Share

CHAPTER 436

Author: Jay Kings
last update Last Updated: 2024-03-24 05:37:49

So here’s a graph showing roasting temperatures, roasting times, and the flavor profiles you applied to each batch,” Emma said.

She had never realized just how much went into making chocolate. It wasn’t the magical mystery tour that Charlie and the Chocolate Factory promised.

“And this graph shows the region and environmental factors for each of the cacao beans that we’ve tested.”

Emma now knew more about the chocolate-making process than she ever wanted to know. It was like looking behind the wizard’s curtain and finding a man riding a bicycle to power some great illusion. Who knew that rainfall soil acidity and the time of year the cocoa pods were harvested all added to—or subtracted from—the final finished product? That was all before it even got to the Ashby factory where the roasting, grinding, and conching process also had a major impact on the taste.

The last few days had been spent doing small batch roasts of different blends of beans in order for Jake to adjust the wh
Locked Chapter
Continue Reading on GoodNovel
Scan code to download App

Related chapters

  • One Night Stand With The Unforgettable Stranger   CHAPTER 437

    He may not be rich, but he made decent money and the two of them together could live comfortably. She snuggled down beside him, resting her head on his shoulder as she watched the sunset streak across the sky. She didn’t want this to end. It was scary for her to admit that. Never had she been this wrapped up in a guy before. Never had she felt this squishy feeling whenever she was around her current flame. But Jake left her feeling all sorts of unfamiliar and yet wonderful, amazing, beautiful things. The car slowed and pulled through the gates of the chalet. It was easy to forget the plan when she was basically living the life she had always wanted. Fancy house, a fancy car with a driver, housekeeper cook, and butler. She was living a fairy tale, the one she talked about with her sister when they were huddled together in the same bed, their stomachs growling because Devi had forgotten to feed them yet again. She constructed a fantasy to help get them through the hard times and pro

    Last Updated : 2024-03-24
  • One Night Stand With The Unforgettable Stranger   CHAPTER 438

    If he held her a little tighter on the way home and his kisses were more desperate, then it was just because he wanted to make the most of their last night together. By unspoken agreement, Emma had moved her things into the master bedroom with him and she had spent every night in his bed. Tonight was no different. They held hands as they climbed the stairs and he took his time undressing her as she stood in the soft lamp-light beside the bed. He took his time memorizing every curve and dip on her body. He imprinted the feel of her skin on his mind as he touched stroked and caressed. He laid her down on the bed and drank in the sight of her as he undressed. He didn’t know how he would ever get his fill of looking at her. Naked, he crawled onto the bed beside her and ran a finger over her skin, following the path with his tongue. He moved down her body, finding her soft, wet center, and settled himself to feast. Her raspy breaths drove him on. The tugs on his hair and the way she ro

    Last Updated : 2024-03-24
  • One Night Stand With The Unforgettable Stranger   CHAPTER 439

    “Jake?” He didn’t look at her. “Hmm?” “Are you coming back to bed?” He still didn’t look at her. “I, uh, I have some work to finish.” “Oh.” She exhaled slowly. “I’ll get dressed and come help you.” “No.” He turned his back, walking toward the door of the bedroom. “Get some sleep. I’ll come to bed soon.” What the hell just happened? Emma lay, staring at the closed door and wondering when the tables had turned. The Jake that had come out of the bathroom was not the same man who had only moments ago taken her to heights of bliss she had never before known. That was not the same man who she had opened her heart to. Determined not to panic, Emma tried to organize the events in logical order. Fun day. Nice dinner. Sexy times. Nope. None of those things should have turned Jake into the piece of stone that walked out the door. Maybe it was just work. She knew just how single-focused Jake could be at times and maybe because it was their last night in Merveille, his thoughts h

    Last Updated : 2024-03-24
  • One Night Stand With The Unforgettable Stranger   CHAPTER 440

