tray and started on another, knowing deep in her heart that Jillian had more to do with her success than she’d ever admit or take credit for. When her sister had retired from her modeling career in New York nearly a year ago and returned to San Diego to start out fresh and new, Kayla had been working during the day as a secretary and spending her nights as a cocktail waitress. She’d been scrimping and saving so she could afford to open a small bakery. While she’d managed to accumulate quite a nest egg, she’d been years away from her goal.
Jillian, who’d made an ungodly amount of money as a cover model, had insisted on giving Kayla the cash she needed to open her bakery. Even after putting away every penny, Kayla would have been able to afford nothing more than a small shop in a run-down grocery center. Her sister had landed her a prime spot in Seaport Village, one of San Diego’s most exclusive shopping plazas.
Kayla had been overwhelmed by her sister’s generosity and had sworn she’d pay back every last cent, but Jillian wouldn’t hear of it. It was a gift, she’d said, so Kayla could finally follow her own dreams.
“You know,” Jillian said as she absently bit into a mocha butterball she filched from a nearby tray, “since tonight’s function is being held by the Chamber of Commerce, I’m betting there’s going to be plenty of single businessmen milling about, which means this could be a ripe opportunity for you to snag a guy and end your run of celibacy.”
Kayla rolled her eyes. “Easy for you to say, and not so easy for me to do,” she teased.
“It’s not so easy for me either,” Jillian replied in a guarded tone that Kayla understood all too well.
She watched Jillian polish off the gourmet candy, envying the way her gorgeous, slender sister could put away so many sweets without any weight gain, while all Kayla had to do was inhale the scent of sugar and an extra pound seemed to find its way to her already curvaceous hips. While their naturally blond hair and green eyes were sisterly traits they had in common, that’s where the physical resemblance between them ended.
Despite Jillian’s successful modeling career, the two of them shared the same self-doubts when it came to men. Kayla, who’d always been compared to her beautiful, thin sister by their mother, was especially self-conscious. Most men judged women by their looks, as Kayla had learned the hard way.
Kayla was softly rounded thanks to the extra twenty pounds she couldn’t seem to shed permanently, no matter how hard she tried. In Jillian’s case, all men saw were centerfold curves and not the warm, intelligent woman inside who craved the same kind of unconditional acceptance that Kayla did. It amazed Kayla how opposite she and her sister were in stature and appearance, how differently they were raised as children, yet as adults they shared a very common bond because of those contrasts.
When Jillian had returned from New York emotionally shattered after a relationship gone bad, she and Kayla had made a pact that neither of them would ever again compromise their identities to please a man.
Unfortunately, that alliance didn’t help to soothe Kayla’s more sensual cravings. To make matters worse, her needs had become heightened by the experimental chocolate aphrodisiacs she’d secretly started creating, and sampling. If all went well and she was able to substantiate that the candies did, indeed, boost a person’s sex drive, she’d have a surefire seller to add to her current line of desserts.
But in the meantime, with only herself to test those specialty candies, her body and hormones were becoming increasingly stimulated. Just a few bites left her aroused and aching for the touch of a man’s hands, the caress of his mouth on her breasts, the heat and friction of his body within hers. It had been much too long since she’d experienced those kinds of sensual intimacies with a man, and she was beginning to wonder if she needed to do something about her long run of abstinence, as her sister had suggested.
Her new creations would provide the perfect opportunity, if she was able to find a man she was attracted to. Based on what her candies did to a person’s libido, she’d be able to reap the benefits of a short, fun affair at the same time that she conducted her experiment. Once she proved that her creations met certain criteria, she would be ready to take the candies public.
Shaking off her thoughts for now, she snapped a clear, plastic lid onto the full tray of petits fours and retrieved the cut-up fruit and fondue sauces from the refrigerator. She added them to the growing stack of items she planned to take to the banquet tonight. “Tell you what, I’ll do my best to check out the unattached businessmen, but I won’t make any promises. I’m there to work, Jillian, not troll for men.”
Her sister made a playful face. “You know what they say about all work and no play…”
“Yeah, too much play makes the bills pile up and bankruptcy loom like a dark cloud.” For good measure, Kayla jabbed her sister in the side where she was ticklish.
“Okay, okay,” Jillian relented around breathless laughter. “Just try to keep an open mind while you’re working. One of us has to find our Prince Charming and live happily ever after.”
They spent the next hour boxing up the rest of the cakes and other desserts, then transferred them into the shop’s van that Kayla used for deliveries. Just as Kayla came back into the kitchen after loading up the last of the order, she caught her sister eyeing a plastic container of candies with too much interest.
“Hey, what are these over here?” Jillian asked, slanting Kayla a curious glance.
“They’re a new candy I just created.” She wiped down the stainless-steel countertops, all the while watching Jillian to make sure she kept her hands to herself. “I’m calling them Heavenly Kisses.”
An amused grin tipped the corner of Jillian’s mouth. “I love the name. Very sensual. What’s in them?”
“Espresso butter cream and caramel covered in white chocolate.” And a secret ingredient that claimed to stimulate lust in the person who consumed it.
“Oh, yum.” Enthusiasm deepened Jillian’s voice, and before Kayla could stop her, she opened the plastic lid, picked up one of the smooth, creamy-looking candies, and inhaled its scent. “It smells wonderful. I bet it tastes just as good.” She opened her mouth to take a bite.
Kayla sucked in a quick breath and released it on a long “noooo!” At the same moment, she lunged toward her sister, nearly tackling her in her haste to get the candy out of her hand. Thankfully, she managed to extricate the chocolate from her fingers before Jillian could eat it.
Jillian jumped back in startled surprise and frowned at her. “Geez, Kayla, you’re acting like that candy is poisoned or something.”
Definitely or something. Kayla put the candy back into the container and snapped the lid on tight. “Do you have to put everything into your mouth?” she asked, unable to tamp her exasperation over her sister’s habit of grazing while she was at the bakery. In this case, she would have gotten more than she bargained for.
“Hey, I’m very selective about what goes into this mouth of mine.” Jillian’s tone was defensive, but the amusement glimmering in her eyes contradicted her indignation.
Kayla ducked her head sheepishly. Undoubtedly her reaction was out of character and extreme, but she’d just saved Jillian’s libido from being whipped into a frenzy of need. And she wasn’t prepared to let anyone in on her secret just yet—not until she had a chance to test the candies more thoroughly.
She faced her sister again, and summoned an excuse for her odd behavior. “I’m sorry, Jilly. I didn’t mean to get so upset. It’s just that I’m not ready for anyone to taste these just yet.”
Jillian’s lip puffed out in a feigned pout that only enhanced how beautiful she was. “And here I thought I was your official taste tester.”
Kayla put the candies in her tote bag to take home, so no one else would try to eat them without her knowledge. “I promise you’ll get a chance to sample them, just as soon as I’m satisfied with the recipe.”
“Oh, all right.” Seemingly satisfied with