Mountain Springs Omega #3
Mason's hated Valentine's Day ever since his fiance broke off their engagement on that most romantic of holidays.
Ten years after his alpha ended their engagement, Mason still feels the hurt and does everything he can to not thing about his lost love or the holiday. But being Mountain Springs' only chocolatier, he doesn't have the luxury of hiding from the day like he'd prefer.
Devon just wants to protect his omega, even though he knows he hurt him.
Ending the engagement was the last thing Devon wanted to do, but he needed to protect his omega, and at the time he thought it was the only solution. Now there's an arsonist running around Mountain Springs, and Mason's shop is in the crosshairs. Devon realizes he'll have to hurt his love again in order to protect him.
When both men are forced to confront the past in order to prevent calamity, will their history get in the way, or is a little heat just what it takes to bring them back together?
Recipe for Romance
One Protective Alpha
One Emotionally Scarred Omega
1 Failed Engagement
1 Chocolate Shop
1 Arsonist
Candy Kisses for the Omega is a 13K word , non-shifter, M/M, Mpreg romance, featuring two men afraid to confront their past, some knotty fun, and plenty of chocolate.
Original Review February 2023:
Over the years I've read a handful of mpregs in fanfiction and enjoyed them all but I'll admit I've only read a few in published works, which I too have enjoyed each time. It may not be a genre or trope I seek out but I don't shy away from either and have collected a fair number on my kindle and TBR list but haven't had the opportunity to discover yet. As for Lacey Daize? This is a new author to me, some find that scary but I find it adrenaline pumping almost as much as the rush I get waiting to discover the end of great book. Lacey Daize is definitely an author to go on my authors-to-watch list and I look forward to discovering more.
On to Candy Kisses. Being a short novella I won't go into much detail so not to spoil it for others who are also new to either the author or this story. Candy is the third entry in the author's Mountain Springs Omegas non-shifter mpreg series and as far as I can tell it is a series of standalones. Being a series-read-in-order kind of gal, it is unusual for me to start in the middle but as I was looking for Valentine stories, what can I say I took a chance😉.
I enjoyed every minute of this short tale of love, friendship, second chances, and it has just a hint of mystery that made it a winning gem. I want to wrap Mason in bubblewrap and though I wouldn't mind giving Devon a good solid shake(and possibly a whack to the back of the head) I understood his thought process wayback when. Can the pair work through the heartache of the past to find happiness in the future? You'll have to discover that for yourself, as it's a holiday that is all about love you can probably guess where the couple will end up but getting there is where all the entertaining discovery lies.
Candy Kisses for the Omega has definitely made me want to check out the rest of the Mountain Springs Omegas series.
RATING:
Chapter 1 - Mason
I sat at the kitchen counter and picked up the newest edition of Mountain Springs’ bi-weekly newspaper. Given the overall state of the print media industry, I was glad to support the town paper and they did good work. However, the headline on the front page made me scowl: Arsonist Continues to Elude Fire Investigators.
The news made me worry for two reasons. The first was that it meant there was still somebody out there setting fires with no clear motive. The other was my friend Liam. The first incident had been a stand of bears set aflame in front of his parents’ gift store, and though the arsonist hadn’t targeted any single place twice, it couldn’t be ruled out either. It was stressful enough already, but Liam was pregnant on top of that.
I skimmed the article, but wasn’t too hopeful about finding anything of use in it. The title seemed to sum it up pretty well.
I picked out a few more articles to read while I drank my coffee, then it was time to get ready for work. As the town’s chocolatier, one of my busiest seasons was upon me and I had orders to make.
Eleven months out of the year I loved my work. I got to be creative, making new shapes and flavors of treats for the various holidays. Rose and lavender infused chocolates for Mother’s Day, beer and whiskey for the dads. My white chocolate green caramel eyeballs were Halloween favorites, and I’d had lines before Christmas for my chocolate-coated gingerbread men.
But the next holiday was the one I wished I could shut down the store for. Each chocolate-dipped strawberry and heart-shaped confection was like a dagger in my soul. Every one a reminder of the betrayal I felt.
Maybe I’d hire and train a new employee over the summer so they’d be ready to take over the following February and allow me to go on vacation—preferably somewhere warm and where I could avoid all the couples kissing and being lovey-dovey.
