Valentines is for romance and lovers-not for Sharon and Chet. From boyfriends who steal her credit cards to a job she loathes, her life pretty much sucks. And since his wife died two years earlier, he's lived the life of a monk. But when he finds her asleep on his couch, gorgeously seductive in a maid's uniform, his desires aren't so sweet. A shared piece of candy turns into a night of passion, until morning's light intrudes. Now they must decide if they have the courage to look beyond their past hurts and grasp the love they so desperately crave.

Krista yawned as she walked downstairs to her shop to begin her day. Even for her, four in the morning was damn early.. She'd been working too hard lately, but it was a necessary evil if she hoped to keep her business in the black for another year.

February was always her busiest time, and Valentine's Day would prove to be hectic with last-minute shoppers looking for sweets to tempt their sweethearts. She couldn't afford to miss any chance at income. Thank goodness she'd completed the massive special order for the hotel last night. If she had to do that this morning, she'd be a mess.

Her thoughts drifted to Sabrina and Allen's wedding, which she'd been unable to attend. Business was just too crazy at this time of year. She had gotten a very pretty invitation, though, with a little extra handwritten note inside thanking her for the chocolates a year earlier. The couple credited her and her special batch of candy with bringing them together. Krista had sent them a box of chocolates as a gift for the wedding, but it wasn't the same type as a year earlier.

That batch had been an accident, something she couldn't repeat even if she wanted to. The bottle of mysterious elixir was empty.

Entering the kitchen, she glanced at the pretty blue bottle with the heart-shaped stopper on a shelf with other bric-a-brac. It can't be. She drew nearer. Yes, the bottle was full.

"How in the world?" She took the bottle down, opened it, and sniffed. The odd, familiar scent filled her nostrils. She dribbled a tiny bit on her finger and tasted it. Yep, it was the same stuff as before.

She looked around and saw no one in the store. Still, she set the bottle aside, checked the locks on all of the doors, and found them secure.

When mixed with chocolate, it's sure to make you fall in love. The strange old man's words came back to haunt her now.

"This is crazy," she said to no one in particular, although her fat fur ball of a cat stirred in the storefront window sill. She narrowed her gaze on the feline. "Don't even get up. If the elixir is what I think it is, I can pour it into the next batch of chocolates all by myself." Her cat stretched and plopped back down.

She'd joked with the man who gave her the elixir about it being a love potion, but she hadn't believed it. Now, with the mysterious refilling of the bottle on Valentine's Day morning, she wasn't so sure about anything any more.

Alan and Sabrina had been the only customers to get the special batch last year, and a year later, they were married. What if...?

Krista went to the kitchen. She had no time to lose.

"Happy Valentine's Day, Mr. Sterling," the concierge said as Chet headed for the elevator.

He forced a smile and nodded in response. If one more person wished him a happy day, he would deck them. Flatten them. Pound them into the floor.

"Happy Valentine's Day, Mr. Sterling," the elevator operator said as Chet stepped inside.

Chet kept that smile on his face while he clenched his fist around the handle of his briefcase and ground his molars. He fucking hated this day every year. He wanted to get to his room, have a hot shower and a few stiff drinks. Thank God he'd be heading back to New York tomorrow. He couldn't wait to get home.

The tightness settled painfully hard into his chest. When he was home, all he could do was chomp at the bit until he could get on the road again. He wondered if he'd ever experience...peace.

The elevator doors silently opened onto the top floor of the Grand Hotel, and he stepped out, pulling his keycard from his jacket pocket.

"Have a nice night," the attendant said as the doors started to shut.

Chet grunted and walked down to his room at the end of the hall. He slid the card into the lock, waited for the light to turn green, then pushed the door-only to have it stop halfway open.

"What the...?" He pushed harder, and when the door opened, he scowled at the maid's cart sitting right in front of the door. The room was dark, so what the hell was that thing doing in there? He set his briefcase on the floor then flipped on the light while he let the door swing shut.

There was the maid. She was kind of hard to miss, sprawled across the sofa the way she was. He rolled his eyes and shoved his hands in his pockets. Great. Just fucking great. He cleared his throat, hoping to wake her up.

The woman didn't budge.

Was she alive? He moved toward her. The light from the kitchenette spilled into the sitting area, but lying the way she was, he couldn't see her face. She was long-tall, he amended-taking up almost all the space on the sofa. Her hair was long, blonde, and shiny in the low light. He stepped into the space between the coffee table and the sofa and looked down at her. A red, heart-shaped candy box sat on her stomach. One piece of chocolate sat inside. He pulled his hands from his pockets and reached down with one to check for a pulse in her neck.

