The sweetest merger of all...

Triple chocolate cupcakes can help get a girl through the tough times—especially after Mariah Drayson’s dream marriage ends in heartbreak. Now the gifted baker has been handed a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity: running the Seattle branch of her family’s legendary Chicago patisserie. The competition is stiff. Until high-end coffee importer Everett Myers comes up with a sinfully tempting proposition.

The finest ingredients. Limited distribution. Everett knows the secrets of success. Joining forces with the alluring pastry chef is making the millionaire widower believe in second chances. And when Mariah unveils her secret weapon—a decadent new dessert—he knows they’re a winning team. But the single father can’t coast on sugarcoated fantasies. Is Mariah prepared to reveal the secret that could cost her a future with Everett?

“Excuse me?”

“You heard me,” Everett said with a smile as he reached for another piece of heaven on that platter. He popped it into his mouth and chewed as he watched her intently. He was clearly waiting on an answer.

“I—I can’t,” she finally said. Awareness of him prickled across her skin and made her uncomfortable.

“Why not?”

“Are you always this persistent?”

“When someone is trying to avoid me, I am.”

“And I’m trying to avoid you?”

He smiled. “You know you are. And there’s no need. I don’t bite.”

Mariah wasn’t so sure about that. Everett Myers looked like just the sort of man she should steer clear of. He radiated a sexual magnetism so potent that she shifted, restless on her feet.

“I’m waiting,” he said, folding his arms across his amazingly broad chest. His voice was slow and seductive.

Mariah couldn’t help but notice how defined he was. With his football player physique, he looked as if he spent a great amount of time at the gym pumping iron. Everett Myers was sinfully sexy and he smelled equally divine.

Dear Reader,

Thank you for expressing your desire for more of the The Draysons: Sprinkled with Love after Delicious Destiny concluded the series. It’s been fun introducing the Seattle Draysons, Mariah, Chase and Jackson, and catching up with old faves.

Penning divorcée Mariah Drayson’s second chance at love with Everett Myers forced me to dig deep because it touched on her infertility struggles. I could relate to her desire to drown herself in sweets in order to avoid her truth. Can Everett love her if she can’t give him a family? Everett is the kind of stand-up man that every woman wants, and his slow and steady approach to woo Mariah proves he emphatically can.

Cappuccino Kisses will remind fans why they fell in love with the series.

For more info on my next project, the warring Knight Brothers, visit my website, yahrahstjohn.com, or write me at yahrah@yahrahstjohn.com.

Best,

Yahrah St. John

Cappuccino Kisses

Yahrah St. John

www.millsandboon.co.uk

YAHRAH ST. JOHN is an international author of over twenty books, including several Harlequin Kimani Romance titles. St. John is the recipient of the 2013 RT Reviewers’ Choice Best Book Award for Best Kimani Romance for A Chance with You. St. John has delivered numerous lectures at writing workshops and conferences nationwide. A graduate of Hyde Park Career Academy, she earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in English from Northwestern University. She discovered her love of writing at the tender age of twelve when she penned her first story. St. John is a member of Romance Writers of America, but is an avid reader of all genres. She enjoys the arts, cooking, traveling, basketball and adventure sports, but her true passion remains writing. St. John lives in sunny Orlando, The City Beautiful. For more information and author updates, please visit yahrahstjohn.com.

To my love and friend, Freddie Blackman.

Contents

Cover

Back Cover Text

Introduction

Dear Reader

Title Page

About the Author

Dedication

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Chapter 14

Chapter 15

Chapter 16

Chapter 17

Chapter 18

Chapter 19

Chapter 20

Chapter 21

Copyright

Chapter 1

“Welcome to the Lillian’s of Seattle grand opening,” Lillian Drayson, founder of the renowned Chicago bakery told the large crowd gathered in her second location. “We Draysons—” she turned to look at her grand-niece, Mariah, and grand-nephews Chase and Jackson “—are excited to open up this new bakery in the Denny Triangle section of town. It’s a vibrant location with a plethora of professional and residential communities whose members will enjoy the delicious baked goods the Drayson family has been providing to the Chicago area for over forty years, and will now to the city of Seattle.”

Applause erupted as the entire Seattle Drayson family cheered on Lillian, the matriarch, whose name they proudly represented at the new bakery.

Mariah Drayson stood away from the crowd and surveyed her family as she sampled one of the salted caramel cupcakes from the back of the room. She knew she shouldn’t be eating another cupcake given that she’d already had one earlier that afternoon, but she had a tendency to eat when she was nervous. Opening her own bakery with her brothers was definitely something to make her worry. She’d used every penny of her divorce settlement from her ex-husband, Richard Hems, to cover her share, but deep down Mariah knew the venture would be worthwhile in the end. After the divorce, she’d chosen to go back to her maiden name. She was happy she did because Lillian’s was a family business run by Draysons.

At age seventy-nine, her aunt Lillian was a force to be reckoned with, and when she’d decided to open a second location last summer, Mariah and her brothers had been initially reluctant. Mariah had been coming off the heels of a divorce and didn’t know anything about running a bakery. Sure, she had a flair for baking after the summers she’d spent in Chicago learning at Lillian’s knee, and during her self-imposed hiatus from work while she and her ex-husband had tried to become pregnant, but this was different.

Aunt Lillian would be entrusting her name, her brand, to the three of them. After much discussion, however, Mariah and her siblings had figured that each of them brought something different to the table. As well as being the best baker, she knew advertising and marketing. Chase, the numbers man, would keep track of the bakery’s finances. Then there were was Jackson, bringing up the rear as a businessman and social media guru, and with a knack for cakes. Mariah smiled as she remembered how Lillian’s of Seattle had been born.

The bakery was a labor of love for all of them, and they’d mutually agreed that Aunt Lillian should give the speech at the grand opening and ribbon cutting ceremony. It was her namesake, after all, and she was highly admired across the country after the Chicago Draysons had won the You Take the Cake competition three years ago on national television.

“Can you believe we did it, sis?” Jackson asked from her side.

Mariah hazarded a glance at her charming, handsome brother, who was two years her senior. Lillian’s was the first time he’d actually stuck with a job longer than a few months. Though he’d done well at the private school all three siblings had attended, Jack was easily bored. He’d had numerous entrepreneurial successes, but as soon as they began to blossom, he would sell them. Would this time be any different? Mariah sure hoped so.

