Sugar Pie by Victoria Pinder
21
Kerry
My heart pounded hard in my chest. He closed the door, and my breathing became erratic as I stared at him. Every cell in my body trembled from the sight of his muscles rippling under his blue T-shirt. I met his blue-eyed gaze and shook, though I reached for my shirt.
“Are you sure?” he asked.
Tears formed in my eyes. I’d never ached for a man in my life. I swallowed and said, “You’re right. I’m sorry.”
“There is nothing to be sorry about.”
He took both my hands. “We can wait.”
Damn.My heart stirred, and my lips tingled for his kiss. I’d heard of panty-melting kisses, and in my heart, I wondered if Warren was my first and only. I blinked, and he stared at me. I shook my head and said, “Okay, not long. I think I need to eat.”
“No problem.”
He was a sweetheart. We returned to the kitchen and quickly reheated my stew. The tension in my body remained.
Everything would change between us if we went to bed together.
Once the stew was done, he spooned it into bowls.
I sniffed the meaty aroma, and my mouth watered. It smelled delicious. I smiled. “So what’s going on?”
He put a plate of bread on the table. “I’m a visual learner, and I’d like to see the models with the lay of the land. It helped me see more clearly what we were discussing.”
So we aren’t having sex now?Damn. It was my fault too.
One of the sexiest parts of Warren was his raw ambition and belief in himself. My ex would never have spoken to a contractor unless the contractor was a patient and even then, he drugged people out for a living.
“Happy to help with the vision.” I walked into the living room to see the buildings he’d made of Popsicle sticks and went to my knees. He probably hadn’t slept in days. I perused them. “You really believe in yourself, Warren.”
He stood above me, and my pulse zipped. He knelt beside me and said, “I want your opinion.”
My lips tingled to kiss him, but I jumped up and rushed to the bedroom. If I initiated like I was tempted to do, I would lead him on. “Let me change and finish my stew, and then we’ll go.”
“Perfect,” he called out as I jogged to my closet to grab my jeans. “After we finalize the model, you can start scouting for subcontractors like we discussed to get the model done fast.”
I yanked my jeans on. Warren noticed everything about me, and I wasn’t used to being in the spotlight and wasn’t sure how to dim that or if I truly wanted to at all. I ignored my inner turmoil. “I’m on it. Just from seeing the models you made, I’m partial to the Georgian.”
He called through the door, “The modern version of the plantation would probably have a higher sale price.”
I finished getting dressed and saw he’d moved his models to the kitchen counter. I gulped my coffee and stared at them again. Then I met his gaze and said, “You’re right. I think it’s just the porch I love. I spent many evenings staring out a window, drinking wine, and wishing I had the guts to just leave. A porch like this would have been nice.”
He grabbed the keys and picked up two of the models. “Would you have left sooner?”
I stared down at the Georgian. “I don’t know.”
He locked the door behind us. “I’m in awe that I ended up here with you.”
“Awe is a good word.” I bounced on my toes. Warren was a sweetheart, and I needed to get myself under control.
He bumped into me as we headed down the stairs. “I think so.”
My skin buzzed with awareness. I half wanted to know what going upstairs and being with him in bed would be like. As we made it to the last step, I whispered, “We could—”
“I value how on top of things you are all the time, Kerry.” He put the models in the back of his truck.
I was saved from starting something I wasn’t sure I should. I handed him the last model. “What is it about me that you like, other than my organizational skills?”
He held open the passenger door. “Your business acumen. You got me those contracts and picking the land.”
Goose bumps grew on my arms. I was tempted to throw myself at him. My face felt hot. “Yeah. Something more… personal, I guess.”
He took the seat beside me, and his stare made me all achy and needy. He sucked in a breath. “You make coming home every night after a hard day… better.”
I massaged my bare neckline. I always used to wear a small pink stone my grandmother had given me, but I’d lost it. Warren started the car, and I let out a sigh. “Well, that’s good. At least you didn’t say you love me, because then I would feel bad.” The words tumbled out of my mouth, and I cringed. I was making too many mistakes.
He tensed and didn’t put the car in Drive. He asked in a low tone, “Why would you feel bad?”
I pointed to the road. Maybe I would be less needy the farther we got from the apartment. We drove for a few minutes in silence. “I don’t know how to fall in love or what to do with a great guy.”
“Your marriage?”
“More my mother’s voice in my head.” I used to think I was unreadable. I sat back in my chair. “Yeah. She’s of the opinion that marriage brings stability and that the purpose of dating is to find a husband.”
He let out a chuckle as we drove onto the property. “You’re stable on your own, and love is easy.”
A smile grew on my face. Since I’d been helping him, I’d been laser focused and the opposite of lonely. “One of the things I do like about you, Warren, is that you’re not superrich and looking for arm candy. You see that I’m capable of more.”
His lips thinned as he stared at me, but then he put the truck into Park and hopped out without a word. My heart thrashed, but then he opened my door for me. “I’d never ignore you.”
I relaxed my shoulders and took one of the models. We walked into the grass and put them down, side by side. I stared at them. The sun would set soon, and the clean air filled my lungs. I was free of my lust, and my mind was clear. “You don’t know what money does to people. You will once you build these plantation-style homes.”
He crossed his arms. “You think that’s it?”
I knew what property would look like in the end. “With the lake and a drive around the lake along with homes set back from the road, this place will be a goldmine for escaping Northerners not wanting Florida but wanting a better climate and slower pace.”
His arm hung next to mine.
Butterflies danced in my stomach. I wished he’d kiss me right here.
Instead, he placed his hand on my back and said, “Let’s head home before it gets dark.”
I needed to get my mind right. We were a work thing, and maybe if I wasn’t so nervous near him, we could be a casual thing. We carried the models back to the truck. What had happened earlier clearly hadn’t meant as much to him.
My heart pounded. I didn’t say a word for a while.
As we neared our street, I crossed my legs and asked, “Do you want a few more small jobs till we close on the property?”
He parked the car. “Fill my schedule till I’m tired to the bone.”
I nodded and hopped out before he tried to help me. I grabbed one of the models to carry as I said, “I’m on it, boss.”
“Don’t call me that.” He quickly joined me, holding the other two models.
For a second, I couldn’t breathe. I wasn’t sure what to say. As we made our way upstairs, I asked, “Why not?”
“Because we’re partners.”
His words made my blood rush forcefully through my veins. I glanced at him, and my lips tingled for another kiss. “Okay. I like that better. We’re equals, then.”
He juggled the models but got the door open without incident. “I need to tell you something.”
We went inside. I half expected a dark secret, and I swallowed hard. “What?”
We put the models on the floor in the living room. “I was successful as an investor. I’m just not touching that money for a year to prove I can run this business.”
So he would be perfectly acceptable to my mother and father if I ever brought him home. I stiffened, remembering my mother’s voice, but I couldn’t hold that against Warren. I squeezed his arm. “That does explain a few things about you, like a personal shopper that’s not your Maman.”
He pivoted and was so close that I couldn’t see anything but him. “Like what?”
The ache to be his rocked me to my core. No man ever made me feel so alive just from being so close. “You have excellent credit, hated thrifting, and didn’t know how to pay for the phone.”
He shrugged. “I used to have a personal shopper, but I like our life as it is. It’s like I found my home with you.”
Me too. I liked being with Warren. “I’m ready now.”
Then I went up on my tiptoes and kissed him.
The moment his lips met mine and he kissed me back, bliss overtook every cell in my body. We could belong to each other, if he still wanted.
