The Gingerbread Man (Sinful Sweets Book 1) Read online

  Praise for Erzabet Bishop

  "If you love excitement and sexy wolf shifters! Then you will love this incredible storyline!

  You will love this super exciting, thrilling, funny, suspenseful, and scorching hot shifter Romance! This is a five star plus story."

  ~ Roxie's Romance Reviews

  "OH WOW! Suspense builds, a world different from anything is shown and love and death battle."

  Praise for Erzabet Bishop

  "I started reading and couldn't stop until I turned the last page. I really enjoyed the characters and thought there was the possibility for more stories with these characters. I thought this was a very entertaining story. This is the first book by this author that I have read, and it won't be my last."

  ~ Loves to Read (A Cozy Booknook)

  "Fantastic story and read!!!"

  Praise for Erzabet Bishop

  "This is a must read for those who like a bite to their romance."

  "What a fantastic read! I was so drawn in by this book that I couldn’t put it down until the very end. I love the connection that these two share and how they finally reach their HEA. I felt all of the emotions and cheered for them every step of the way. I can’t wait to read the next book."

  Praise for Erzabet Bishop

  "It's complicated, shifter style."

  "For a shifter reverse harem to start off with a quote from Joseph Campbell, you know it's going to be smart and different."

  "What an amazing book! Tormenting Her Mate is the third book of the My Wicked Mates series. And what a fantastic book it is!"

  Praise for Erzabet Bishop

  "I loved reading this book! A sweet and passionate romance with a happy ever after! Love it!"

  "You will love this Awesome storyline with its BDSM theme. The characters are fantastic. This story will keep you glued to its pages."

  "I loved reading this story. I opened the book and didn’t stop reading until the last page. I was swept into the story from the first page."

  Praise for Erzabet Bishop

  "WOW! Clover and Richard are great!! The chemistry incredible! This is a hot story with some suspense and drama."

  "This book hooked me from the get go I just couldn't put it down I fell in love with these characters and omg what a story just a perfect read."

  "This was a great story. I have never read anything by this author before but I will be from now on. I can't wait to read the rest of the series."

  Table of Contents

  Table of Contents

  About

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Excerpt

  Chapter One

  Where to Find More of Erzabet Bishop

  Also By Erzabet Bishop

  About The Author

  The Gingerbread Man:

  A Holiday Romance

  First Edition

  December 2019

  Published by Naughty Nights Press LLC

  http://naughtynightspress.com/

  Cover Art by Willsin Rowe

  Copyright © 2019 Erzabet Bishop

  All rights reserved.

  Names, characters and incidents depicted in this book are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, organizations, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental and beyond the intent of the author.

  No part of this book may be adapted, stored, copied, reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.

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  Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

  About

  Clad in only a pair of red and green boxers, he was a vision of her Christmas fantasies gone wild...

  When a glamorous new bakery opens across the street from her family’s failing business, Celeste is determined to give the owner a piece of her mind. But what she doesn’t expect, is a hunky, apron wearing blast from the past. It's a shame he's the competition.

  Charles came back to his hometown with two goals. Re-create the family business his parents devoted their lives to, and find the girl that got away. What he finds may just be more than he bargained for.

  Chapter One

  Celeste stepped out onto the sidewalk and stared at the crowd milling around the new bakery. Several faces were her regulars. In fact, most of them were.

  "Son of a bitch."

  She marched up the street, the wind whipping at her face as she thrust her arms into her sweater. There was an outdoor seating area, and the people lining up for the mid-day parade were clustered about talking and sipping hot drinks.

  Another crowd strained to see into a window at the front of the shop, and despite her irritation, Celeste was curious.

  The Gingerbread Man.

  Huh.

  It was seasonal. She’d give them that. But opening up right down the street from her family’s bakery was about as neighborly as shoving someone’s tongue on a frozen flagpole.

  The Strudel House had been the town’s go to place for generations. Now she could barely eek by enough to pay rent. The winter tourist trade with the Christmas shops lining the antique district had always driven people inside for a cup of warm coffee and some fresh apple strudel, but this year it looked like that wasn’t going to be the case.

  "Would you look at that?"

  "Oh my goodness, it's the church over on Maple." A woman's voice rang out.

  "That's the school on Derby."