“No, I can’t,” she finally answered. After they’d found a location and Chase had worked out the finances, the bakery had come together, allowing them to open now, in early spring.

Jackson glanced her way. “Don’t look so surprised, Mariah. With your baking skills, Chase’s business acumen and my charm, we have what it takes to make this place a success.” He swung his arms wide and motioned to the packed bakery, which was filled with family, friends, the news media and people who loved baked goodies. “We’ll show them that we’re as good as they are.”

Mariah followed her brother’s gaze and saw it resting on Belinda, Carter and Shari Drayson, their cousins from Chicago. “Why are you so mistrustful of them?”

“’Cause,” Jackson said, “you know Grandpa Oscar always says they can’t be trusted.”

“We—” Mariah pointed between the two of them “—have no beef with our cousins. If Grandpa Oscar and Great-Uncle Henry have issues over money, that doesn’t mean we should. Belinda, Shari and Carter have been nothing but gracious to us and have helped us in the kitchen.”

The three had flown in from Chicago several days earlier to help make pies, cakes and tortes for the grand opening. They’d been in the kitchen baking and sweating as much as the rest of them. And Carter, being the skilled artisan cake maker he was, had created several works of art that were proudly displayed in their windows this very moment.

“That’s because they probably thought we were inept,” Jackson replied. “I mean, Shari’s running Lillian’s of Chicago. She probably wanted to make sure we weren’t going to mess anything up that might get thrown back on her.”

“Well, we didn’t,” Mariah stated. “And this is a success. Can’t we just be happy today of all days?”

“Happy about what?” Chase came over and joined their huddle, wrapping his arms around their shoulders.

Mariah glanced up at her six-foot-four brother. He, too, was easy on the eyes, but in a studious way thanks to the wire-rimmed glasses, dress shirt and khaki pants he always wore while at the bakery. “We were just talking about what a great turnout this is, and I was reminding Jackson that we should be thankful so many people came out to support us.”

“Yeah, I can’t believe how packed it is,” Chase commented. “It’s a good start, but we put a lot of capital into the place and it’s going to be a while before we see a return on our investment.”

Mariah frowned. “Is money all you think about?”

“Yes.” Jackson laughed and answered for him.

“Shh,” Chase said, as a reporter posed a question to Aunt Lillian at the podium.

“Mrs. Drayson, coming into Seattle is a risky move for you, is it not?” the young Caucasian man asked, with a microphone pointed up at Aunt Lillian.

“How so?”

“Well, Sweetness Bakery has ruled the Seattle market for years,” the man replied. “Other bakeries have tried to make inroads in the past and no one has been able to break into the market. What makes Lillian’s any different?”

“Lillian’s is different,” she responded, “because we are a small family-owned business. I can promise the citizens of Seattle that they will enjoy the same high-quality baked goods as I make in my own kitchen, and that any customer would find in my flagship location on the Magnificent Mile in Chicago. That’s what puts us a notch up over the rest.”

Jackson stepped forward into the crowd and clapped loudly. “That about does it for the speeches, folks. Please come over and sample the delicious offerings we’ve laid out today, as I think our products will speak for themselves.” He ushered everyone toward the tables.

“Well said, Jackson.” Aunt Lillian gave him a wink as her husband, Great-Uncle Henry, helped her off the podium. “Come on over here. And Chase, Mariah, you come up here, too, for some photos.” She beckoned them all forward.

Mariah smiled at the command in the older woman’s voice. She placed the half-eaten cupcake on a nearby counter and blotted her mouth with a napkin. She wished she could touch up her lipstick, but had to comfort herself with the fact that at least she wouldn’t have icing all over her mouth. “Coming...” She put on a bright smile and walked over in her brown peep-toe pumps toward the group.

After all the baking she’d done during the last three days, her smudged attire wouldn’t do, so Mariah had gone home for a quick shower and change of clothes. She hadn’t known what to wear for such a grand event and had erred on the side of chic elegance. She’d slid into a tailored denim pocket skirt and coral shirt teamed with a brown belt, and put a cream blazer over her outfit before rushing back to the bakery.

She’d arrived just in time to see her parents’ noses wrinkle as they walked into bakery. Graham and Nadia Drayson were ultraconservative, especially her mother, and they didn’t understand why she, Chase and Jackson had agreed to waste their money on such a foolish investment. Her father was a traditionalist who had made much of his sizable wealth in real estate, and fully expected one of her brothers to follow in his footsteps, but they’d chosen their own path.

Lillian’s of Seattle wasn’t some harebrained scheme. It was a family business, and with Aunt Lillian’s seal of approval, they would steadily build on the brand. And why shouldn’t they? Their cousins Carter and Drake, with their best friend, Malik, Belinda’s husband, had already successfully branched off from the family business with their Brothers Who Bake blog and successful cookbooks. They’d even gone on tours and there was discussion of a potential television series.

Why shouldn’t the Seattle Draysons get in on the action? When Mariah had presented the idea to Jackson, he was on board immediately. Chase had taken a little more convincing. He’d been working for a successful accounting firm and wasn’t all that eager to give up that hefty paycheck, but eventually she and Jack had convinced him that with their aunt’s support, it was a sound investment.

Mariah smiled as she, Lillian, Chase and Jackson posed for multiple pictures. Some were taken of them behind the display and a few others were outside in front of the stenciled Lillian’s of Seattle sign. Mariah was trying her best to grin from ear to ear, even though her cheeks hurt, when she saw a sexy fine man strolling up the sidewalk toward them. He was clean-shaven, with a short haircut, and was nearly as tall as Chase. He wore a tailored gray suit with a checkered dress shirt and blue tie. Everything about him screamed money, which only enhanced his sex appeal. It was definitely the man who made the clothes, not the other way around.

Mariah didn’t know who he was and wasn’t altogether sure she wanted to, because the torrid sensations he was causing to flow through her body to the place between her thighs was making her feel flush all over.

He stopped when he reached them and paused for several seconds as he surveyed Mariah up and down, before opening the glass storefront door and walking inside Lillian’s.

“Mariah!” Jackson called.

“What?” she asked, exasperated by the interruption.

“One more picture,” the photographer said, when she turned back around after staring at the sexy stranger. Mariah forced herself to focus on the task at hand, and smiled buoyantly.

When the session was over, Jackson whispered in her ear as she quickly headed to the front door. “What’s wrong with you?”

