Sugared (Misfit Brides #4) Read Online Free PDF Page A

jerkfaced Josh— liking it.
    Sweet swizzle sticks, she was the worst person in the world to seduce anybody . Especially the Josh Juan. The Joshanova. The Snack Cake Romeo.
    “Is there a problem, Kimberly?”
    Kimmie gulped. “I was wondering—erm—what if he actually falls in love with me?” Or if I fall in love with him?
    One of General Mom’s ugly smiles appeared. “Wouldn’t that be the fondant on the wedding cake? That man deserves to want something he can’t have. Study up, Kimberly, and get some rest. You have a big job ahead of you.” She gave a final nod, patted Kimmie and Boo both on the head, then showed herself out.
    And while Kimmie should’ve opened her email and read up on Josh, instead, she returned to her secret coconut cream cake ball stash.
    Bliss was General Mom’s life. Knot Festival, the Bridal Retailers Association, their heritage, their history. At the heart of it was Heaven’s Bakery, situated prominently in the middle of The Aisle—Bliss’s version of Main Street and the premier location for the family-owned bridal shops in Bliss, the economic heart of the town. Kimmie wouldn’t inherit General Mom’s position of running Knot Fest, the town’s huge annual wedding festival that brought in brides and grooms, guests, gawkers, and tourists. Nor would Kimmie step into her mother’s presidential shoes in the Bridal Retailers Association, but she stood a chance at running the bakery.
    And General Mom was right.
    Josh was an outsider who clearly didn’t understand Bliss. He didn’t understand how closely the business owners worked together on The Aisle. He didn’t understand how much work went into perfecting the image of Bliss—a seemingly sleepy, otherwise unremarkable town in Northern Illinois—as an ideal wedding destination location. He didn’t understand the economic importance of Knot Fest or the spirit and significance of the Husband Games and the Battle of the Boyfriends and all the other unique events Bliss hosted in the name of love.
    Bliss would feel a loss when General Mom was no longer at the helm.
    Josh had to go, because Kimmie wasn’t strong enough to stifle his influence the way her mother did.
    For the sake of both Bliss and the bakery—her heritage, her birthright, her home —Kimmie had to fight for them.
    No matter the cost.
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    J osh didn’t believe in having bad Mondays. Or bad any-days. A bad day was waking up cold, huddled behind a garbage can in the shade of an office building, hungry and wet, too young to work, too old to stop himself from wondering if he’d live through another day.
    Waking up in a comfortable bed, showering with hot water, and going to a ridiculously well-paid job didn’t make for a bad day .
    But perspective wasn’t enough tonight to keep Josh’s teeth from sitting on edge and his shoulder blades pinched so tight they almost touched. The pool table he was bent over at Kingston Ale House in Lincoln Park wouldn’t solve his problem. Neither would the hot blonde in the red minidress openly watching him from a nearby booth. And he couldn’t tell anyone, especially the yahoo currently wiping the pool table with him, what the problem was.
    Josh went way back with Aiden, to the days before Josh’s mother had died. They’d been best pals from kindergarten through fourth grade, when Josh went into the system, and then out of the system, and then was adopted by the Kincaids. He’d reconnected with his buddy in high school after Birdie, the Kincaids’ longtime housekeeper, had pried an old story out of him over a lemon chiffon cake. He and Aiden had gone their separate ways for college, but kept in touch, and now Aiden worked in quality assurance with the product lab at Sweet Dreams Snack Cakes, the corporation Josh’s adopted dad had founded forty years ago.
    Josh shot another look at the blonde—his reputation demanded it—then sank the nine ball in the corner pocket.
    “Your girlfriend know you’re still checking out the