Today I am thrilled to share the first chapter of the soon-to-be newest release in my Champion Chocolatier series. This book, which doesn’t have a cover and has yet to be titled, will be released in time for the holiday season. But despite all the many steps I have yet to complete for this project, I want to give you a sneak peek of the story!

If you haven’t yet caught up on the series and need to read books 1-3, click here to purchase your copies and get on it! December will be here before we know it and you’ll want to be ready for all the fun, comedic mishaps and entrepreneurial dreams Emmy and Eddie have in store.

Are you ready? I am!

For the first time, here, is chapter 1 of Champion Chocolatier #4.

Emmy took a sip of her latte and immediately spit it back into the cup.

“Ha-haaaaaaaat,” she said, fanning her mouth.

She’d been too greedy for the life-fueling caffeine. Now she’d have to suffer the consequences of her rushed actions for two days. Maybe three. She glared at the molten liquid furiously. What had once appeared as an Instagram worthy latte now looked like a wolf disguised in sheep’s clothing. So much for saving money by making fancy coffee at home. It wasn’t worth it if she managed to burn off all her tastebuds in the process. Emmy walked to the freezer and grabbed two ice cubes. She plopped one into the cup and the other into her injured mouth.

The espresso machine they’d used the bulk of their wedding gift cards to purchase still confused her. At first, she thought the dispensed liquid wasn’t hot enough, so by following instructions via a YouTube video, she had attempted to adjust the heat gauge on the milk steamer. Apparently, she had now inadvertently set the device to produce beverages with heat comparable to lava.

Unfortunately, it wasn’t the only wedding present eluding her control. Spread out across the living room table were dozens of inspiration photos. It looked like her Pinterest board had thrown up all the ideas she’d gathered for their future hotel. Images of lush, four poster beds lay next to sparse modern room arrangements and alongside treehouse jungle-styled huts. Photos she had taken of rooms during her time at the Biltmore for the Valentine’s Day Candy Making Competition were situated next to those she printed of the suite they stayed in during their honeymoon cruise through Halong Bay in Vietnam. They were all beautiful. Each space had its own unique and gorgeous qualities. But that wasn’t the problem.

The problem was Emmy couldn’t decide which style she wanted to choose for her hotel. Actually, it was hers and Eddie’s, but lately they’d been living like ships crossing in the night and it was hard to imagine they shared anything when they barely shared waking hours.

While winter was typically a slower season for Emmy and Sweet Shores Chocolate Store, it was super busy for Eddie. Winter sports reigned as royalty in Duluth. Skiing, both downhill and cross country, snowshoeing, ice fishing – if it was fun and could be done outside, Eddie had the clothing and equipment to make it happen, which made him and his store pretty darn popular. In addition to the busyness of the season, Eddie had been lured into an assistant coaching job for the local college hockey team. It was a ton of time for a little money, but Eddie loved it, and Emmy loved him, so they made it work.

When the Duluth Bulldog’s season officially ended last week with a loss to North Dakota State in the semi-finals of the NCAA Frozen Four tournament, Eddie was devastated, but Emmy wasn’t all that sad. She joked with a moping Eddie in an attempt to cheer him up.

“Don’t be so sad. Now that hockey is over, it’s Emmy Season!”

To which Eddie responded, “Good, time to crash you into the boards!” as he threw her onto the bed.

“Penalty,” Emmy had squealed. “Two minutes!”

“For what?” Eddie had asked, still playing the role of an enraged hockey player.

“Ummm, excessive force?”

“Wrong sport,” Eddie said and continued to attack, this time her ribs with tickling fingers.

Not only had it been great to see Eddie more, but it had also been comforting to fall back into a routine of a normalcy consistent dinner, evening TV, and weekends that did not involve thirty additional men. It was lovely. The changing of the seasons had actually been the catalyst that reminded her of the hotel in the first place. Emmy let Eddie mope for one week after their heartbreaking hockey loss before she decided that working together on the hotel would be the perfect thing to pull him out of his post season slump.