She glanced back at him. “Nothing. Why?”

“You just look funny, is all,” he commented as he followed her inside.

“Well, I’m fine,” Mariah replied. Or so she hoped. She glanced around the bakery for the mystery man. It was easy to find him in the crowd, because he commanded attention. She gulped. Her breath hitched and heart lurched into an excited rhythm. Damn! From across the room he was openly admiring her, and she didn’t like the way he made her feel with just one hungry gaze. Her entire being yearned for something she couldn’t quite name, didn’t want to name. Why was this man having such a profound effect on her?

* * *

Everett Myers was intrigued. Not just by the new pastry shop that had just opened, but by the beautiful siren he’d seen standing outside by the sign. Who was she? And how could he meet her?

He’d come to find out if Lillian’s was as good as the critics claimed, but as soon as he’d walked toward the group and photographer standing outside, he’d liked what he’d seen. Smooth caramel-toned skin, a pert little nose and straight honey-blond hair had Everett licking his lips. It wasn’t as if she was dressed provocatively, either. She was stylish and classic in a cream blazer over a coral top, but it was the sexy blue jean skirt hugging her behind, allowing him to make out her curves, that had him standing at attention. She had to be in the neighborhood of mid-twenties, which suited him just fine. God, what’s wrong with me? he wondered.

Deep down, he knew what. It had been a long time, too long, since he’d felt this way. Sure, she’d seen him when he approached, but since she’d reentered the establishment, she’d been doing her best to ignore him.

Everett wasn’t used to being ignored. With him being six foot two, it was impossible not to see him coming. Plus, everyone in Seattle knew who he was. The Myers Hotel chain was synonymous with luxury and class, and had been a staple in the urban community for nearly thirty years. If people didn’t know him personally, they knew of him or knew his name. He supposed that’s why he was irked that the young woman who’d caught his eye was doing her best to feign ignorance at his blatant appreciation of her.

Just at that moment, the beautiful siren turned and glanced toward him. He flashed her a smile, but she quickly looked away. Damn, had he really lost his charm? He had been off the market the last nine years. He’d married Sara, his college sweetheart, when he was only twenty-one, and their son, Everett Jr.—EJ for short—was born soon after. But five years ago a tragic accident had taken Sara’s life.

It wasn’t easy being a widowed father at the grand old age of thirty, but he was doing his best to provide a loving, stable home for EJ. Up until now, he hadn’t been eager to give EJ a new mom. Had he had opportunities? Heck, yeah! When he’d been single, Everett had often had women propositioning him, but as soon as he’d been widowed it got worse. They were all too eager to find out exactly how many zeros were in his bank account.

Or was he being too cynical? Maybe they just pitied him and felt his then three-year-old son needed a mother. And maybe EJ did back then, but Everett hadn’t had it in him to even think about marrying again. He wasn’t sure he could stand losing someone else he loved. And so he’d remained a bachelor the last five years, and quite frankly, had been content with the single life. Until now.

Determinedly, he strode over to where the gorgeous woman stood, speaking to a small group of people. She glanced up when he approached, but said nothing.

Instead, the man beside her, who had to be at least two inches taller than Everett, called out to him, “Everett Myers!” He held out his hand. “Pleasure to have you here.”

Everett had no choice but to accept the fervent handshake. “And you are?”

“Chase Drayson,” the tall man answered. “Part owner of Lillian’s.”

Everett caught the word part and looked the siren whom he’d fancied from across the room directly in the eye. Except now, standing so close to her, he found she was even more striking. “And you, would you be a part owner, as well?”

Her eyebrows furrowed. “Yes, but how could you tell?”

Everett inclined his head toward the door. “You were outside taking photos earlier, and I couldn’t help but notice you.”

His observation caused her to blush and she lowered her eyes, but that didn’t stop the tall man from continuing the conversation, even though Everett wished he would go away and give them some privacy so he could get to know her better.

“We’re all part owners,” Chase offered. “Mariah, myself and our brother, Jackson, over there,” He motioned to a man across the room surrounded by a group of young female customers sampling pastries from a platter he held.

“Mariah...” Everett let her name dangle on his lips. “It’s nice to meet you.” He offered her his hand.

Something shifted in the air between them. Something Everett hadn’t felt in a long time. Awareness. Sexual awareness of another person, but not just any person. Her. It was several moments before she finally accepted his hand with a smile. “Pleasure to meet you.”

A current of electricity passed between them at the slight touch, but then, as if Everett had imagined it, it was gone.

“What brings you by our little establishment?” Chase inquired.

Everett breathed in deeply. Clearly, her brother wasn’t getting the hint that he wanted to be alone with his sister, so he needed to be blunt. “Perhaps I can explain to Mariah?” he asked, holding out his arm. “As she gives me a tour?”

Chase glanced at his sister and then back at Everett, and understanding finally dawned. “Oh, of course, I’ll go mingle with the other guests. Have fun, sis.” He gave her wink as he strode away.

Everett sighed. Thankfully, they were alone. “So—” he grasped her delicate hand and slid it in the crook of his arm “—Mariah Drayson, what’s your role here at Lillian’s?” he asked, as she led him around the bakery.

When she glanced up at him with those brilliant brown eyes, Everett’s stomach flip-flopped.

“I’m not only part owner, but head baker, as well.” Mariah walked over to one of the tables holding a spread of pastries, muffins and scones. She reached for a petite orange scone and offered it to him.

“Really?” He arched an eyebrow as he accepted it. When he took a bite it was so moist and delicious, he couldn’t help but groan out loud.

She blushed at his near-sexual response. “Does that surprise you?”

His brow furrowed. “Hmm. I guess so. You don’t strike me as the domesticated type.”

“That’s because you don’t know me,” Mariah responded.

“I’d like to remedy that,” Everett replied smoothly as he drew closer to her. “How about sharing a meal with me sometime?” Had he really just asked her out, with no preamble or finesse? He hoped she would say yes.

Chapter 2

Mariah coughed audibly. Had she heard him correctly? Had this impossibly gorgeous man with sexy dimples just asked her out? Her chest expanded as she responded to his close proximity. She could feel the heady attraction between them as her heart thumped loudly in her chest. It was as if he was magnetically pulling her toward him. “Excuse me?”