    It had been a week since they returned from Merveille and Jonathon was still feeling out of sorts. Against his better judgment, but to the absolute delight of his cock, he and Emma had kept up their clandestine affair. He couldn’t get enough of her, even if he knew it only made the inevitable end more painful. When they were together he could forget she would never see him as anything more than just a fling. When they were together he could live in the fantasy where she felt the same way he felt about her. “Who the fuck stole your cookie?” Declan asked as he slid into the chair beside Jonathon. Despite his friends’ new relationship statuses, they still made time to have a boys’ night as often as they could. The girls had their own version that usually ended up with them far drunker than the boys, all except Chloe who had abstained due to her burgeoning pregnancy…which was no more. “How’s life as a dad?” Jonathon asked, pushing aside his dark thoughts. Declan’s face crea

    Last Updated : 2024-03-24
  • One Night Stand With The Unforgettable Stranger   CHAPTER 441

    “We hooked up,” he said and the words burned his tongue. What they had done in Merveille and ever since was not ‘hooking up.’ It was more than that. “Define ‘hooked up,’” Barry said. He exhaled roughly. “Okay, more than hooked up. We’ve been sleeping together for a couple of weeks.” “Does she know who you are?” “No, and that’s the problem. She started working at Ashby Chocolates to get close to Jonathon Ashby. She had this whole plan to trap a billionaire.” The other four sat back, stunned. “What?” Brian asked. “She even went out on a date with him,” Jonathon said. “The fake Jonathon.” He lifted the beer to his lips and drank, not tasting it. “The night Caitlyn was born. She was on a date with him when she got a call about her sister. The arsehole dropped her off at the hospital and left her there.” “And you swooped in to rescue her,” Mason said, a crooked smirk on his face. He shrugged one shoulder. “You really like her?” Declan

    Last Updated : 2024-03-24
  • One Night Stand With The Unforgettable Stranger   CHAPTER 442

    It was time to call the police. Emma didn’t know how she felt about Devi’s disappearance. Part of her was glad. It was a small, spiteful little piece of her that thought that maybe the woman was finally out of their lives, but it was immediately crushed by the heavy weight of guilt that slammed onto Emma’s shoulders. Devi wasn’t the perfect mother but she was all they had. “I need to report a missing person,” Emma said when the call was answered. She answered the questions robotically. She pushed down any and all of the emotions that threatened to rise up and choke her. She both hated and loved her mother to varying degrees at different times. It was a dichotomy she was used to. Right now, even as worried as she was, she hated Devi. She hated Devi for putting her in this position. Emma hated her for abandoning her and Kirra in her grief. She hated her mother for leaving Emma to explain her disappearance to Kirra. The call with the police ended. They would look into it, contactin

    Last Updated : 2024-03-24
  • One Night Stand With The Unforgettable Stranger   CHAPTER 443

    He hadn’t been born to money and it was a fluke article in a prestigious magazine that was responsible for the meteoric success of Ashby Chocolates. He knew what it was like to scrimp and save. He knew what it was like to go without. But his home had always been that—a home. It may not have had the best of everything and it may have been old, but it was filled with love and family. His grandparents had loved their house and had taken care of it despite their lack of finances. The house in front of him looked like it was devoid of any sort of love and that hurt his heart more than he ever thought it could. It brought into stark detail that he knew next to nothing about Emma and her life. It also gave him some understanding of her pursuit of the fake Jonathon Ashby. He had never seen her as a social climbing gold digger and the house in front of him underscored his initial assessment. With a deep sigh, he let himself through the rusty gate that screeched on its hinges and strode up

    Last Updated : 2024-03-24
  • One Night Stand With The Unforgettable Stranger   CHAPTER 444

    Here for Jane Doe?” the nurse asked and Emma gasped, stiffening under Jonathon’s hand. “Oh my God is she…” Emma whispered. The nurse’s face blanched. “Oh no, she’s still with us just unconscious. She has a nasty bump on her head and she’s severely dehydrated.” Emma relaxed and Jonathon was glad he was there to stop her collapsing in a heap. The nurse led them down a corridor and stopped outside a crowded room. The bed in the back of the room had the curtain pulled. The nurse headed straight for it but Emma hesitated. “Maybe you should go,” she said. He didn’t know what was going on in her head, but he wasn’t leaving her. Not until they knew if the woman in the bed was her mother and if she was going to be okay. “No,” he replied, pressing his hand into the small of her back to encourage her to step into the room. The nurse waited by the bed, looking at them expectantly. “I need someone to go and get Kirra,” Emma said, her eyes glued to the curtain aro

