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Prologue
ONCE UPON A TIME, in a faraway land, in a world called Elatyria, there lived a handsome prince who believed in true love
This prince had been raised by parents who adored each other Their lives were filled with love, joy and happiness He had always looked forward to the day when he would meet his own soul dom
Unfortunately, though he tried and tried, the prince could not find a bride who loved hiible maidens he met proved to be more interested in his crown, his palaces and his lands than in his person
Growing discouraged, he began to cast off his royal duties and go out into the world tofor his one-and-only, forever love—and finding along the way a lot of one-of-many, for today lovers
With his parents aging, and his kingdo an heir, the prince realized the ti to fareed to make one last foray into the orld in search of his soul irl his parents chose for him
With ti out, the prince had one last hope, and one final place to go to try to find the woman of his dreams
A ical city called New York
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“IF I DON’T COME UP WITH thetrouble”
Claire Hoffnore her brother, Freddy, who had burst into the kitchen of her candy shop, ranting about his latest financial eency It was under four weeks until Christmas; she had a ton of work to do, and no time to deal with his histrionics
But unlike usual Freddy’s tone, he didn’t sound cajoling and playful now He sounded serious Very serious
Her hand shook, ever so slightly, but enough to sabotage the delicate lacework icing she’d been applying to a tray of tiny petits fours She lowered the icing bag “What are you talking about?”
Ignoring her for a rabbed a café con leche truffle—one of her specialties—and stuffed it into his mouth
“Freddy?” she snapped
“I’ I don’t even have money to feed myself”
She didn’t ask why Freddyat one of the theaters on Broadway, but whatever he h to keep him solvent between paychecks Which hy she hadn’t io, looking for cash She was used to slipping hi the
But she suspected a twenty wasn’t going to cut it this time
“What have you done?”
He finished chewing, then looked down at his feet, scuffing theht have been cute when he was ten and, five years older, Claire was practically raising him, since their delicate, prima ballerina mother was so often ill But it wasn’t cute now that he enty-one, and a lazy, often uneh life
After he’d spent his share of theirfro the ancient building her uncle had left her, and starting her shop, I Want Candy, she could no longer serve as Freddy’s ATM “What Have You Done?”
“It shoulda been a sure thing I mean, that race”
“Jesus, Freddy!”
A flush rose up his neck,his cheeks
“How much did you lose?”
“Well, it wasn’t so much the race”
She reached for a truffle and bit into it, then grabbed another one She needed to busy her hands so she wouldn’t strangle him, and busy her mouth so she wouldn’t scream
“See, when I realized how deep I was in, I went to leverage what I had left on last weekend’s NFL games”
He snagged a petit four She snatched it back “How much?”
He muht Oh, God, please let ht “What?”
“Ue”
“Tell me you mean ten oversize one-dollar bills”
He shook his head, looking rand”