“You heard me,” Everett said with a smile, as he reached for another piece of heaven on that platter. He popped it in his mouth and chewed as he watched her intently. He was clearly waiting on an answer.

“I—I can’t,” she finally answered. Awareness of him prickled across her skin and made her uncomfortable.

“Why not?”

“Are you always this persistent?”

“When someone is trying to avoid me, I am.”

“And I’m trying to avoid you?”

He smiled. “You know you are. And there’s no need. I don’t bite.”

Mariah wasn’t so sure about that. Everett Myers looked like just the sort of man she should steer clear of. He radiated a sexual magnetism so potent that she shifted, restless on her feet.

“I’m waiting,” he said, folding his arms across his amazingly broad chest. His voice was slow and seductive.

Mariah couldn’t help but notice how defined he was. With his football player physique, he looked as if he spent a great amount of time at the gym, pumping iron. Everett Myers was sinfully sexy and he smelled equally divine. His cologne, spicy and woodsy, was tantalizing her senses, so much so that she had to step away.

“I’ve only been divorced a short time and I’m not ready to jump back into the dating pool.”

His eyes followed her every movement. “That’s too bad, but perhaps you’ll change your mind.”

“I doubt that.”

“If you can’t tell, I’m pretty persistent,” Everett replied.

“I’ve noticed. You ran my poor brother off with that look you gave him.”

Everett grinned unabashedly. “Did I? I just wanted some time alone with you.”

“I’m sorry to have wasted your time, since I’m not on the market. But my pastries are,” Mariah replied, “and you seem to like the scones. Can I get a variety box for you to take home? We have orange, lemon, triple berry and blueberry. Or perhaps something chocolate? Like an éclair?”

“Ah, the lady is changing the subject,” Everett said, as she moved away from him toward the register.

She gave him her friendliest smile. “I’m starting a new business, Mr. Myers, and my focus has to be on making it a success.”

He nodded. “I can appreciate that.”

She frowned.

“No, I can,” he declared. “Ensuring that my family’s legacy continues is important to me, since my father left running the hotels to me.”

“Omigod!” Mariah clapped her hand to her mouth. “You’re Everett Myers.”

He adjusted his tie and smiled with his eyes as she realized exactly who he was. “That’s right.”

“Of Myers Hotels,” Mariah finished, as understanding dawned. “I’m sorry, I didn’t realize...”

“Would that have changed your answer?”

“About?”

“Dating me?”

Mariah snorted. “No, it wouldn’t.”

He let out a full and masculine laugh. “I guess I’m a bit rusty, as I have been out of practice.”

“Better luck next time.”

He took a step backward. “Are you saying that I might have the opportunity to redeem myself and get another chance with you?”

“N-no. No.” Mariah shook her head. “You misunderstood me.”

“Did I?”

“Y-yes.” She tucked her hair behind her ear. “Are you always this infuriating?”

“Only with you.” He smiled.

Mariah let out a deep sigh. “You should really work on accepting the word no.”

“Oh, I can,” Everett said. “But I don’t think that’s why you turned me down.”

“What do you mean?”

“I think you’re afraid,” he said, searching her eyes. “Because you felt the sparks between us as much as I did, but you’re too afraid to act on it yet. And that’s fine. I can wait. I’m a patient man when it comes to getting what I want.”

“Why, of all the arrogant things—”

He pointed to the display. “I’ll definitely have some of those delicious crumpets you fed me earlier.”

He gave her a wink and Mariah’s stomach lurched. Resisting Everett Myers was not going to be easy. But for her own peace of mind she knew she would have to, because her poor heart could not withstand being broken again.

* * *

After Everett Myers walked away with his box of pastries, Mariah was perplexed. How was it that he could sense her unease in such a short time? Usually she kept her emotions in check, so much so that even her family didn’t know what was she thinking or feeling. Why? Because she was always looking out for their needs above her own. Even though she was the youngest, Mariah had always taken care of her older brothers. She’d been wired that way.

It had annoyed her ex-husband that she was so selfless. He’d always tell her to do more for herself, and she had. The one thing she’d always wanted was a baby. So when they’d had trouble conceiving early on in their marriage, she’d done everything in her power to ensure their success.

She’d spent three of the five years of their marriage in the pursuit of parenthood—a chase that went nowhere. At first she’d been unconcerned by her inability to conceive, but as each month passed, Mariah became further discouraged. When the doctor finally suggested aggressive fertility treatments, Rich hadn’t been on board. He’d told Mariah he would be happy if it was just the two of them, but she’d always dreamed of motherhood and hadn’t been willing to throw in the towel. The treatments caused a strain on her marriage, however, and Mariah didn’t exactly help the situation by quitting her high-stress job for her phantom baby.

Instead, she’d watched everything she ate, even gave up caffeine and alcohol, as the doctors instructed. But nothing worked. Eventually Rich had had enough and told her their marriage was over. She’d thrown adoption on the table, but he had long ago given up on them, and they decided to separate amicably. Rich had even agreed to pay alimony, which had allowed Mariah to contribute her share of the bakery start-up.

“Mariah, there you are,” Belinda Drayson-Jones said when she found her hiding behind the register. “You’ve been a hard woman to catch up with today.”

“I’m sorry, cuz,” Mariah said as she watched Everett interact with Chase, who couldn’t resist stopping the hotelier before he could exit the bakery. Mariah was sure Chase was trying to pick his brain about some business deal, because her brother was all about the numbers.

Her cousin glanced behind her to find the object of Mariah’s attention. “I’m not,” she responded. “If that’s who had you occupied.”

Mariah blinked and returned her attention to Belinda. She was happy that her cousin had flown from Chicago for the grand opening of the bakery. They’d grown close during her marriage, when Mariah and Rich had lived in Chicago. “What did you say?”

Belinda chuckled. “Someone is sure infatuated. Who is that?”

“Just a guy who asked me out.”

“Did he? And what was your answer?” she asked, leaning forward with eager interest.

“I told him no, of course,” Mariah answered, stepping from behind the counter, even though she couldn’t help hazarding a glance at Everett. When she did, she caught him staring at her, too, so she quickly looked away. “You know I’m not ready to jump into dating. It’s only been a year since Rich and I separated.”

“True,” Belinda said. “But if you’re honest with yourself, you’ll admit your marriage was over well before then and was just limping along.”

Mariah frowned deeply. “Thanks a lot, Belinda.”

