A Sweet Deal for Karen [Hardwick Bay 3] (Siren Publishing Ménage Amour) Read online

  Hardwick Bay 3

  A Sweet Deal for Karen

  Karen Winsor loves her candy store and works hard to keep it successful. Her family is less than impressed with Karen’s Kandies and keeps pushing her to "get a real job." But Karen can’t imagine working in a big city for a corporation, even if it would be more financially secure.

  Allan March and Zander Winters have fallen for the voluptuous Karen. But her focus on ensuring her store continues to be successful leaves her with no time for the sexy duo. Or so she says. When Karen is injured the two men do their best to make sure Karen realizes there is time for love.

  But when there is a disaster at the store, will Karen abandon the men and Hardwick Bay for the security of a corporate career?

  Genre: Contemporary, Ménage a Trois/Quatre

  Length: 61,940 words

  A SWEET DEAL FOR KAREN

  Hardwick Bay 3

  Morgan Henry

  MENAGE AMOUR

  Siren Publishing, Inc.

  www.SirenPublishing.com

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  A SIREN PUBLISHING BOOK

  IMPRINT: Ménage Amour

  A SWEET DEAL FOR KAREN

  Copyright © 2014 by Morgan Henry

  E-book ISBN: 978-1-63258-703-9

  First E-book Publication: December 2014

  Cover design by Harris Channing

  All art and logo copyright © 2014 by Siren Publishing, Inc.

  ALL RIGHTS RESERVED: This literary work may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, including electronic or photographic reproduction, in whole or in part, without express written permission.

  All characters and events in this book are fictitious. Any resemblance to actual persons living or dead is strictly coincidental.

  PUBLISHER

  Siren Publishing, Inc.

  www.SirenPublishing.com

  Letter to Readers

  Dear Readers,

  If you have purchased this copy of A Sweet Deal for Karen by Morgan Henry from BookStrand.com or its official distributors, thank you. Also, thank you for not sharing your copy of this book.

  Regarding E-book Piracy

  This book is copyrighted intellectual property. No other individual or group has resale rights, auction rights, membership rights, sharing rights, or any kind of rights to sell or to give away a copy of this book.

  The author and the publisher work very hard to bring our paying readers high-quality reading entertainment.

  This is Morgan Henry’s livelihood. It’s fair and simple. Please respect Morgan Henry’s right to earn a living from her work.

  Amanda Hilton, Publisher

  www.SirenPublishing.com

  www.BookStrand.com

  DEDICATION

  Thanks Colleen and Alex!

  I wouldn’t get done without you two.

  Table of Contents

  Title Page

  Copyright Page

  Dedication

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Chapter 27

  Chapter 28

  Chapter 29

  Chapter 30

  About the Author

  A SWEET DEAL FOR KAREN

  Hardwick Bay 3

  MORGAN HENRY

  Copyright © 2014

  Chapter 1

  Karen smoothed the red apron over her ample hips as she prepared to open the store. The bibbed apron would protect her red blouse with large yellow flowers on it, one of her favorites, and the blouse went well with the cheery décor of Karen’s Kandies.

  Her store never failed to make her grin. The riot of handmade chocolates, candy, snacks, and coffee against the red-and-yellow backdrop was a dentist’s nightmare.

  After she unlocked the door, she made herself a coffee—black of course. The rest of the store held enough sugar to supply her for a lifetime, or at least a month. Well, maybe a week. She gave another passing thought to putting more fruit in the employee fridge, and to actually eating it.

  The cowbell on the front door clanged and Karen’s widest grin split her face as her best friend Hanna walked in.

  “You are going to love it!” Karen exclaimed. “It turned out even better than I hoped.”

  “I knew you were the woman for the job,” replied Hanna, grinning back.

  It was Dr. Sharon Dunlop’s birthday. She was the veterinarian at the clinic Hanna worked in as a technician. Hanna and the rest of the staff had decided to get Sharon a birthday cake that was partially a practical joke.

  The litter box cake was well known in veterinary circles. For Dr. Dunlop, Karen had created a cake in a clean, brand-new litter pan and covered it with gray cookie crumbs to appear like litter. She had added a variety of feces that were made from candy. Karen had even created anatomically accurate candy parasites from the pictures Hanna had given her. The cake sent both of them into a fit of pee-your-pants laughter. It was absolutely foul.

  “That is the most disgusting thing I have ever seen,” Hanna said, wiping the tears from her eyes.

  Karen wiggled her hips like a crazed hula dancer in happiness. “Mission accomplished!”