I headed to the bathroom to brush my teeth, and studied my beard in the mirror. I’d need to trim it soon or the health inspector would insist on a net for it. I liked the length, especially in winter, but the nets were uncomfortable and it was better to keep my facial hair neat than have to constantly be dealing with the net while trying to work.
I ran a comb through my beard to be safe, and made a mental note to book an appointment with my barber. Then I headed downstairs from my apartment to the kitchen of Mount Chocolate.
One of the nice things about running a candy store rather than a bakery was that I could keep slightly more normal hours than a baker would, at least most of the time. But today the sun had barely cleared the horizon when I walked in and flicked on the lights, which reflected off the stainless-steel work tables.
Even when I hated the holiday, I never hated the sight of my passion ready for me each morning. In a few hours those same tables would be filled with confections in various stages of making, the scent of chocolate filling the air.
I wandered over to my calendar and compared the schedule with pre-order quantities, trying to decide if I needed to shuffle anything. Chocolate-covered strawberries were flying off the shelf, but I couldn’t start on the bulk of the orders for them until the thirteenth so that the fruit remained fresh on the big day. Which meant it was other chocolate and gift basket prep with things that could last the week until February fourteenth.
Satisfied that my schedule was still fine, I started gathering my ingredients. First up was a big batch of red chile chocolates. They’d been popular the year before, and I decided to spruce things up with special boxes that read ‘Hot Stuff for my Hot Stuff.’ The special box meant that a number of people had ordered them, and as it would be shelf-stable longer it was a good choice to get a head start on.
Soon I was fully immersed in the work, tempering the chocolate to glossy perfection and mixing in the spicy chile. I then spread it to cool before breaking it into bark-style pieces.
I’d been so immersed in my work that I jolted when I heard the little bell over the front door chime.
“Mason?”
I breathed out a sigh, calming my nerves. It was just Andrew. He’d breezed into town the month prior, but had only been working for me a week, since a receptionist job fell through almost immediately after they’d told him he’d been hired. But he’d shown himself more than capable of the work and a trustworthy employee.
He’d also fit right into my circle of omega friends, and after a love-at-first-sight romance was mated to a local alpha and had announced his pregnancy a few days before.
“Back here,” I called.
Andrew came back and smiled. “Where do you need me today?”
“Hop on the register until Daniel comes in, then you can come back and start prepping the hot stuff boxes.”
“You got it,” Andrew said as he grabbed an apron and a little candyman hat. A minute later I heard the sound of bills being counted as he prepped the register.
I had to admit, the other omega had come in at just the right time. I’d steadily been getting busier and with the dreaded holiday only a week away it was time for all hands on deck to push through.
I just had to hope he’d be willing to stay after February. He’d mentioned that he preferred office jobs, and was considering going back to school, but having him even on a part-time basis would be great.
I got the second batch of chile chocolate cooling and started on another specialty, Love Bites, which were small chocolates with a hot cinnamon kick.
Soon the sounds of customers drifted in from the front: people placing orders for gift boxes, excited children squealing with delight, and the sweetest of them all was the compliments as people tasted my creations.
Daniel came in around noon, which gave me a chance to head to Glen’s Diner and grab lunch for the three of us. Then Andrew and I spent the afternoon filling boxes and bags of candy while Daniel sold it out the front almost faster than I could make it.
Finally it was closing time, and after Daniel cleaned up the front he joined Andrew and I in the back on the assembly line. Soon we had stacks of boxes and gift baskets ready for both orders and regular store stock.
We were wiping down the tables when we heard the blare of sirens, followed by the low blast of a fire engine’s horn. The three of us ran to the front and out the door, eyes tracing the direction of the emergency lights until we saw black smoke rising from the direction of the community center.
“Think it’s the arsonist again?” Andrew asked quietly.
I nodded. “It’s a reasonable bet.”
Lacey DaizeLacey lives in New Mexico with her four critters. She’s a Jill-of-all-trades by day, but loves writing in her spare time. She dabbles in a variety of pairings, but jumped feet-first into the deep end of omegaverse the first time she read it. She loves the play on social expectations and the different ways to express romance.
Candy Kisses #3