  Celeste sidled in closer as the cluster of people moved toward the door. She peered into the window and gasped. It was a gingerbread rendition of their town. Snowy frosting roofs, streets, parks, schools, and more. Behind the cookie display, a screen showed snowfall and glorious winter landscapes.

  "Oh my God."

  How could she compete with this?

  It was freaking incredible.

  Part of her wanted to march back to The Strudel House and cry, the other part of her was still curious. Who the hell knew so much about the town that they could do a rendition entirely out of gingerbread?

  Or was it polymer clay?

  Who cared? Ribbon candy trees. Gingerbread buildings with glittery snow covered roofs. Holiday trees flocked perfectly with ornament
s that lit up.

  Jesus.

  Whoever made this was beyond amazing.

  It struck a chord somewhere in the recesses of her memory but she couldn’t quite pin it down.

  Right now, she had two choices. Go in and face the gingerbread dragon, or go back to her strudel and start thinking of ways to get people back into her bakery.

  Maybe they had Santa strippers.

  Hell, she could have the guys distribute samples.

  Shit.

  Celeste grit her teeth. Who was she kidding? She couldn’t afford to hire anyone these days.

  She sighed and stared at the gingerbread town. Going back to the shop without getting the answers she was looking for wasn’t going to happen.

  Nope.

  That meant she was going to have to go in there. Damn the cookies and full speed ahead.

  Chapter Two

  “It’s a mob out there.” Calypso popped into the kitchen, her face split into a wide grin.

  “Did you think it would be anything else?” Charles wiped at some flour on the stainless steel counter and checked to make sure everything else was in motion.

  The scent of baking cookies made the new bakery space feel like home. And he was glad. He and Cally had had a hell of a time getting everything the way he’d envisioned it.

  His parent’s recipes lined the bake cases but most of all, he could almost feel their presence. The holidays had always been a special time for their family. Everyone had banded together to help make the bakery a success. And it had been. Up to the point where his parents had both passed away.

  The fire had destroyed more than just their bakery. But being here and creating something in their name made it seem as if they were here with them.

  Now more than ever, he wanted to make his parents proud and make sure he took care of his sister, Calypso. He could have stayed where they were and rebuilt literally from the ashes, but coming back to the place where it all started felt more right somehow.

  “Are you going to come out there and greet your public?” Calypso cocked her head, the blinking holiday light necklace making her red shirt even more festive.

  Charles nodded. “One more batch of gingerbread to come out and then I can take a break.”

  “Nonnie will be in later to make the cinnamon rolls and the bread.”

  “Good. We’ll need the extra help. Maybe see if you can get Skyler to come in and mix up a few batches of sugar cookies.”

  “I’ll text him.” Pulling her phone from the back pocket of her jeans, Calypso’s fingers moved over the keys.

  “Thanks.” Charles peered out through the window in the kitchen door and marveled at how well the place had come together.

  “Oh, and you were right about the tee shirts. We’ll need to place another order. The red and pink ones have already sold out except for one in a small.”

  A smile worked its way to Charles’ lips. Well now. That was great. Everything was falling into place.

  “Are we going to talk about it?”

  He immediately bristled. His reasons for coming back here were his own. Other than where their original bakery got it’s beginning, he wasn’t about to talk about his love life with his sister.

  “Nope.”

  “She’s going to be pissed that we’re here. You have to know that.”

  “We’re not talking about this, Cally.”

  She held up her hands in a gesture of defeat and backpedaled toward the door.

  “I’m just saying. Her family’s bakery is just down the street. And odds are, she’s going to see us as the competition.”

  Charles didn’t dignify that with an answer. Of course they weren’t in competition. Her family’s specialty was strudel. He’d yet to find one that even came close.

  “Come out when you’re ready. These ladies need a thrill.”

  “Yeah, yeah.” Charles rolled his eyes and turned back toward the oven.

  The beeping sound of a timer filled the kitchen along with the spicy aroma of baking gingerbread cookies. This was his family’s specialty. Gingerbread had been the building blocks of their entire operation. Cookies. Pans of bread. Bundt cakes with maple glazed icing.

  He snagged some pot holders from the counter and wrenched open the oven, the hot interior enveloping him in a welcome wave of heat.

  Grabbing the pan, he set it on a cooling rack and let his gaze rake over the counter full of goodies.

  The white chocolate snowflakes had finally set so he could peel them off and add them to the tops of the bundt cakes. It was such an easy thing, but such a nice touch.

