Page 22 of Sugar Pie
Getting along with Warren was so easy. I shrugged one shoulder. “She could buy earplugs.”
I closed the laptop behind me as he asked, “What about you? Once you’re free, do you see yourself married or with children?”
My heart thumped. If it wasn’t Warren asking, I would have scoffed and said no children, ever. The image rattled me, but I pointed him to the bedroom and en suite bathroom. “We’ll talk more after you get a shower.”
He winked. “You’re bossy, but I like that in you.”
He was gone for a few minutes. I washed the coffee pot and cup. Then I perused our options for lunch. He’d worked hard all morning, and I wished we had more healthy options.
I grabbed the cheese to grate it and make tacos. My heart whispered. I wanted him to enjoy the dishes because I liked him.
More than liked him. My shoulders slumped. Falling for him was a bad idea. And living and working together made the idea of being with a stable, sweet, and sexy man seem real.
He came out of the shower, dressed in a T-shirt and shorts but with drops of water on the ends of his reddish-blond locks. He smiled, and steam rushed through my veins.
I stared at the frying pan. “So I’ve been debating about getting my own place.”
He came closer, and my skin jumped in awareness. “We’re doing fine together.”
I knew I could fall in love with him, and the thought made my body cold. Love had never been an option for me. I rubbed the back of my neck and said, “I hate that you’re sleeping on the floor.”
He placed his hand on my side and reached for the cheese grater. “I’m on the couch.”
I hated that I was so emotional and unsure. As a child, my parents always complimented me when I was with the right people more than they did if Ididanything. No one had ever wanted to hear about anything I’d done, including my grades. And as an adult, I’d spent my life being afraid of disappointing anyone. Warren wasn’t like any of them, and I was confused. I swallowed. “It’s not big enough for you, and I don’t sleep with earplugs. You rolled off last night.”
He placed his hand on mine. “Don’t worry about it. I want you here.”
I lowered my head. “I’m not used to such close quarters.”
He took the pan out of my other hand and held me. “Do you not like being here?”
More than I should have. I was a walking disaster. My heart beat faster, and I glanced up at him and knew I wouldn’t let my doubts stop the best thing I had in my life. “The apartment is small, but the company is the best.”
He narrowed his eyes. “So what does that mean?”
“I’ll stay.” I smiled. Next, I would prove to him that he’d made the right choice in taking me on. I would be the best business partner he could ever imagine.
His phone beeped, and I saw a picture of a dark-haired, dark-eyed man who could have been a movie star. “Just in time,” Warren said. “Let me speak to my brother Gerard for a moment.”
Lucky for me, Warren was a sweetheart and not untouchable. I found the onion and a pepper to chop as he spoke on the phone. After he hung up, he went back to grating the cheese without a word. I brushed my shoulder against his arm and asked, “How was he?”
“He’s thinking about quitting his job too.”
I paused. Warren’s family was important to him. “What does he do?”
“He… works at an oil company.”
The pause made me blink, but I didn’t ask. “That sounds demanding.”
He finished with the cheese, and I pointed at the frying pan. “It’s extremely profitable for him,” he said.
It sounded as if his brother owned the company, but I didn’t say that. If Warren cared, it only made him a sweeter guy. “So why does he want to quit?”
“His girlfriend was cheating on him and said she was only there for his money.”
The words were like bullets that pierced through me, and I pressed my hand over my heart. “It's horrible that someone might do that. I hate feeling dependent on others, including you, for all my basic needs.”
He laughed. “You don’t depend on me. We’re working together. You’re not sitting around just spending money you don’t earn.” He then glanced up and down at me and said, “Come to think of it, you need clothes, and I promised we’d handle that.”
