She joined him on the couch, and he suffered the brush of her hands, the scent of her delicate perfume and the softness of her voice while they ate. He carefully kept the conversation on business, admiring her ideas as she tried to explain what she wanted to accomplish in the next few months.

“So the magical world of candy-making hasn’t changed all that much over the years, has it?”

Darci shook her head. “Blackmore’s hasn’t changed a bit. And we need to. There’s new equipment out, more aggressive marketing techniques, even new products. We’re still doing the same things we were doing twenty years ago, but it’s not working anymore and no one on the board will recognize that.”

“It’s not going to be easy to convince the board that this is the best thing, you know.” Frustration shadowed her eyes at his words.

“I know. They’re afraid to try anything new. But if we keep going the way we have for the last few years, there won’t be a company to worry about. We can’t keep up with the competition anymore. It’s time for change.”

He put his hand over hers, offering his support, trying to ignore the energy pulsing between them. “If we could get Anita and Uncle John on our side there would be no problem, the board would have to go with it. They seem set against anything you want to do. Why is that?”

Darci’s laugh was touched with a trace of bitterness. “It was your father’s wish that I run the company, and the board has so far honored that request, although they seem reluctant at times. I want to change the way things have always been done, and that scares them.

“Uncle John has wanted control since before Daddy died, and he resents my being in his way.”

Cole shook his head, thinking back to the arguments between John and Cole’s father over John’s lack of interest in their business. “He never cared about the company before, never wanted anything to do with it. I can’t imagine him sitting in the president’s seat.”

“Oh, he doesn’t want to run it. At least not actively. He’s already announced that he wants to help select the new president, someone who will do things the right way.” Darci’s mouth turned into a grim smile. “In other words, he wants someone who will do things his way, instead of thinking for themselves.”

Cole pulled his hand away from hers on the pretext of continuing with his meal. But he was forced to admit to himself that he couldn’t take the feel of her skin any longer without turning his touch into a caress.

“Uncle John’s managed to convince Mother that I’ll never settle down to marry and raise a family as long as I have all this glamour and excitement to keep me distracted from finding the right man.”

Cole grinned in spite of the desire churning through him. “But you are married now. And we’ll work on the settling down part.”