Full Circle Read Online Free PDF Page A

never seen such a
beautiful treat.
    He shut the refrigerator door and turned
toward her. “The short answer is chocolate-covered
strawberries.”
    There were strawberries inside all that
sculpted chocolate?
    “Okay, so what’s the long answer?” She
took the one he held out to her as if he were handing her an actual
flower. And just like a real rosebud, the texture was smooth and
silky, almost fragile, curving like a woman’s hips from the bottom,
narrowing in the middle like a corseted waist, and arcing outward
at the top as if to accommodate a full bosom.
    Pride softened his expression. “The long
answer is that they are tokens of my affection, handmade with love,
so I could show you how much you mean to me.”
    “Wait, what?” She turned unbelieving eyes to
the masterpiece in her hand, then to the eleven he was still
holding. “Are you saying you made these?”
    He’d made her a dozen chocolate strawberry
roses? With his own hands? They were exquisite enough to be made by
a professional chocolatier, not a sexy businessman who dabbled with
food as a hobby.
    He placed the remaining roses in a small vase
secured in the console then took the one he’d given her. “My dad
makes these for my mom every year on Valentine’s Day, and then
again on their wedding anniversary and her birthday.” He gently
tugged the berry from the stem, which he discarded, then held the
treat toward her over his palm, tempting her to take a bite. “He
taught me how to make them when I was a kid. And now I’m carrying
on the tradition by making them for you.”
    “But it’s not Valentine’s Day or my
birthday.” She didn’t mention the whole wedding anniversary thing,
though. She knew how Mark got when he heard the word wedding . After what had happened to him eight years ago, he
couldn’t even think the word without having a mini nervous
breakdown.
    “But it’s our one-month anniversary, which is
just as good. Take a bite.” He tilted his head toward the rosebud
as he lifted it to her mouth.
    She sank her teeth into the treat. Sweet
strawberry juice burst over her tongue, and the thin chocolate
petals melted in her mouth. The flavor was exquisite, with hints of
orange, vanilla, and almond, as if he’d melted the chocolate and
added flavored extracts before letting it solidify again.
    Mark’s culinary abilities never ceased to
amaze her. His homemade meatballs and marinara sauce were swoon
worthy, and without his help, she still wouldn’t be able to make a
decent truffle. And now here he was presenting her with handmade
chocolate-covered strawberries that looked like actual rosebuds. If
he ever decided to leave his life in the corporate world to open a
restaurant, it was sure to be a hit.
    “How long did it take to make these?” She
swiped the last bite of rosebud from his hand and set it on her
tongue so she could savor it a moment before chewing.
    “That’s not what matters.” He picked up
another one and plucked the bud off the stem. “What matters is that
I made them for you, so that I could take pride in watching you
smile as you eat them.”
    “Well, you need to have a taste of what you
created. These are incredible.” She took the treat from his fingers
and lifted it to his mouth.
    Without argument, he slowly sank his teeth
into it, holding her gaze in a way that made her wish she were the
strawberry sliding over his tongue.
    “I love you.” She took the rest into her
mouth.
    “You’re easy,” he said with a slick wink.
    “Easy?” She arched one eyebrow.
    He nodded, brushing back her hair as he
rested his head on the back of the seat, which only served to make
him look even sexier as his eyelids slid halfway closed. “All it
takes is a dozen chocolate-covered strawberries to win your
heart.”
    She took another from the vase and bit off
the end before feeding him the rest. “Trust me, it takes a lot more
than chocolate and strawberries, Mark. But that’s a good
start.”
    “I’ll keep that in