“I’m not trying to hurt you, baby girl.” Her cousin reached for her hand and gave it a squeeze, “But you know I speak the truth.”

“I suppose, but it’s hard to hear nonetheless.”

Belinda nodded. “I know. But it’s time you start your life over, Mariah. You can’t continue looking back at the past.”

“How can I not, when my past could affect my future?” Mariah asked, as she watched Everett Myers leave Lillian’s.

“Because marriages fail every day.” Belinda fell silent for several long moments before saying. “Let me ask you something. Would you have left Rich if he hadn’t left you?”

Mariah shook her head. “No, I wouldn’t.”

“Why?”

“Because I thought that if I just persevered for the both of us, it would get better.”

“Did you ever think that perhaps Richard wasn’t meant for you?”

“And he is?” Mariah pointed to the door Everett had just exited.

“No, but you have to get back on the horse eventually.”

“That’s easy for you to say,” Mariah responded. “You’re married to Malik and you guys are wonderful together.”

“It didn’t start out like that,” Belinda said. “I fought my attraction to Malik, but in the end, I couldn’t deny it.”

“Yeah, well, there may have been some initial sparks with Everett, but I need some time to sort through my feelings and my life without jumping back into the relationship foray.”

“Who said anything about a relationship?” Belinda replied. “But a date is harmless. What could it hurt?”

Mariah rubbed her chin. A date with anyone other than alpha male Everett Myers might be harmless. But Mariah’s sixth sense told her he would be anything but.

* * *

“Daddy, you’re home!” EJ shouted when Everett stepped through the door of his penthouse apartment several hours later. Everett placed the box of scones from Lillian’s on the side table.

“I’m sorry, Mr. Myers,” his housekeeper said, rushing after the boy.

“It’s okay, Margaret.” He halted her, raising his hand. “You go on with your day while EJ and I catch up.”

“Sure thing, Mr. Myers,” the housekeeper said as she headed off toward the back of the apartment.

He lifted his eight-year-old son into his arms and ruffled his curly hair. He’d inherited the soft curls from his mother, along with that impish grin he was sporting right now. EJ reminded Everett of Sara, and it sometimes made him sad that she wasn’t here to see their son grow up. Other times, it reminded him just how lucky he was.

“How’s my boy?” Everett asked as he carried him to his study.

“I’m good,” EJ answered, looking down at him.

“How was school?” He lowered EJ to the floor and then sat in his recliner to hear about his son’s day, while EJ sat on the adjacent ottoman. It was their daily routine and a way for Everett to catch up on what happened.

“Fine, but I need you to sign off on a field trip.” EJ produced a slip of paper from his back pocket.

“When’s this?” Everett asked. Although he had a busy schedule as president of Myers Hotels and his own business, Myers Coffee Roasters, he made a point of attending EJ’s field trips as a chaperone when his schedule permitted.

“At the end of the month.”

“Sounds like fun. I’ll be there.”

“Aww, Dad,” EJ sighed. “You don’t have to come every time.”

Everett frowned. “You don’t want me to come?” He was crushed. He thought these were moments EJ would treasure, because Everett made time for him despite his busy schedule.

“It’s not that...”

“Then what is it?”

EJ lowered his head and was silent.

“Well? I’m waiting.”

His son’s curly head popped up. “It’s just that I don’t want the other kids to think I’m uncool because my dad is a chaperone.”

Everett smiled as he breathed a sigh of relief. He knew there would be a time when he would have to pump the brakes, pull back and not be so overprotective, but he’d thought that was a few years away. He was wrong. “If I promise to be a ‘cool dad,’ can I still come? What do you say?”

“Okay, but only if you promise not to embarrass me.”

Everett chuckled as he held out his hand for a father-son handshake. “Sounds like a deal to me. By the way, I brought a treat for you.”

“Oh, yeah? What’d you bring me?” EJ asked.

Everett rose from the recliner. “I’ll be right back.” He returned moments later holding the box of goodies from Lillian’s. “I brought you these.” He handed it to EJ. With the bakery’s signature label on the top and the deliciously sweet aroma of fresh baked goodies emanating from within, he knew EJ would be in heaven.

His son’s large, dark brown eyes opened wide with interest and he started to open the box, but Everett slapped his hand away.

“After dinner,” he said. “Miss Margaret would kill me if I allowed you to eat that beforehand.”

“Can’t I have just one?” EJ gave him his best puppy dog look.

“Sorry, kid,” Everett said. “That doesn’t work on me, but good try. I promise we’ll have them after dinner.”

“All right,” EJ replied. “How was your day, Dad?”

Everett was surprised sometimes when his son inquired after him. He was supposed to be the parent, not the other way around. But Everett suspected that EJ was curious why pretty much all he did was work, then come home most nights. Everett didn’t have a social life to speak of.

Occasionally he went out on a date with someone his parents or friends fixed him up with, but most of those fizzled when the women realized he wasn’t interested in marriage or commitment. They assumed he was in the market for a wife and mother for EJ, but were sorely disappointed by the end of the evening, or in some case by the second or third date, when they realized he wasn’t budging.

It wasn’t as if he was still mourning for Sara. He’d finally gotten over the tragic loss and had picked up the pieces of his life. He just hadn’t been sure he was ready for another serious commitment, until today, when he’d seen Mariah Drayson. He wasn’t sure why meeting the woman had him reevaluating his stance on marriage and commitment, but he was.

“Dad’s day was good,” Everett finally responded. “I found that new bakery.” He pointed to the box. “Has me thinking of new ideas.”

“Like what?” EJ sat cross-legged on the ottoman and propped his head in his hands with rapt attention.

“Like expanding our coffee business at the bakery.”

The idea had come to him almost immediately as he’d watched the large crowd at the bakery. What if he offered Myers coffee there for folks to buy along with their pastries? It would be a win-win for both firms, but especially Lillian’s. Having the Myers brand for purchase on-site would only authenticate Lillian’s promise that they offered the best and highest quality of products, given that Myers coffee was available only in high-end restaurants and coffee shops throughout Seattle.

“Sounds cool, Dad.”

“Thanks, son.” Everett smiled. “How about we get cleaned up and have some dinner?”

“Sounds like a plan.”

Everett only hoped that Mariah and her brothers approved of his idea. It was good business and it would also give him the opportunity to spend some time with Mariah and get to know her better. He knew his play was somewhat obvious, but if she wouldn’t agree to have dinner with him as a man, perhaps he could appeal to her as a business colleague. Time would tell.

