Page 100 of Recipe for Temptation

“I’ll see you on Wednesday. Goodbye, Michael.”

Uh-oh, Sterling thought, observing his firstborn across the poker table. There’s trouble in paradise.

He knew something was wrong when Michael arrived at the house tonight minus Reese, with whom he’d been attached at the hip for the past two weeks. After muttering a vague explanation about her whereabouts, he’d challenged—there was no other word for it—Sterling and Marcus to a poker match. But it quickly became evident that his heart wasn’t in it. He’d grunted through the first game, stared off into space and repeatedly checked his phone, as if he couldn’t believe it hadn’t rung once.

Something bad must’ve happened between him and Reese, but he clearly didn’t want to talk about it.

After he’d glanced at his phone for the millionth time, Marcus said impatiently, “Why don’t you just call her and get it over with?”

“Mind your damn business,” Michael grumbled. “Whose turn is it?”

“Yours,” Sterling and Marcus snapped.

Frizell, who’d ventured bravely into the den to watch them play, spoke from the window, “Mr. Wolf?”

“Yes?” three voices barked.

Sterling glowered at his sons. “She was talking to me. What is it, Frizell?”

“Are you expecting company?”

“No.” Sterling was still recovering from the departure of his last houseguests. Or rather, from Asha’s departure. He hadn’t heard a peep from her since she’d returned to New York. Just as he’d expected.

“There’s a limo coming down the driveway,” Frizell told him.

Suddenly Sterling’s nerves tightened and his pulse thudded. It can’t be.

He threw down his cards and rushed from the room. Moments later, he flung open the front door just as a pair of long, shapely legs emerged from the backseat of a white limousine.

He gaped, convinced that his eyes were deceiving him. “Asha?”

A soft smile curved her lips as she took him in. “Hello, Sterling.”

Gazes locked, they started toward each other. When they stood face to face, Sterling asked, “What are you doing here?”

“I couldn’t stay away,” Asha confessed.

Sterling’s heart lurched. “What are you saying?”

“I’m saying that I missed you. I tried to throw myself back into work, but all I could think about was this house, our children, our grandsons. You. I missed being here with you, Sterling. So I did the only thing that made sense. I walked out in the middle of an important meeting and ordered my pilot to fuel the jet.” She smiled, tears misting her eyes. “I couldn’t get here fast enough.”

Sterling pulled her into a fervent embrace and kissed her as if his very life depended on it. She clung to him, her arms wrapping tightly around his neck. His heart soared.

Lifting his head, he gazed into her eyes. “I love you. I don’t know when it happened, but I’m so glad it did.”

“Oh, Sterling.” Asha curved her hand against his cheek. “I’ve been in love with you since the day the twins were born.”

Stunned, he stared at her. “You have?”

She nodded. “The way you held them in your arms and kissed their tiny foreheads while tears rolled down your face. Watching you, I was a goner. I’ve been trying to outrun my feelings ever since, but I can’t do it anymore. I love you, and I want to be with you.”

Sterling turned his face into her palm and kissed it. “What about New York?”

“I’ll keep my headquarters in Manhattan and open another office in Buckhead, near the boutique.”

He smiled at her decisive tone. “A woman who knows what she wants.”

Asha held his gaze. “You’d better believe it.”

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