Her skin was warm, silky. Bright blue eyes popped open and stared at him for a split second before she opened her mouth, inhaled, and was about to scream.

He clapped his hand over her mouth. "Don't do that. Don't scream. You're in my room. I'm staying here."

She breathed heavily through her nose, her breaths hot and stilted, her full breasts rising and falling, nearly spilling out of the tight maid's uniform blouse. Her gold name tag read Sharon B, and her lips were soft and lush against his palm. Wide eyes, filled with fear, stared at him.

"It's okay. Just don't scream, okay? I swear, I'm harmless."

She gave a quick nod, and he pulled his hand away. The woman didn't move. She lay stiff as a board, her hands fisted at her sides.

"You okay?" he asked.

She nodded again but then, to his utter dismay, tears filled her eyes.

"What's wrong? Are you hurt?" He bent over her once again, but she flinched.

When she did move, she wrapped her hand around the candy box on her stomach and sat up in a fluid motion, nearly knocking her forehead against his. "I'm so sorry, Mr. Sterling." She surged to her feet. "Oh, God," she cried when she looked toward the wall of windows. "It's night. It's night. I can't believe-" She bit her bottom lip. "God, I'm so stupid." She muttered the last sentence into her hand as she stared out the window at the lit-up city below. Her southern accent was strong, but he'd always been fond of the lyrical sounds.

"Yes," he said. "It's night. How long have you been here?"

She glanced at him then at her cart near the door, then down at the little heart-shaped box in her hand. Her bottom lip quivered as she lifted the box toward him, offering him the last piece of candy. "I was just going to rest for a minute and have my Valentine's-" She set the box on the coffee table when he didn't take it from her, and then she sat back down on the sofa. "Go ahead. Call security. I won't try leaving."

He frowned at her. What he wanted was for her to leave. Though, she looked awfully...lost. He figured if he called security, she'd lose her job. He moved away from the sofa and went into his bedroom, turning on the light as he went. The bed was made, a small, white box sitting between the pillows. Then he checked the bathroom. Everything was in its place and clean. She was a sufficient enough maid. Did she deserve to lose her job over this?

When he came back into the sitting room, half expecting her to have taken her cart and run while he was in the bedroom, she still sat on the sofa. Only now she sat up straight, her expression one of resignation, not fear, and her hands were primly folded in her lap.

"Have you ever fallen asleep on the job before?"

Her smooth brow pulled together for a brief moment before she shook her head. "No, sir. This is the first time."

She was definitely pretty. Her skin was smooth and flawless, pale and creamy. He'd place her age in the mid twenties. She did have some hefty purple smudges beneath her eyes, though. Those big, baby blues glittered in the low lamplight, and her lips were full and pink. She wore no makeup that he could tell.

"Why..." He noticed her shoes on the floor at the end of the couch. The woman really made herself at home, hadn't she? He raised an eyebrow at her. "You couldn't find an empty room to nap in?"

The woman-Sharon, he read on her nametag again-stood up and reached for her shoes. As she did so, her A-line, drab gray uniform skirt pulled tight across her perfectly rounded ass.

Chet rocked back on his heels and shoved his hands back in his pockets. It'd been a long time since he thought about a woman's ass. Since the telltale tingling of arousal pulsed through his veins.

When the pretty blonde stood up and faced him, shoes now in place on her feet, she held out her hands as if imploring him not to condemn her. "I'm very sorry, Mr. Sterling," she said once again. "It was a mistake." She dropped her hands and shook her head. "I'll go now. My name's Sharon Brock if you want to report me." She picked up the heart-shaped box with the one chocolate left in it. When she moved toward the door, he reached out and grabbed the candy from the box.

"Hey-"

He didn't know what possessed him to do it, but he bit into it while he held her gaze, daring her to tell him not to eat it. She was in his room after all, and he had no intention of reporting her. He figured she'd probably have enough to account for by showing up with a maid's cart after six in the evening. Hell, she was the most excitement he'd had in ages.

Sweet, cherry-flavored syrup squirted into his mouth as he bit through the almost bitter, dark chocolate. He couldn't even remember when he'd last had chocolate candy, and this one was... He moaned and closed his eyes as he put the rest of it in his mouth and slowly chewed. Scrumptious. Decadent.