* * *

“It was a wonderful turnout,” Shari Drayson told Mariah after all the guests had gone and they were cleaning up after the grand opening. “I’m sure Lillian’s of Seattle will be a great success.”

“Thank you.” Mariah smiled from ear to ear. It was great to hear such high praise from her cousin, given that Lillian had entrusted the flagship location to Shari several years ago. Mariah greatly respected Shari not only as baker, but as a businesswoman. When she’d lived in Chicago, Mariah had sat in on one of the family board meetings, and she could see it wasn’t easy wrangling with all those personalities and big egos. But Shari did it with ease. Heck, she made it look simple, when Mariah knew it was the opposite.

Her cousin Belinda hadn’t been happy with Lillian’s decision for Shari to run Lillian’s of Chicago. Mariah had always suspected that Belinda was Aunt Lillian’s favorite because she’d followed behind their aunt when she was a child and was always in the bakery as her helper. And even though Mariah was closer in age to Shari, she’d always favored Belinda, who was several years older, and she’d wanted to be just like her. Belinda had a great sense of style, dressed in designer duds and never went out of the house without her makeup on. It also hadn’t helped that Shari had gotten pregnant when she was in college, and had a son, Andre, while Mariah had been unable to conceive. Why was it so easy for some women to conceive without even trying, while she desperately wanted a baby and had struggled to get pregnant?

“Mariah?”

“Hmm...?” She drifted out of her reverie.

“I was asking about your parents,” Shari said. “They didn’t seem excited by the opening.”

Mariah nodded. “They don’t really support our endeavor, but that’s fine. I intend to prove them wrong. Show them that Chase, Jackson and I have what it takes to get the job done.”

“That’s admirable,” Shari said. “But I have to tell you it’ll be a challenge, especially having two brothers involved.”

“Because I’m a woman?” Mariah offered.

Shari nodded. “Sometimes it’s hard for men to take direction from a woman.”

“Was it like that for you in Chicago?”

Shari chuckled. “That and then some,” she replied, “Everyone thought Carter, as the oldest grandchild, would have been chosen to run Lillian’s, but instead Grandma picked me. Why? Because I have the business acumen, with my degree, and the creativity, thanks to the cake mix idea I came up with, to run the front of the house at Lillian’s while Carter runs the back. And it’s also why she chose you for the helm here.”

Mariah smiled. “How do you manage running the front of the house and baking? Because you make it look easy.” She’d already felt herself somewhat stressed at the prospect, even though she found it incredibly rewarding, more so than she ever had when she’d worked as an advertising executive.

“It’s about balance,” Shari said, “Trust me, it’s not easy running the bakery business and being a wife and mother, especially now.”

“Why now?” Mariah inquired. Unlike Jack, she had a healthy curiosity about her Chicago cousins and was eager to learn more about them.

Shari rubbed her stomach and then looked into Mariah’s eyes with a huge grin, “Grant and I are expecting our second child. We’re about to make Andre a big brother.”

All the air in the room seemed to vanquish, as if sucked out by a backdraft in a fire, and Mariah thought she might expire on the spot. Not that she didn’t wish Shari every happiness, but this was the last thing she wanted to hear.

Yet there was nothing she could do except stand there and fake a smile, because Shari was still speaking.

“We didn’t want to announce it yet,” she was saying, “until I was in my second trimester, but I think it’s safe now to tell the family.”

Mariah pasted a smile onto her face even though deep down she knew it was less than genuine. She so desperately wanted to be in Shari’s place, pregnant with her own child, but it wasn’t in the cards for her. “That’s wonderful, Shari. I’m very happy for you.”

“Anyway, it looks like we’re just about finished up here.” Her cousin glanced around the nearly empty kitchen.

“Yes, it would appear that way,” Mariah responded.

Carter had already quietly sneaked off, no doubt to call his wife, Lorraine Hawthorne-Hayes Drayson, who was at home with their twin boys in Chicago. Not only was Lorraine a twin herself, but apparently twins ran in her family. Given that Carter had been a committed bachelor, it had surprised the family when he’d wasted no time starting a family with the former debutante, whose career as one of Chicago’s most sought-after artists allowed her to stay at home with their boys.

Mariah had hoped to spend more time with Belinda, but she had somehow disappeared, too. She was probably trying to catch Malik at the bakery, since he and her brother Drake were holding down the fort in Chicago.

“Let’s get out of here.” Mariah headed toward the door, with Shari on her heels, and turned off the lights.

As she locked up the bakery, it was hard for her to believe that she’d actually done it. She’d started her own business with her brothers’ help. Now what?

Chapter 3

Mariah was the first to arrive at the bakery the next morning. Unlike Chase, who had a set morning routine of cardio and weight training, followed by a healthy breakfast, or Jackson, who was no doubt rolling out of bed late because he’d spent the night having too much fun with some unsuspecting female, Mariah didn’t have any of those options. She was alone.

It wasn’t that she liked it that way. She’d loved being married and all that it had meant. She’d loved being Mrs. Richard Hems and being part of a couple, a unit and a partnership. She’d always thought her marriage would last. How wrong she’d been, Mariah thought as she opened the back door of the bakery.

She couldn’t focus on that now. She knew it wasn’t healthy to keep looking back; she had to focus on other things. Namely, on baking all the breakfast goods that she hoped would be necessary for the morning rush. Aunt Lillian believed in providing the freshest baked products each day, so any unpurchased item was given away to a local shelter at the end of the night.

Mariah quickly turned on the lights, grabbed her apron hanging on a hook nearby, and headed toward the kitchen to get down to business.

Two hours later, she was wrist deep in flour when her brother Jack finally deigned to gift her with his presence. She’d already prepared the first batch of pastries, from cinnamon and pecan rolls to Danishes and croissants, for the breakfast rush. She was now starting on the triple berry, blueberry, lemon and orange scones that were a big part of their menu selection.

“Look who finally decided to join me,” Mariah said, as he slowly made his way to the sink to wash his hands.

“Don’t start, Ri,” he replied, using his nickname for her. When he was finished, he grabbed a paper towel and dried his hands.

Mariah quirked her brow. “You were supposed to be here—” she glanced at her watch “—hours ago. I needed help. I haven’t even started on the muffins yet.”