    Last Updated : 2024-03-25

Latest chapter

  • One Night Stand With The Unforgettable Stranger   EPILOGUE

    Six Months Later…Everyone he loved was in the room. They were celebrating. Barry and Becky had finally set a date. Lisa and Mason wouldn’t be far behind. Brian and Cassie kept sneaking glances at one another that they thought nobody else noticed. He thought he knew what was going on but he didn’t want to ruin the surprise. It was their news to share and he was happy to wait for them to be ready to share it. Liam and Loretta were here too. He’d been slowly getting to know them. There was a lot of hurt to work through, but they were getting there. Jonathon quite enjoyed having a younger brother even if it was only in small doses at the moment. Devi and Kirra were also there. Kirra was graduating in a couple of weeks and then she would be hopefully attending one of the universities close to home. She wouldn’t know if she got accepted until the new year, but Jonathan was quietly confident that she would get into her top pick. And then there was Emma. Every day with her was

  • One Night Stand With The Unforgettable Stranger   CHAPTER 480

    “I know it’s too soon,” he said, cupping her cheek. “But I want you to know that I am in this for good. I want to spend my life with you Emma. I want us to be a family. You, me, Kirra, Devi, Liam, and Loretta—” “Loretta?” “My mum. I want one big, messy family with you and me at the heart of it. Tell me you want that too.” She pressed against him and brushed a kiss on his lips. “I do,” she said before putting the remaining half of the chocolate in her mouth and grinning. The wheel came to a stop and he drew Emma to her feet, moving them both over to the window. The entire city of Melbourne was spread out below them, but it dimmed in comparison to the woman in his arms. “I love you, Emma,” he whispered before kissing her while they stood on top of the world.He took her home. He couldn’t not. They had stuff to work out and a relationship to manage. He had a family to get to know and she had her mother’s illness to navigate and her sister’s final year of sch

  • One Night Stand With The Unforgettable Stranger   CHAPTER 479

    He stepped into the pod and waited for the door to close before holding the final box out to her, his mouth dry. She reached for it but he snatched it away, lifting it beyond her reach. “Before I give this to you, I need to explain.” She looked from the box to his face and nodded. “Okay.” The wheel started to move and Jonathon moved them over to sit on a bench. He exhaled roughly. “Okay, so I don’t know how much of this you already know, but how about I just start at the beginning?” She nodded again. “My mother left when I was two. I always believed she left us for a man with money. I’ve recently found out that wasn’t true.” He took a deep breath and her hand rested gently on his chest as she moved closer to him. He took strength from her closeness. “Someone was impersonating me—” “Liam?” He nodded. “Right. Liam. It turns out Liam is my brother. He was trying to draw me out and get me to notice him. He ultimately wanted to meet his father. He didn’t

  • One Night Stand With The Unforgettable Stranger   CHAPTER 478

    “Are you looking for this?” the security guy asked, holding out an old-fashioned paper ticket. Emma laughed as she snatched it from him, waving it over her shoulder as she jogged toward the front doors of the building. She slid into the car and Brian looked at her expectantly. “Um…” Emma looked between Brian and Cassie. “I want to say Luna Park, but I don’t think that’s right.” “Why Luna Park?” Cassie asked. Emma held up the ticket in her hand. “We went to a fête in Merveille and rode the Ferris wheel.” “The Melbourne Star,” Brian said, his voice gruff. “Of course!” Cassie cried excitedly, leaning over to give Brian a smacking kiss. “You’re brilliant.” Emma could barely keep still as Brian drove them across town toward the Docklands and the giant observation wheel. As much as she was enjoying herself, she wanted to see him. She had already forgiven him for his lie and now she desperately wanted to ask his forgiveness for her stupid, fearful, erratic

