Sugar Pie by Victoria Pinder

28

Warren

The sun was out, and Kerry was curled beside me on the bed. I’d had her in more ways than I could have imagined, and I was happy.

She blinked and stared up at me. In my eyes, she practically shone with sweetness. She looked like she would taste better than chocolate croissants. “Good morning,” I said.

“Morning.” She stretched. “Guess it’s time for coffee.”

She loved it, and I loved watching her drink her favorite drink. “Thank you for trusting me,” I said as she stood. I moved to follow.

She shook her head. “Don’t. I’ll get us breakfast.”

I needed to tell her about my family. I needed for us to be honest and real. Maybe my brother had been right. “Wait.”

“We have a day to start,” she said, tossing some clothes at me. She disappeared into the bathroom.

I sank back on the bed, unsure how to get her to talk to me. A minute later, she emerged, and I jumped up. “Kerry, I hope you can trust me. I want you to be my girlfriend and maybe one day my wife.” The words flew out of my mouth without a filter.

She went white and headed out the bedroom door. “No. Let’s not discuss the future.”

I needed to tell her I had money. My secret wasn’t a big deal, though, and she could have half of everything. I followed her. “Why not?”

She filled the water in her pot for coffee. “I’m not ready.”

I took her hand. “I know you were just divorced. And I know from the little comments that you weren’t happy, but can you tell me what happened?”

She stared down as our hands touched. Her warmness filled me, but she just sighed. “My ex… he was a doctor, a man celebrated for his money and status.”

I brushed her hair away so I could see her, but her head was still down. “I know the type.”

Finally, she glanced up at me. “No, because behind that, he was a real asshole.”

My eyes widened, and my lips curved into a smile. “Wow, strong language.”

She shifted her chin in defiance. “Don’t make fun.”

I held my hand up as if swearing in court. “I’m not. I approve. Either way, tell me more.”

She took the bread out then put two slices in the toaster. I didn’t say anything or move. Finally, she turned and said, “He tried to choose my clothes, my friends, and my words. He didn’t want me. He didn’t love me. He couldn’t. He wanted a Stepford Wife he could control.”

I’d avoided anyone who might have been anything like a trophy wife or who was angling for the position. I swallowed and asked slowly, “So that’s why you were being medicated into oblivion?”

She wiped her eyes as if swatting away tears. “I’d never taken anything in my life, but his friends prescribed pills to take the edge off. Next thing I knew, I was in a haze as I waited for him, and I had no ambition. One night in the car, I’d had enough. He yelled at me for wanting to drive and enjoy the road instead of flying. And I couldn’t take it anymore.”

I wished I’d known her years ago. Maybe I could have protected her. She had my heart. “Do you know what you want next?”

The toast popped up, and we jumped as if it was the most important sound in our lives, though neither of us moved to collect it. I waited.

“I love how your mom adopted you and your brothers and had her own kids,” she said. “She sounds like an amazing person I’d like to meet because it seems like she knew who she was and could share that.”

I rubbed her back, only seeing how perfectly she fit in my life. “Maman is the best.”

She cupped my face and took a deep breath. She obviously trusted me, and I didn’t want to scare her. She smiled. “And I like being part of a team and our partnership. For the first time in my life, I’m part of something, and I want our company to succeed.”

We needed the paperwork to make our partnership legal in every sense. “I believe in you. Call Jeff and have him file corporate documents with our mission in place today where we’re both partners in this.”

She nodded. “I just can’t promise to be romantic in the way you want, but I will be the best partner you’d ever want.”

“You already are. I love you.” I kissed her soft lips. The words were true because she was the only woman I would ever want in my life from then to forever.