“I’m sorry, okay?” Jackson responded as he quickly grabbed several mixing bowls and ingredients for the muffins from the cabinets and refrigerator.

She was surprised that for once he offered an apology instead of an excuse. “I presume you were with one of your admirers from the grand opening?” Mariah selected a handful of dough and set it on the already floured counter. She rolled the dough and used a scone cutter to cut out the pieces before placing them on a greased cookie sheet.

Jackson gave her a sly smile. “A gentleman never kisses and tells.”

“Well, a certain gentleman needs to set his alarm so he’s not late again. I can’t do this without you,” Mariah replied.

“Duly noted. What’s got your panties in a twist?”

“Nothing.”

Jackson stopped mixing the dry ingredients and looked at his sister.

Could he see that she hadn’t really slept that well? The strain of the previous day had caught up to Mariah. She couldn’t pinpoint exactly what had made her uneasy. Was it their parents’ less than enthusiastic response to the bakery opening? Or perhaps it was meeting that sexy stranger who’d caught her eye from the second she’d seen him strolling down the sidewalk, and turning down his offer of a date? Or maybe it was Shari revealing that she was pregnant yet again, when Mariah’s hopes of motherhood had been repeatedly dashed year after year during her five-year marriage? Maybe it was a combination of all three causing her lack of sleep. In any event, she’d been up with the roosters.

“You’re frowning,” Jackson said. “Did something happen last night? Did you go out with Everett Myers?”

Mariah spun around to face him. “Why would you ask such a thing?”

Her brother shrugged. “I don’t know. Maybe ’cause the guy was really feeling you and cock-blocked anyone from getting close to you during the party.”

Mariah chuckled. She hadn’t realized that was what he was doing, but he had made his intentions clear, especially when he’d grasped her arm and damn near demanded she give him a tour of the bakery.

“C’mon,” Jackson said, “I know it’s been a long time since you’ve been on that horse—the dating horse, that is—but even you can recognize a man’s interest in you.” When she didn’t respond right away, he asked, “Can’t you?”

Mariah let out a long, exasperated sigh. “Of course I can. I’m not blind.”

“Then why didn’t you give the brother a chance?” Jackson inquired.

“I’m just not ready yet.”

“Will you ever be?”

Luckily, Mariah didn’t have to answer that question because the buzzer on the oven sounded, signaling that her second batch of pastries was ready. She scooted over to remove the delicious treats from the stove, effectively ending their conversation.

They didn’t have a chance to pick up where they left off because their third baker arrived. Nancy Alvarez was a middle-aged woman with a background in the bakery business, and she knew her stuff. It had taken some convincing to talk Nancy into working for them, but once Mariah had sweetened the deal by making it part-time, with Mariah taking the early morning shift, she’d acquiesced.

Among the three of them, they were able to get a lot accomplished, and were ready to open their doors at 7:00 a.m. for the breakfast rush.

Since she’d been the first to arrive, Mariah left Jackson and Nancy in the kitchen while she attended to the front of the house. Customers slowly trickled in, wanting delicious baked goods, but eventually business took off and the morning sped by.

Mariah was surprised when Jackson came to relieve her for a short break, so she could get off her feet and have a cup of much-needed coffee.

Mariah went into the office and took a seat. She pulled off her comfortable flats and rubbed her aching arches. She hadn’t truly realized just how exhausting running a bakery could be, affecting not just her sleeping routine, but her feet.

Owning and operating a bakery was hard work. The hours were long and the work tiring, but Mariah believed without risk there would be no reward.

Chase hadn’t arrived yet. He typically didn’t show up until 9:00 a.m., and Mariah envied his banker’s hours from nine to five. He’d soon be scouring the pile of bills she’d seen sitting on his desk—invoices for the inventory of ingredients and equipment that it took to run Lillian’s. Money was constantly going out and they would need to start pouring some back in to ensure the firm’s viability.

She was leaning back in the chair, strategizing on an advertising campaign that would help boost business, when Jackson poked his head into the room. “You have a visitor.”

“Who is it?” she asked, looking up, but he was already gone.

Mariah sighed. She didn’t have time for visitors. She needed to come up with a plan to get Lillian’s name out there. The reporter yesterday had been right when he’d indicated that Sweetness Bakery had a solid and long-standing reputation in Seattle and it would be hard to compete against them. But Mariah knew Lillian’s recipes were superior and that eventually they would succeed.

Slipping her flats back on, she rose from her desk. After checking herself in the mirror that she’d installed in the office to ensure she would always be respectable before greeting the public, she headed out of the room.

When she made it to the storefront area, only a handful of customers were munching on their baked goods at the small countertop and bank of tables. Most were probably enjoying the free Wi-Fi Lillian’s offered.

Jackson gave her a wink as he dealt with a customer at the register. “He’s over there.” Her brother inclined his head toward the far side of the store.

Mariah noticed a man kneeling in front of the display there, but she couldn’t tell who it was. But as she approached and he rose to his feet, there was no mistaking the visitor’s identity. It was none other than Everett Myers.

Fortifying herself and letting a rush of air out her lungs, Mariah walked toward the counter. “Good morning,” she said with a smile. “May I help you?”

He returned the smile. “Good morning, Mariah.”

“Mr. Myers, what can I get for you this morning?” she asked, purposely using his last name as she turned around. She grasped two plastic gloves and opened the display case.

He looked down at the pastries and then back up at her, penetrating her with his dark gaze. “Everything looks good.”

The way he was gazing at her with such undisguised lust, Mariah doubted he was taking about the pastries. “Might I suggest the cheese Danish? We just baked them fresh.”

“That would be lovely, but only if you join me?”

“Join you?” Mariah squeaked. Her voice sounded small even to her. “I couldn’t possibly. In case you haven’t noticed, I’m working.”

“Looks like your brother has everything under control. What could it hurt to take a break and keep me company?”

He made it sound so simple that she should join him, and since resisting seemed only to incite his interest, as she’d learned yesterday, she said, “All right, but I can only spare a few minutes.”

Everett glanced down at his watch. “A few minutes is all I have. And I will take your suggestion of a Danish along with a bottled water.”