They’d owned the building for six months now and done nothing more than pay the mortgage. When they first returned from their honeymoon, the work they’d been putting off during their trip, not to mention the days leading up to the wedding, demanded their attention. Such is the life of an entrepreneur! The work doesn’t wait just because you are your own boss. Once they’d dug out of that hole, the north shore winter temperatures shut down any ideas of construction work. And then, the not thinking about it became a habit, until they’d almost forgotten about it entirely.

When they’d gone to file their taxes, their business manager Al had brought up the property, but Eddie was in season and Emmy didn’t want to do this alone. And, and, and … there always seemed to be an excuse. Emmy was ready to put an end to that, and she thought that the reintroduction of their first joint business venture would go better if she could come with a narrowed selection of options and ideas. She took another sip of her no longer boiling latte and looked at the inspiration photos.

For a brief time, she had entertained branding the hotel as a combination of their two current stores – a kitschy north shore outdoors inspired getaway. All dark wood, gigantic stone fireplaces and historic relics repurposed as décor. Emmy picked up a photo of the Spirit Mountain Ski Chalet as it appeared the day it opened in 1974. While the high ceilings and exposed beams looked grand and felt nostalgic, it wouldn’t be providing a getaway at all. It would be a cookie cutter addition to an already saturated tourist market. Emmy wanted to do something different. She set the photo of the lodge aside and picked up one from their honeymoon but shook her head dismissing the style of the ancient orient almost immediately. Before she could reach for the next photo, her phone rang. Emmy looked at the screen and then swiped the icon to accept the call.

“Morning, Mom.”

“Good morning, Emmy.”

“What are you up to so bright and early? Isn’t it like 7AM Arizona time?”

“Just getting ready to do a little shopping. I’m meeting your aunt Julie for breakfast and then we are going to this new baby boutique in Scottsdale. A niece on her other side has a shower next week and she’s hoping to find something none of the other aunties will bring.”

“That sounds like Aunt Julie,” Emmy said, leaning over the pictures on the table and continuing her examination.

“You wouldn’t, ah,” Emmy’s mother paused, and Emmy instinctively knew what was coming next. She slumped back against the couch. “Um, need me to pick up anything there for you?” The question hung between them, trapped in the static space where their mother-daughter relationship overlapped. Inside Emmy’s skull several thoughts fired simultaneously.

We’ve only been married six months. I still have things I want to do before becoming a mother. For the past three of those months, I’ve hardly seen Eddie long enough to eat a meal before he collapses into a deep sleep, let alone have a serious conversation about adding a child to our chaotic lives.

But what she said was, “Nope, I’m good, Mom.”

To her mother’s credit, she tried not to sound disappointed and to Emmy’s credit, she didn’t hold her mother’s hopes for a grandchild against her. Emmy was glad this was a good old fashioned phone call, so she didn’t have to go through the effort of arranging her facial features to match the light tone she’d been able to fake.

“Actually,” Emmy began again. “I haven’t bought my business partner Rachel anything yet. She’s due in like 2 months. Would you take a peek around for something a brand-new momma might need?”

“I’d love to,” Susan said. And then, “What are you up to today?”

At this, Emmy did sigh. “I’m closing the store tonight but have the morning off. I’m trying to narrow down the options for hotel aesthetics.”

“Where are you?” Susan asked.

“At the apartment.”

“Well, there’s your first problem,” Susan said. Emmy could hear her mother grabbing her keys and making her way to the condo’s car port. “You’ve been to that warehouse, like what, twice?”

“Actually, only once,” Emmy confirmed. “On the day of our wedding.”

“And you think that single visit is enough to make this big decision? Don’t be silly, Emmy.”

Emmy shook her head and smiled. “You’re totally right, Mom.”

“Of course, I am darling.” She was in her car now, the keys in the ignition and the dinging seatbelt reminder audible through the phone. “I have to go now. I never talk and drive. I’ll call you tomorrow and tell you about the boutique.”

“Okay, Mom,” Emmy said and was unable to resist the urge of rolling her eyes. Once her mother ended the call, Emmy checked the time. She had three hours before she needed to be at work. Plenty of time to shower, head over to the hotel property and take a look around.

Emmy swept the photos into a pile and stood with her now lukewarm latte. Already she felt better about the direction of the project. Maybe by the time she saw Eddie tonight she’d have some solid ideas to share.

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