  They wrapped up the cake for transport. Karen then produced the pièce de résistance—a brand-new litter scoop to serve the cake with.

  “You’re the best!” Hanna gave her friend a hug before she left for work.

  “Take pictures!” Karen waved her out the door.

  Just after Hanna left, Martin and Bill wandered in. They gay couple were regular visitors to Karen’s, stopping by for coffee, chocolate, and conversation. Today they were picking out some chocolates for Bill’s mother. She was in a nursing home and they were visiting her on the weekend.

  “Can you get a mix of the chai crèmes, vanilla, and caramels? Those are her favorites.” Bill was le
aning over the glass counter and checking out her selection. His eyes caressed each chocolate in the case, but he managed not to order more.

  “Absolutely.” Karen pulled on some gloves and carefully selected the chocolates and filled the box. “Do you two want a coffee?”

  “Does a bear shit in the woods?” Martin asked in his deep voice.

  “Such a potty mouth.” Karen let out a mock gasp at the big man. “I’ll get your drinks then wrap this up nicely for your mom.”

  “You should hear him in the bedroom,” said Bill with a small snort.

  “What? I’m sure he’s an angel then,” Karen continued to tease Martin. She liked it when the big, tough-looking man got a little girly-pink blush on his cheeks. She handed them their beverages and went back to wrapping their gift.

  “So I hear your friend Hanna’s seeing the VanLindt men,” Bill continued the conversation.

  “Yeah, she deserves someone as nice as them.” Karen wrapped the box in a soft pink paper and tied it with silvery ribbon. “They’re certainly treating her well.”

  “When are you going to hook up with a nice couple of men? Or are you wanting a Dom? Or are you looking for a sweet gal or two?” Martin sat back in his chair and sipped his coffee as he waited for her answer.

  Karen laughed a little at his gentle curiosity. She was long over people in this town talking about sex and unconventional relationships. Hardwick Bay had turned out to be a kinky little place once you got past the polite, sleepy little town front for the tourists. Anything went, as long as it was consensual.

  “No, I’m afraid women don’t do anything for me. And really, I’m too busy with the store to have time for romance with one guy, let alone two.”

  “Oh, hon, don’t use that tired old excuse to cheat yourself out of happiness.” Bill slapped his hand on his thigh and leaned forward. His eyes captured hers and held them tight. “In the end, love and the family you make around you are what counts. The people in your life that love you for who you are will support you in any endeavor and make success that much sweeter.”

  His words had a little too much truth in them, and it made her want to find some other very important task to absorb herself in. A task away from the insightful Bill.

  “You’re quite the sweet talker, Bill. I can see why Martin fell for you,” Karen replied, smiling, but her eyes roved the store for a job she couldn’t possibly put off.

  “That’s not the way it was at all, Karen,” Bill corrected her. “I had to do some serious chasing to get Martin to go out with me.”

  “Oh really?” Karen got herself a coffee and plunked herself down at the table with the men. She stretched out, successful in her bid to change the subject. She made a sweeping gesture with her hand. “Do tell.”

  After Bill and Martin left, Karen checked her website for orders and printed the few that were there so she or one of her employees could fill them later. She went around and checked the shelves, restocking the depleted items and making notes on what needed to be made or ordered.

  Karen’s Kandies specialized in hard-to-find items, like some of the candy available in other countries. She carried quite a bit from Australia and Great Britain. She also made her own chocolates and chocolate-based goodies, as well as other treats like nut brittles. She also had the best jellybeans to be found and made her own ice cream in store.

  There was a coffee station in the back corner where she could whip up lattes and espressos and whatever else customers may require to feed their caffeine addiction. Or her own.

  It was early summer, so the store was getting busy with the tourist traffic. It was a popular destination whenever people came into town from their cottages along the bay. Karen noticed that most people gave themselves license to eat a little naughty when they were on holidays. The kids that came with their parents didn’t hurt business either.

  Karen had several employees that worked in the summer only, and two that worked for her part-time, all year round. Sara came in at noon and got to work on looking after customers. Karen disappeared into the kitchen in the back to start on making peanut-butter-filled chocolates. They tended to sell well and she was getting low again.

  She hummed happily as she started heating the conched chocolate to be tempered. Once warm enough, she tempered the chocolate by agitating it on a marble slab. She then filled the mold and tapped out the excess chocolate. Once hardened she filled them with her crunchy, peanut butter filling and sealed them with more chocolate. Once out of the mold, they were only handled with gloves, so their perfect surface wasn’t marred.

