of them was in this for the long-term.

"Were having a good time," she repeated, which was certainly the truth. "After four years of helping Mom and trying to save the bakery, I deserve to have a good time."

Isabelle studied her. "And you really want to run the bakery for the rest of your life?"

"Why wouldn't I?" Jupiter zipped her bag and set it down on the floor. "Mom worked so hard for it. Remember how she was the town baker at Twelve Oaks? She baked something for every meal - bread, muffins, biscuits, and of course tons of desserts. She once told me she's wanted to open a bakery since she was a teenager, but never had the chance. So when we moved to Rainsville, she was finally able to make her dream come true. "

"Yeah," Isabelle said. "Her dream."

"What does that mean?"

"Just what I said. The Rainbow Palace was Mom's dream. Not yours. Certainly not mine."