Page 12 of Like Sugar

Get a grip.Not that I’d ever shame a woman for what she wore, but I really wished that Candace wore more than a tank top and tiny shorts to bed, because inevitably she made breakfast in that outfit.

That outfit did things to me I could never tell another soul.Maybe if I keep the house colder, she’ll put on more clothes?I couldn’t mention it to her because I didn’t want to be the creepy old man she worked for that made her uncomfortable talking about her lack of clothes or sporting a boner every morning.

Her nipples pebbled under the top and I wanted to reach out and brush my thumbs over them.

Mason Davis, get your head out of the gutter and go to work.“Bye, Wyatt.Love you.”

“Love you too, Mason.Have a good day!”he said with a big grin.I kissed the top of his head and rushed to the front door.

When I arrivedat my office, I threw my coat on the back of my chair and huffed.

“Rough morning, boss?”Ben asked, putting a folder of papers down in front of me.

“Women, Ben.Why are they so complicated?”

He laughed, “No idea.Megan, Catherine, or Eleanor?”

I almost slipped and told him.What a mess I was.“Never mind.Speaking of Eleanor and Catherine, can you coordinate with them to meet us for Thanksgiving in Boston?”

“You want both your ex-wife and her sister the baby mama at Thanksgiving dinner with your father—the Vice President of the free world?”

I put my head in my hands.Yup, a fucking mess.“You’re right.Just Catherine.She’ll want to see Wyatt.”

“Of course, sir.You have a committee meeting in ten.”

“Thanks, Ben.”

No matter what I tried to focus on that morning my thoughts kept returning to the feeling of Candace’s bare skin against my hand this morning.The way she danced around the kitchen to a song that played only in her mind.Even Wyatt was mesmerized.

Was I that energetic in the morning at twenty years old?At twenty, I was deployed in Iraq which required a constant state of alertness, so I guess I must have.It just seemed like a lifetime ago.

Shit.If they deployed me right now, I’d be dead in a heartbeat.Every other thought in my head was of Candace.If I had known her then, I would’ve fallen into a daydream and taken a bullet.

Um, no.When I was in Iraq, she was seven.First fucking grade.A few years older than Wyatt.I was a dirty old man thinking about her that way.I needed to get my head on straight.It wasn't as if I’d never seen sexy women before.Hell, I’d fucked a lot of them.This one was off-limits for so many reasons.

Is that why I want her so bad?She’s forbidden?

I got home in time for dinner.Trying to work had become useless.When I entered the kitchen, I saw Wyatt sitting on the counter, a bowl between his legs, stirring happily.“What are you making, buddy?”I asked him.

“Mason!I making dinner.”His chubby cheeked smile melted my heart every time.

“Did you know he likes to cook?”Candace asked me from beside him as she monitored his progress.

I shifted on my feet.“No, I didn’t.Makes sense though.”Since the man that actually raised him so far loved to cook.God, I’m such a fuckup.I know nothing about this kid.Candace just looked at me, waiting for me to elaborate.“Did you cook with mama, Wyatt?”I knew he didn’t.

“Mama hates cooking.I cook wif Eli.”He concentrated on whatever was in the bowl.There was a second in which Candace and I just stared at Wyatt, waiting to see if his mention of Eli led to questions or tears, but he just kept stirring.

“Can we get him one of those kitchen stools for toddlers?I think he’d like to help more often,” Candace said, beaming at her little sous chef.

“Uh, I do not know what you are talking about, but yeah.Send me a link to one, and I’ll grab it.”

I went closer to the pair and peered into the bowl filled with cubed potatoes.Wyatt stirred them in some oil and spices.“He really wanted to stir it.He’s been quite thorough, haven’t you, buddy?”She ruffled his hair.“I think it’s time to put them on the pan, okay?”

He nodded.“I do it.”

“Of course.”She placed a sheet pan next to him and he flipped the bowl in the general direction of the pan.About half the potatoes failed to land the pan, but Candace praised him as the pair picked up the stray vegetable chunks and placed them gingerly.

The whole interaction had me feeling things I couldn’t quite put my finger on, but I knew I liked the scene in front of me.

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