  She made a few other batches of filled chocolates. Each different flavor had its own identifying mark on the top. Orange filled, not her favorite but popular, had an orange dot on the top. Chai-infused cream filled had a green slash, and ground espresso and caramel filled had a dark swirl. The last was her ultimate favorite. She couldn’t resist a taste.

  While she was molding, she also added an infusion of spicy, smoked chilies to a small amount of chocolate and made solid, chili-pepper-shaped chocolates. This, too, was a favorite, so she had one of them as well. Karen decided to get the hell out of the chocolates before her hips split the seams in her jeans.

  Chocolate-making had taken up the afternoon, but Sara was able to handle most of the afternoon customers by herself. Karen had popped out while waiting for the chocolate to set, but otherwise was free to get her stores topped up.

  “Great job today, Sara,” she complimented her employee. This was Sara’s second summer working for Karen. Sara was dependable and great with the customers, but it drove Karen nuts that she could work the entire day and not eat one chocolate. The little witch.

  “Thanks, Karen,” replied the slim teen. “See you tomorrow,” she called as she headed out to her mom’s waiting car.

  Karen locked the door behind her and balanced the cash. It had been a good day for sales, mostly because it was summer. Come January, she wouldn’t be so busy, so she’d take the extra business as it came.

  Still, she reflected, she was doing well. She had built the little store from the ground up. Well, okay, not the building, but the business anyway.

  Five years ago she had decided to start up in the little town of Hardwick Bay. Her family had a cottage nearby, and she had spent many holidays on the bay. She loved the small town with its great old-fashioned main street, awesome waterfront park, and fun people. She knew that Hardwick Bay didn’t have a candy store and was certain the idea would fly in the little town.

  She located a storefront on the main street and was able to rent half of the entire building, giving herself an apartment upstairs to live in. The store was longer than it was wide. It had the original dark wood floors and some exposed brick on the walls. She had left all that in place and used red and yellow to punch up the color scheme. The happy result was a vibe that read as old-fashioned kooky.

  Her apartment above was a small, one-bedroom affair, but it was cheap and she saved on the commute to work. She had left the plain white-and-beige walls the owner of the building insisted on, but added glorious, full-bodied color in other ways.

  She had a bright blue couch with raspberry cushions strewn on it. The comfy chair in the living room she used to curl up and read in was raspberry as well. The unit that housed her TV and media was in a similar blue to the couch. There was a patterned rug on the floor that held similar hues, along with a few other colors. Her glass coffee table didn’t block the view of the cushy colorful carpet.

  The kitchen was pretty boring, so Karen made sure all the accessories she bought for it were in the brightest red she could find. Her bedroom was a little more subdued in softer shades of green and turquoise. The bathroom was decked out in orange and green to make sure she woke up in the morning. Karen loved color.

  After putting away the cash, Karen made the thirty second commute upstairs.

  Rain was in the forecast for tonight so she wasn’t going anywhere. There were leftovers in the fridge, so she ate a quick dinner and
ran herself a bath. The tub in the apartment was surprisingly generous in size for the small space. Karen could almost immerse herself in it and she loved relaxing in the bubbles. She had almost fallen asleep in it more than once and counted herself lucky she hadn’t drowned. How embarrassing would that be?

  Relaxing into her comfy bed that night, Karen reflected on her move to Hardwick Bay. She felt it had been a stellar decision. Getting away from a family that specialized in overt criticism with backhanded compliments sprinkled in for variety had done her a world of good. She still had to put up with the fam-damn-ily when they came up to the cottage, but she could plead work and avoid them most of the time. Avoidance was definitely a good coping strategy.

  Chapter 2

  Karen hopped in her SUV and headed out to Kent and Carter VanLindt’s. The two men lived outside of Hardwick Bay in a beautiful house in the woods. Kent and Carter were head-over-heels in love with Hanna and Karen couldn’t be happier. She thought her best friend deserved the best men, and the brothers were pretty damn good. Things were looking up for Hanna in the relationship department.

  She was heading out to Kent and Carter’s to practice softball. She tried to tell herself that this would not be the disaster that her self-deprecating mind and uncoordinated body were convinced it would be.

  Hanna had hinted at dire consequences if she didn’t play on their team. Karen was still unsure. She had no love for team sports, didn’t own a baseball glove, and didn’t enjoy beer. And wasn’t beer the traditional drink of team sports? It was the making of a festival of humiliation.