  The devil was always in the details.

  The frosting station was lined with icing in an array of colors. He could go back out and greet some of his customers and then get back to doing what he did best.

  What if she was out there?

  Then she was. He was going to have to see her eventually. That was part of the reason for coming back here.

  But for now, he had to pick his battles.

  Letting a smile settle over his features, he sucked in a deep breath and pushed the kitchen door open to meet the crowd.

  It was going to be a good day. He could feel it in his bones.

  Chapter Three

  Celeste sighed. She maneuvered her way to the front door. As she entered the building, all the scents of the holidays descended on her. She could make out the scent of baking gingerbread, the sweetness of sugary eggnog, and the buttery scent of sugar cookies. It was heavenly, and despite her irritation, she greedily breathed it in.

  A massive pastry case stood in the center of the room, filled with all manner of goodness. A rack in the corner held two lonely, small Gingerbread Man tee shirts with an illustration of a gingerbread man with a bite taken out of his head.

  In spite of herself, she gave a snort of laughter. That was a good touch.

  There were displays of gingerbread ornaments made from polymer clay. Ribbon candy trees lined the shelves featuring gingerbread houses for sale, no doubt made from glittery polymer clay as well.

  No one would put as much artistry into an edible building. At least, she assumed so.

  There were dish towels, coffee mugs and jewelry. Was that a doll?

  Holy crap.

  She’d walked into a mega bakery on steroids.

  And that was before she’d even made it to the bake case.

  “Celeste honey? Is that you?”

  She looked up at her name being called, startled at being drawn out of her revere.

  “Oh. Hi, Mrs. Warren. It’s nice to see you.” Celeste smiled at the older woman, immediately noticing the guilty flush on her face as she met her gaze.

  “Harold and I were just about to come and visit you. But we had to see what all the fuss was about.”

  Ummm hmmm.

  And I’ll be a polar bear’s mama.

  “That’s wonderful. I’ll be sure to save you some of your favorite apple raisin.”

  “Thank you, dear.”

  Celeste smiled. “It’s no problem.”

  “I’ll see you later, dear. I have to get my place in line. The cookie gift exchange is coming up and this year has just been so busy we thought this might just do the trick.”

  “Okay. See you later, Mrs. Warren.”

  As the older woman vanished into the crowd, she noticed more familiar faces. Waving at a few people, she continued her observation of the shop space.

  Off to the side she noted a large gingerbread dog bone with bags of peanut butter puppy treats all ready to go.

  Clever.

  The walls held more television screens than some of the computer stores at the mall.

  She stared at the array of images, dumbfounded. Wintry scenes captured the customers’ attention, and then the screens changed to pictures of the various bakery offerings.

  A sultry female voice resounded over the intercom.

  "Greetings, holiday shoppers. Today we have our special cookie exchange gift basket on sale, thirty percent off at
the front bakery case, and for you more adventurous shoppers, we have our adult bakery section. A little festive cupcakery this holiday season might just be on your menu. Don't forget the furry children in your life. Grab a bag of cookies from our Crunchy Cracker Pet Boutique display. And last but not least, don't forget to snap up a chocolate mouse or toy soldier for the kiddos. Wrapped in cute handcrafted stockings, these are perfect gifts to go. This is Calypso Meyer, and thanks for shopping at The Gingerbread Man."

  Celeste let her gaze pan out over the room, and she zeroed in on the bake case. A cookie exchange, huh? Her bakery hadn't really explored that option, but she'd thought about it. Most women she knew made their own, but some busy moms who needed the help might really like it. Her parents had always sold cookies, and so had she, but to package it up for exchange? Interesting.

  Her real focus had always been strudel in all of its forms. Rings, bite sized bits of heaven, and logs for families to share. Everything else had come second.

  She meandered through the crowd and made her way to the display of baskets. Cookies were grouped into fancy cellophane packages, recipes attached with curled ribbon.

  Recipes?

  Why would you give out recipes?

  Her gaze strayed to the pastry case, and her mouth dropped open. Cakes and éclairs. Cupcakes and stollen. Along with a yule log, fancy chocolates shaped as mice, Santa, and little soldiers were laid out in plastic bags. Then there were the cookies. Her eyes scanned the seemingly endless selection, and her heart constricted. She wanted one of everything.