Better Than Chocolate

Better Than Chocolate
Sheila Roberts

The best treat of all…Sweet Dreams Chocolate Company has been in the Sterling family for generations. But now it looks as if they’re about to lose their beloved shop to the bank. How can the town of Icicle Falls possibly cope without ­ the famous Sterling treats? It won’t be easy for Samantha Sterling to save her company, though… Its fate is in the hands of her arch-enemy, Blake Preston, the bank manager with devastating good looks. Which is enough to make her want to eat the entire shop’s contents in one sitting.Yet maybe Blake’s about to convince her that (believe it or not) there’s something even better than chocolate.Welcome to Icicle Falls, the town that will warm your heart.'Sheila Roberts makes me laugh. I read her books & come away hopeful and happy.' - bestselling romance author Debbie Macomber

SHEILA ROBERTS is married and has three children. She lives on a lake in the Pacific Northwest. When she's not hanging out with her girlfriends or hitting the dance floor with her husband, she can be found writing about those things dear to women's hearts: family, friends and chocolate.

You can visit Sheila at her website, www.sheilasplace.com. You can also find her on Twitter and Facebook.

Better than Chocolate

Sheila Roberts

www.mirabooks.co.uk (http://www.mirabooks.co.uk)

Hi, one and all!

Welcome to Icicle Falls, my ideal town. This place has it all: breathtaking scenery, quaint shops, people who understand the importance of pulling together when the going gets tough, laughter, romance and, best of all, a chocolate factory. (Does it get any more ideal than that?)

I hope you'll enjoy your time with the Sterling women and their friends. These are my kind of women—women who dare to dream and then work hard to make those dreams come true—because where would we be without dreams? And where would we be without our mothers, sisters and girlfriends, those special people who understand us and love us in spite of our flaws? I don't know and I don't want to know.

I dare you to get all the way through this book without eating so much as a bite of chocolate. I couldn't! I hope you'll find me on Facebook and Twitter, and stop by my website, www.sheilasplace.com.

Happy reading!

Sheila

For Lilly-Anne, Pat and the gang at

A Book for All Seasons in Leavenworth, Washington

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Sometimes when we think of an author writing a novel we envision the poor thing hunched over a keyboard for hours on end, staring at a computer screen, all by herself, consuming vast quantities of chocolate, growing fat on her hips. Oh, my gosh, that's me!

Except writing isn't always a solitary pursuit. After all, a girl has to do research. And this is the part of the book where I get to thank the people who helped me with that research. I owe a big thank you to my long-suffering husband for sharing his banking expertise and doing copious research to help me try and get my business details correct. Also, a huge thank you to Laura at Bainbridge Island City Hall for explaining all the work that goes into putting on a community event. When it comes to community events, Bainbridge knows how to do it. Big thanks to Brett at Theo Chocolate in Seattle for being so willing to answer all my questions about what goes into running a chocolate company. They do it right over there. Thanks to my Facebook friends and fans who sent me recipes—wish there was room in this book for every one of them. To the brain trust—Susan Wiggs, Anjali Banerjee, Kate Breslin and Elsa Watson—you girls rock. And finally, huge thanks to the gang at the Chamber of Commerce in Leavenworth, Washington, for making their resources available to me—the history of how your town built itself into a charming alpine village and successful tourist destination is truly inspiring. Icicle Falls is the closest I can come to a tribute.

Contents

Chapter One (#uc98b22e3-8ef4-522f-b350-f9500e6033fa)

Chapter Two (#uf852bd95-2239-5480-be39-2f32bcfc3312)

Chapter Three (#u4b4db20f-c58a-5212-91b2-de82f894896a)

Chapter Four (#u12c00f8f-8a43-552c-9a28-c03dda318240)

Chapter Five (#u7070300f-e4ce-5968-8045-1af5d6750c97)

Chapter Six (#uf60b7b3b-bbff-5133-bcfc-01da6d0f8c6c)

Chapter Seven (#ubd08a770-5dda-504a-988d-adc5fe95c150)

Chapter Eight (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Nine (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Ten (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Eleven (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Twelve (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Thirteen (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Fourteen (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Fifteen (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Sixteen (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Seventeen (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Eighteen (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Nineteen (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Twenty (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Twenty-One (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Twenty-Two (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Twenty-Three (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Twenty-Four (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Twenty-Five (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Twenty-Six (#litres_trial_promo)

Epilogue: Dreams Coming True (#litres_trial_promo)

Extract (#litres_trial_promo)

Recipes from the Sterlings (#litres_trial_promo)

The Chocolate Rose White Chocolate Truffle (#litres_trial_promo)

Bailey’s Chocolate Truffle Trifle (#litres_trial_promo)