Sugar Pie by Victoria Pinder

16

The doctor was shocked when I spoke to him on the phone today. I’ll have more info for you soon. Warren Nourozi’s story is going to be delicious to spill.

Gossip and burn the rich.

Yours truly,

Regina, your gossip goddess you can’t escape from.

Warren

My muscles were on fire. I’d completed the cabinet installation, redone the stairs, and installed eight ceiling fans in that hot house with no windows open or working air conditioning. I yawned.

The best part of the moon rising on the day was that Kerry would be at home when I got there.

For twenty-eight years, I had been driven home in the nicest cars to every luxury and to food prepared by renowned chefs. Still, I never had the sense of belonging I’d experienced since Kerry had come into my life.

As I drove home, my phone rang. I saw my brother’s name and quickly answered. “Hey, Jeff. I didn’t expect you to call.”

“I don’t know how the gossip blog has any information. I’ve kept everything I know about Kerry as private as possible.”

I hadn’t checked it in a while, but last I’d checked, it seemed like the blog was fishing for information. If my alerts hadn’t been set to notify me whenever my name pinged, I have never read that trash gossip blog with a penchant for social warfare. I kept my gaze on the road. “I didn’t think you’d leak anything about a client and ruin your professional reputation.”

“Exactly. Maybe an employee at my firm is causing trouble, so I’m flooding my team with different narratives, but I don’t believe this Regina—probably not her real name—is anything other than someone from the dark web spinning information.”

No one in my family would have fed info to a blogger or written such rubbish. The words Regina used were too radical for any of us.

I shrugged as I turned onto my street. “I’m too far from California, and I’ve been off her radar in Manhattan for a while. Either way, nothing to worry about.”

“So you’re not stressed about today’s blog and supposedly someone talking to Kerry’s ex, Romeo?”

I parked and glanced up. The light in our apartment was like a beacon calling me up to her. “All my energy is focused on winning and growing my business.”

“Good luck.”

“You too.” I hung up. My brother and the dangers of being rich and spoiled were for another day and another time.

I raced up the steps and let myself in.

The smell of fresh beef stew wafted in the air, combining with her sweet floral scent.

I closed the door, and then the bedroom door opened. Kerry floated out in a yellow cotton sundress with white flowers on the hems.

I pressed my hand to my chest. “Wow. I need a shower so I don’t ruin this.”

She laughed as she passed me. “I left your nice white shirt on the hook in there.”

I fought my urge to grab her and kiss her—she would probably prefer if my hands were clean. I headed into the bathroom. “Are we celebrating?” I turned on the water.

“I found our first customer.”

My mind raced. That made no sense. We didn’t have our presentation ready to sell to anyone, and we didn’t officially own the land yet.

My stomach tightened as I showered. I quickly finished and dressed. I opened the door and called to the main kitchen, “Without even having a model?” I tugged my pants on and realized she had to have ironed them, as I had them rolled in my backpack. My laundry smelled clean.

“You have the 3D model and this one. So when your brother called me…”

I grabbed the shirt and put it on in the main room so I could see her. “Jeff?”

Her cheeks blushed, and I buttoned my shirt faster. I didn’t want to offend her, and she avoided looking at my muscular frame. “Yes, he wanted to tell me he’d sent me e-documents to prove my marriage is over and to tell me how to get a new driver’s license with my maiden name.”

I headed to the kitchen and found the salads she’d made then I picked them up to take to our small table. “Good.”

She joined me with a bottle of wine. “So I mentioned the plan, and he said he knew someone who might be interested. An hour later, I was on the phone with Zara, an executive assistant.”

I froze. My father. I narrowed my gaze. “Zara?”

Kerry crossed her hands in front of her. “Yes. She wanted to see the plans, so I sent them. Next thing I knew, we had a buyer.”

My shoulders tensed. If she argued, I would have had to tell her who my father was. I widened my stance. “Say no.”

Her eyes widened. “No? I thought this was good.”

Her words were like bullets to my armor, but she hadn’t argued. I relaxed. “My father. I don’t want my family to invest and buy a spec house. I need to prove I can do this on my own.”

She took my hand and nodded. “I didn’t know Zara worked for your father.”

I glanced up. Thankfully, she hadn’t demanded her financial share, as that would have put me in an awkward position. She needed to know my last name wasn’t Tate, but I wanted us both to prove to ourselves that we could conquer the world as we’d planned. I squeezed her palm a little. “Are you okay waiting to make money with our plan?”

She motioned for us to sit, so I went behind her and pulled her chair out for her. “Yes,” she said, “and tonight can just be a date.”

My skin jolted, and a smile grew on my face. “A date sounds even better.” I poured the wine.

She held hers up in a toast. “Here’s to us.”

We clinked glasses then sipped. As I set my glass down, I whispered, “Kerry, you’re the only person in the world I want at my side right now.”

She lowered her lashes, and her cheeks pinkened. “I didn’t know what I wanted until I met you, Warren.”

My pulse quickened, and I pressed my hands on the table to keep from grabbing hers. “What is it you want?”

She sat back and gave me a half smile. “Guess I led you to that question.”

Right. She hadn’t meant an invitation for sex. I would have to earn the right. I sipped my wine, settled into my seat and asked, “And now you’re avoiding it?”

She sipped her wine and met my gaze without blinking. “I want to prove I’m capable and for us to be successful. It means I have business skills and know-how.”

There was suddenly more to us than the partnership. I picked up my fork. “You do.”

We both ate our salads, which didn’t take long. Once she finished, she said, “And…” then jumped to take the plates.

I followed her. “Yeah?”

She put them in the sink as I took the lid off the stew. I grabbed two bowls but stopped when she took a breath to speak. “You’ve shown me that my marriage was never real because with you, I’m myself and I’m happy. I didn’t know this feeling was possible.”

I turned to her and placed my hand on her hip. “Kerry, I want more from you than just a business partnership.”

She came closer, and the air smelled like her perfume. “What is it you want, Warren?”

I wanted her to be mine for the rest of our lives. The thought charged through me. “I want to create our million-dollar empire. That hasn’t changed.”

Her lips parted as she stared at mine. “Of course. We’re on the same page.”

My entire body was hard and ready for her. I lowered my eyes. “I hope so, because I want you intimately. I need to possess you in every way and know you want me too.”

She sighed and pressed her hands on my chest. “We should eat, then.”

The flutter in me amplified from her touch, though clothes were in the way. I didn’t move. “I won’t push you.”

She stayed in my arms, tracing my muscles. “I can’t… ” Her words faded away as she kissed me. She tasted sweeter than dessert, and I knew exactly what the rest of her would taste like.

I woudn’t push, but sooner or later, she would realize that she was mine and I was hers.