Alice’s eyes were bright. “Honey, that’s where you’re wrong. You could tell him to jump off of a cliff and he’d do it. It’s up to you to make sure he doesn’t make the biggest mistake of his life. I’m counting on you.”
* * * * *
That night as Callie sat in the chic new restaurant surrounded by Tobey’s parents and his brother and wife, she was still trying to get Alice’s words out of her head. He doesn’t want to do it. It’s up to you to make sure he doesn’t make the biggest mistake of his life.
I’m counting on you.
Callie tried to focus on getting to know Tobey’s relatives, all the while wondering when things had become so complicated. One day she was happily running her business and the next she was dating a passionate, complex man who was turning both her little store and her life upside down. Everything was getting so big, so fast.
Tobey’s mother, Joan, turned to her and said, “So you’re the famous Callie from Callie’s Candies?”
Callie blushed. “I don’t know about famous.”
Joan waved her hand in the air. “Nonsense. My women’s group has been enjoying your truffles for years. And besides,” she said, lowering her voice, “John and I haven’t heard about anything else for weeks.”
Callie stuttered unintelligible monosyllables, but Joan wasn’t expecting a response.
“John and I think it is just perfect that you and Tobey found each other. Two candy lovers who are obviously in love with each other.”
Callie had to clamp her teeth together to keep her mouth from falling open. She tried to smile, but she was sure her attempt looked pathetic. Thankfully, Joan was drawn into a conversation with her husband and Tobey. Callie turned to Tobey’s older brother, Jed, with relief.
Jed leered at her and she barely repressed a shudder as she took in his beady eyes, oily hair, and bad breath. His wife, a thin dour woman, sat like a mouse beside him.
Her eyes were glassy and Callie didn’t envy the woman one bit. “So you own a candy store,” he said, more a statement than a question. His words struck her as being almost snide and she was sure that she must have misread his intentions.
“That’s right. Callie’s Candies is just down the street.” Jed rolled his eyes. “Candy,” he scoffed. “Good thing my brother has finally come to his senses.”
Callie sucked in a breath. “Excuse me?” she said, her voice soft and still, working hard not to betray her growing anger. How could it be, she wondered, that Tobey and Jed were related by blood? They were polar opposites.
“I’ve worked on him for years to join me in the accounting firm. Something he’ll finally get some respect for. Do you know how embarrassing it is to be related to the Candy King?” The words ‘Candy King’ sounded like spoilt milk coming out of Jed’s mouth.
Callie curled her fingers tightly into her fist, fighting the overpowering urge to punch Tobey’s jerk of a brother in his fat mouth.“No. I don’t,” she said, deciding her only hope was to humor Jed until dinner was over.
As she nodded in all the right places during Jed’s endless discourse on his importance and value as a high-powered accountant, everything became crystal clear to Callie. Jed was jealous of Tobey’s success and happiness. Obviously, Jed was the one that had been putting pressure on Tobey to “finally grow up,” since Tobey’s parents clearly loved and supported him in his career choice. She knew they were proud of him, just as they somehow managed to be proud of their other brute of a son.
It was as if a huge weight was lifted from her shoulders. She knew what she needed to say to Tobey. Maybe, just maybe, she would have a fighting chance at succeeding at convincing him to keep Sweet Returns in business.
Callie planted a smile on her face and knew that nothing else Jed said to her tonight was going to bring her down. She would keep up the small talk when she had to and focus most of her attention on getting to know Tobey’s wonderful parents better.
Whatever she had to put up with to be with Tobey was worth it.
* * * * *
Tobey sat back and watched Callie charm his family just as she charmed every single person she came in contact with. Even his brother, who could be somewhat standoffish with strangers, was talking animatedly to her.
“Being the VP at an accounting firm is a big responsibility,” Jed said, his chest puffed up with pride at his accomplishments.
Tobey shook his head as he caught snippets of Jed’s conversation with Callie. Tobey didn’t begrudge Jed any of his success, but sometimes Tobey thought he rode the fine line between pride and arrogance. Thank god, Tobey thought, that Callie didn’t care about stuff like that. She just wanted him to be happy.
Callie leaned in towards his brother and said, “Wow. Your job sounds really exciting. And important.”
Tobey blinked hard a couple of times. What the hell was she saying? Jed’s job sounded important? And exciting? Jed said something in response which Tobey couldn’t hear, but he couldn’t miss Callie’s impressed response. “That figure was your bonus for last year? Wow. I didn’t know accountants did quite so well.” Suddenly the room felt too small and Tobey grabbed at his tie to loosen it from around his neck. As the awful truth crashed in around him, he could no longer breathe.
He shot up out of his chair without a word to anyone and made it as far as the parking lot before he bowled over into a hedge of snow covered boxwood and threw up. He could hardly believe what he had heard, even though now that he had seen the evidence for himself, there was no denying it.
Callie wasn’t the woman he thought she was.
Instead of the cute, sweet, supportive woman he thought he loved, instead of the woman who looked at a bouquet of flowers as more precious than jewels, she was a power-grubbing bitch, just like his ex-fiancée had been.
Tobey got in his Ferrari and sped off into the night, leaving behind the woman who had broken his heart forever.
* * * * *
Callie nodded absently at Jed’s bragging—he didn’t require any help from her to prod his boasting into the stratosphere—wondering where Tobey had rushed off to without a word to anyone. When he had been gone more than five minutes, she excused herself and asked the host to check the men’s restroom. But Tobey was gone.
Callie slumped into the coat rack, wondering what had happened. One minute everything was great, the next minute Tobey was gone. She went back to the table and asked his parents, “Did Tobey say anything to you about needing to leave early?” His mother and father shook their heads, looking worried. “No. I wonder if something he ate didn’t agree with him?”