Ganache with Panache: Book 2 in The Chocolate Cafe Series by Valley Sams Page A

then? At least I could be entertained there.”
    Zach’s heart sank a little. He had known that quitting all his bad habits was going to be tough, but he hadn’t thought it would have such a profound effect on all his relationships. He looked back at the man beside him. John looked impatient and annoyed——no doubt glaring at him from behind his expensive sunglasses. If Zach was being honest (something he’d been doing a lot of lately) - he looked like a big baby.
    “Idle hands are the devil’s playthings.” Zach said. “Make an appointment with her this afternoon. Around three. If Mrs. Pageant Mom can’t make it, it’s her loss.”
    He had to get away from that drink. Remove himself from the situation. Remove himself from John. Zach stood up and dusted the sand off his lean, tanned legs. He looked down to where John sat, stunned, Mrs. Hood shouting into his chest.
    As if to prove a point, John raised the tumbler of ice and alcohol to his lips and took a deep, long drink.
    Zach felt a painful mix of disappointment and fury well up in his chest. He’d felt it before—that mixture of emotions was the death rattle of relationships. As soon as he felt it, he knew his number was up.
    “Tell her I’ll do it,” he said, his voice clipped. “I’m going for a swim now.”
    “Here’s to a relaxing holiday.” John said bitterly, placing the phone to his ear. With the phone no longer muffled by John’s shirt, Zach could make out a few choice curse words from the elegant Mrs. Hood.
    Obviously it wasn’t going to be easy, Zach thought, as he ran barefoot toward the ocean. But was it going to be any harder than getting bullied into a relapse by his drunken, bored partner?
    Nothing could be worse than that.
     

CHAPTER TWO
    If Brie weren’t her best friend, Mac would’ve wondered what asylum she’d escaped from. She practically skipped in front of Mac, her tiny elf-like body vibrating with excitement. Over one arm she had slung a basket that she had filled with the best of her chocolate creations. The smell coming from that wicker wonderland was enough to make the few people they passed on the street pause and sniff the air like prairie dogs.
    Sabrina turned to face Mac, walking backwards as she went.
    “You are going to love Vanessa. I’m serious.”
    Mac raised one eyebrow incredulously, her almond eyes narrowing.
    “I know, I know.” Brie said. “You don’t like most people, but Vanessa? You’ll love her. She’s sweet, introverted, freethinking, ummm, what else?” Still walking backwards, Brie was managing to avoid the racks of tacky tourist tee shirts and tie-dyed dresses that had taken over the sidewalk. Summer and its tourist trade hadn’t so much begun in Mackenzie Bay as it had invaded it. The main drag and its rickety rows of historic buildings were suddenly plastered with bright ice cream advertisements, wind chimes, kites and the kinds of tee shirts that only travel-weary tourists think are funny. There wasn’t a day that went by without Mac launching into a bitter tirade over outsiders’ habits and annoyances.
    Of course there also wasn’t a day that went by where their chocolate shop hadn’t been completely sold out of yummies by closing time.
    “I liked her as soon as I met her back in art school. She was literally the only one in the fashion program who wasn’t, you know, tragically affected.”
    Sabrina dodged a plastic torso dressed in a neon string bikini, nearly knocking the display to the ground.
    “Turn around! You’re going to annoy the tourists, um, owners.” A heavyset man stepped out from the darkness of his shop like a bear emerging from the bush. He steadied the swinging headless torso and glared at the girls.
    Mac apologized and spun her friend in the right direction.
    “Oops,” Brie said, giggling. “I almost broke his girlfriend.” Mac shushed Sabrina, smiling and shoved her forward.
    “Just walk like a normal human being,” Mac ordered.
    “You have to