  • One Night Stand With The Unforgettable Stranger   CHAPTER 477

    She walked around the corner expecting to see Jonathon outside the patisserie, but there was no one there. She stepped inside breathed in the sweet scent of pastries and chocolate and looked around, hoping to spot him, but he wasn’t there. “Are you Emma?” a lady asked. “Yeah,” Emma said, turning to the woman who sat at a small table with a familiar little box in front of her. “This is for you,” the woman said, standing and walking away. Emma sat and took the box, pulling at the bow and opening it to see another chocolate truffle, this time it had an ’S’ written on top of it in dark chocolate. She didn’t need the little ‘Eat Me’ note to know what to do. She put the truffle on her tongue and closed her eyes. The chocolate coating melted away to leave behind a cake center with the sweet tang of apricot jam. “Sachertorte,” she mumbled to herself as she sighed and opened her eyes. Emma picked up the note that had nestled beside the truffle in the box.The first time we made lov

  • One Night Stand With The Unforgettable Stranger   CHAPTER 476

    Dear Emma,The first time we met I wanted to kiss you. I knew I couldn’t. I knew it was stepping across a line both personally and professionally, but still, I couldn’t deny the attraction I felt.Our relationship has had an unconventional start, a bit of a rocky middle, and an absolutely appalling ending, but there were some real high points along the way. Let me remind you of how good it was between us and how good it could be again.Do you remember our first kiss? I don’t think I will ever forget it. I thought I knew what I was getting myself in for when I leaned down to brush my lips across yours, but I was a fool. You were so much more than I ever thought I would ever experience. You took my breath away and I lost a little bit of my heart to you at that moment.If it meant as much to you as it did to me, meet me there at the place where we first kissed.Jonathon.Emma could feel the wetness on her cheeks and she sniffed as she wiped at the tears. “Well?” Cassie asked, rocking o

  • One Night Stand With The Unforgettable Stranger   CHAPTER 475

    It was the first Saturday morning Emma could ever remember that had the three of them sitting around the kitchen table eating pancakes and laughing. What would have been a simple, family Saturday morning ritual for some was something out of a fairy tale for Emma. She knew they were a long way from being a happy family, there was still a lot of hurt to navigate and broken trust to overcome, but it was a start and for once in her life, she was willing to just go with it. On this day, Devi was back to the woman she vaguely remembered from before Tom died and Emma wanted to soak it up and memorize it. From pancakes, they’d gone to gardening. Emma shared her plans with Devi and Kirra. She would let the lease go on her flat and move back in here permanently. It meant she would be on hand if Devi needed her and hopefully give some stability for Kirra’s final year of school. After she graduated and went off to uni, Emma could look at what would happen next. They all agreed that if they were

  • One Night Stand With The Unforgettable Stranger   CHAPTER 474

    Emma wanted to believe her, but it was tempting to turn away and close her heart off so she couldn’t be hurt again. Except it would hurt anyway. If there was one thing she learned through this whole saga with Jonathon it was that closing your heart off to others was a mistake. You ended up hurting everyone that way, not least of all yourself. She put her arm around Devi and hugged her. “Good for you mum,” she said.Jonathon worked all night and most of the day. He tried calling Emma but when she didn’t pick up or reply to his texts after the first twenty or so, he gave up. What he had to say needed to be said in person anyway. Inspired by the woman he had fallen irrevocably in love with, he had spent the night holed up in his test kitchen creating the perfect set of truffles. Anybody could buy a box of chocolates or a bunch of flowers but only he could create an entire set of truffles that spelled out just how much he loved her and how much she had impacted his life. He had words

  • One Night Stand With The Unforgettable Stranger   CHAPTER 473

    Kirra said when Emma finally made it home. Emma had been wandering around the city trying to come to terms with what all this meant for her life going forward. She had made some hard decisions, but she felt like a weight had been lifted off her shoulders. It hadn’t helped with the pain in her chest where her heart was currently crumbling away to dust, but at least she knew that she wasn’t going to end up like her mother just because she had fallen in love. Life was always going to throw her curve balls and she just learned something about herself. Despite her previous belief, she was actually strong enough to withstand them, even swing the bat at them, and make the best out of a bad situation. “Hey, yourself,” she said, sitting at the table opposite Kirra. “Where’s Zoë?” “She had to go and run some errands.” “Where’s mum?” Kirra bit her lip and her eyes teared up. “I don’t know.” “She’s not here?” Emma asked, sitting up straighter and leaning forward. “When I got home, Z

Scan code to read on App
DMCA.com Protection Status