Page 34 of The Devious Husband

“Is there an emergency?” Sam asks, concern written all over his face as he follows me out of the conference room, and I shake my head.

“No. My priorities just changed.”

Sam raises a brow and stares at me like I’ve lost my mind. “That deal you just walked out of could be worth millions.”

I shrug as I grab my briefcase from my office and press the button that takes me down to my garage. “I don’t need more money,” I tell him. “I just need a chance with my wife.”

“You’re kiddi—” he shouts as the elevator doors close, and I grin on my way out, my entire body thrumming with excitement as I rush home.

My heart is still beating just as wildly by the time I walk into my kitchen to find my beautiful wife standing behind the stove, still in her work clothes, and at least ten different cheese varieties on the counter.

“Kitten,” I murmur as I walk up to her, feeling oddly nervous. She’s never been home early, and I’m not too sure how to behave around her now.

Sierra looks over her shoulder and smiles, her cheeks instantly becoming perfectly rosy. “Hi,” she says, a hint of shyness in her gorgeous eyes.

“Hi,” I repeat, my hand wrapping around her waist from behind as I look over her shoulder at the dish she’s making.

“It’s macaroni cheese,” she explains. “It sounds simple, but it’s a recipe Zane created for me, and it’s honestly just really delicious. I think you’ll like it.”

Pure elation rushes through me at the insinuation. “You’re making enough for me, too?”

She nods and turns around to face me, her gaze roaming over my face. “I thought that maybe, I don’t know, maybe it would be nice to have dinner together?”

I smile as I gently caress her cheek with the back of my hand. “I’d love that,” I tell her. “Let me go set the table.”

She nods and returns to her dish while I begin to set the table and light some candles, before choosing a wine that might go well with her pasta. Sierra looks a little flustered as she carefully carries a serving plate to the table, and I smile at her as I pull out her chair for her.

“Here, try this,” I tell her as I pour her a glass of wine, and she nods as she serves me some pasta. I’ve heard Zane brag about how much she loves this specific version of macaroni cheese, so to have her make it for me is a little surreal — not that I could ever admit that, since it’s not something I’m supposed to know about.

“How come you decided to cook today?” I ask carefully. “You know you can just request any dish from the housekeeper via our app, right?”

She nods and looks away. “Is it not good? I’m sorry… I forgot that not everyone loves cheese as much as I do. I should’ve?—”

I reach for her hand and squeeze gently. “It’s perfect,” I reassure her, annoyed with myself for phrasing that wrongly. “It’s actually my new favorite food. Let’s have it every single day.”

My gorgeous wife laughs, and I grin back at her. “I just wanted you to know that there are plenty of employees around if you want anything, even if you don’t necessarily see them around.”

She nods, and we both eat quietly for a little while. “You know, having this dish with you reminds me of something. Do you remember when I’d just started working for Windsor Real Estate? My grandmother was training me, and I’d been working on my first big project with?—”

“—with Realiance,” I recall, my mood instantly souring.

Sierra’s eyes widen, and she nods slowly. “Right,” she murmurs. “You know why I remember that project so vividly? I’d been pretty addicted to cheese sandwiches with cheese that Ares had flown in for me, but there was this one time that you’d dropped by the Realiance office for some reason, and you’d just taken a huge bite of my whole block of cheese that I’d kept in the fridge there. I still haven’t forgiven you for it.”

I can’t help but laugh as I recall how petty I’d felt as I looked her in the eye and did it. I’d never in a million years admit it, but I’d done it because I’d overheard her telling the heir of Realiance that she’d make him a cheese sandwich too. He’d clearly been flirting with her throughout that project that I helped fund, and she didn’t even realize it. “You were pretty much fresh out of college then, and you’d been working so hard. I don’t think anyone in the company worked more hours than you did.”

I remember those days all too well. The first time I saw her after she returned from college was at a conference not long before the cheese incident, and I was left reeling for days, trying to convince myself that I couldn’t possibly find my best friend’s little sister that beautiful. I hadn’t seen her in years, and I don’t think I ever looked away from the moment she returned, not while she was even remotely in my field of vision.

“Come to think of it, that isn’t the only time you stole my food. The cheese was pretty unforgivable, but there was one time you really crossed a line.”

I bite back a smile and look away, my cheeks suddenly feeling awfully hot. “The cookie,” I mutter, still ashamed of my actions. I’d found her standing in a corridor by herself before a meeting. She’d seemed nervous, and then she reached into her bag and pulled out a cookie. The way she moaned when she took a bite played a significant role in my fantasies for years to come, and what I’d done after certainly wasn’t one of my finer moment.

“I’d just been peacefully eating one of the cookies my grandma had made especially for me while I waited for my meeting to start, and you just walked up to me, grabbed my wrist, and took a bite of my cookie. I think that’s the moment I realized we would always be enemies.”

I chuckle, wondering what she’d do if she knew what was going through my mind then. “Yet here you are, Sierra Kingston. I don’t know about you, but personally, there’s nowhere I’d rather be.”

Her eyes widen a fraction, and the way she blushes completely messes me up. “Here I am, sharing my favorite dish with you voluntarily.”

“What do I have to do to make that happen again?” I hesitate, before adding, “this is by far the best meal I’ve ever had.”

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