“Coming right up.” She took a deep breath and reminded herself that Everett was just a man. But why did he have to look so darn handsome in his charcoal-gray suit and crisp white dress shirt that perfectly fit his athletic physique? Mariah could only wonder what lay beneath the clothes as she reached for the pastry and placed it on a glass plate, which was Lillian’s signature. Aunt Lillian believed in serving people as if they were at her home, and not have them eat off paper or plastic. When she’d grasped a bottled water from the refrigerated case behind her, Mariah took the plate and mug to the table he’d secured.

She couldn’t help but notice the smug smile Everett gave her as she left the display area, or the way his eyes roamed over her entire frame, taking her in from root to tip. “Here you are.” She placed the items in front of him.

He rose to his feet. “Please have a seat.” He pulled out a chair for her before resuming his own.

“Thank you,” Mariah said, “So what brings you by, Mr. Myers?”

“Please call me Everett. All my friends do.”

Mariah’s brow rose a fraction. “And are we friends?”

“I certainly hope so,” he answered, “If you hadn’t noticed, I’ve been trying to remedy that.”

Mariah couldn’t resist a smile. “Yes, I have, and I appreciate the grand gesture of your stopping by, Mr.— Everett,” she finally said. “But you needn’t bother or try so hard. As I told you yesterday, I’m not interested in dating anyone right now.”

“Does that mean you might be later?”

Mariah inwardly chuckled. Of course he would pick up on her word choice. “Later might be a long time coming.”

“I can wait.”

She placed both elbows on the table and steepled her fingers together as she watched him. “Am I a challenge to you, Everett?”

He didn’t answer, because he’d chosen that moment to take a forkful of the Danish, and groaned aloud, causing a place deep inside Mariah to answer, just as it had yesterday. Her breasts tightened in response. She, or rather her body, was not immune to the virility of this man. “This is divine. Did you make it?”

Mariah flushed. “Yes, how did you know?”

He looked deep into her eyes. “I don’t know. I guess that, because it was made with such love, I knew it had to be you.”

Mariah swallowed hard and licked her lips. Everett’s eyes followed her every movement and it made her uneasy that he was watching her so intently. “Um, I’m not sure what I’m supposed to say to that.”

Everett took another forkful of pastry. “You don’t have to say anything, since it’s I who should be thanking you for the delicious start to my day. If you don’t mind my asking, how did you get into baking?”

“I started baking in my tween years when I went to visit my aunt Lillian.”

“Lillian Reynolds Drayson?”

“Yes, how did you—” Mariah stopped herself. Everett struck her as the type of man who never left anything to chance. If he wanted to know more about Aunt Lillian, he’d probably done his research. “Anyway, I used to visit her in Chicago during the summers and I would join her at the bakery. I learned the basics of how to bake at a young age. Once I grew older and was married, I had a lot of extra time on my hands and I began dabbling and trying new recipes.”

“Your husband left you alone?” Everett sat back in his chair.

“It wasn’t like that.”

“No?” He quirked a brow as if he didn’t quite believe her, but then shrugged. “If you were mine, you would only know one position and that’s lying on your back.”

Mariah flushed immediately at Everett’s provocative statement. She’d never been so attracted to and aroused by another man before.

He gave her a mischievous grin. “Did I say something to offend your delicate sensibilities?”

“No, I’m just not used to men speaking to me like...” Mariah was at a loss for words.

“So openly about what they want?” he inquired. “I know what I want, and when I want something in life, I go for it with gusto, no holds barred. You get my drift?”

His eyes never left her face and Mariah was under no false illusion about what he meant. When Everett desired something or someone, he was fully committed. He was in. Mariah wondered what it would have been like if Richard had been like that in their marriage. Maybe if he’d been all in, their relationship wouldn’t have ended and she wouldn’t be divorced at twenty-six.

“Mariah?” Everett cocked his head to one side to peer at her questioningly. “Did I lose you?”

She blinked several times, bringing him and their conversation back into focus. “No, you didn’t, but I really do have to get back to work.”

“You’re doing it again,” he said.

“What’s that?”

“Running away,” he responded. “But lucky you, I like to chase.” He rose from his seat, pulled several bills from his wallet and laid them on the table. He stepped toward her and Mariah was frozen, unsure of what to do. Was he going to make a move? Was he going to kiss her?

Instead, he just softly caressed her cheek with the palm of his hand, which was warm and tender, and said, “I’ll see you soon.”

And he was gone. Leaving Mariah to wonder and secretly hope when that might be.

* * *

Outside the bakery, Everett stared into the window at Mariah as she walked back toward the kitchen. What on earth had possessed him to come here just a day after she’d turned down a date with him? Although he’d dreamed of a certain beautiful honey blonde in his dreams, he certainly hadn’t woken up this morning with the intention of acting on any of his desires. But somehow, as he’d exited the penthouse garage on his way to Myers Hotel, his car had taken him in a different direction, directly to Lillian’s Bakery.

When he arrived, he’d thought about getting something to go, but on the other hand, he couldn’t resist the pull he’d felt yesterday with Mariah. He’d wanted more. So he’d asked her brother to find her. And when she’d come out to the storefront, she’d looked just as sexy and scrumptious as he remembered. Sure, she was wearing a less than flattering apron that covered all her God-given assets. That was why he’d asked her to come around from the display—so he could take another real good look at her. Perhaps he’d hyped her up in his dreams to be more than she was, and reality would be like a cold splash of water in his face. But he hadn’t been wrong.

Instead, when she’d come from behind the counter wearing low-rise jeans that sat seductively over her hips and a crop top that gave him just a hint of stomach and skin, Everett had been eager to know what secrets lay hidden beneath them. It hadn’t helped that her full, round breasts were pressing against the thin top she wore, showing him that she might be a bit chilled.

Jeez. He glanced down at his watch and realized he’d better get to the hotel so he could make the morning’s meeting, rather than stew over a baker who, if she had her way, could take him or leave him. Everett quickly drove the short distance to the hotel.

As he did, he realized he hadn’t expected the full force of Mariah’s sexiness to hit him with such magnitude as it had that morning, but he’d felt it deep in his groin. He’d had a hard-on happening when she hadn’t so much as touched him. Matter-of-fact, she’d tried her best to keep him at bay throughout their interlude. That is, until he’d stuck his foot in his mouth and revealed exactly where she’d be if she were his woman. She’d be on her back in his bed and he’d ravish her all night long until she begged him to come inside her.

When had he gotten so horny? It hadn’t been that long since he’d been with a woman, had it? Everett pondered the thought as he rode the elevator up to the administrative offices of Myers Hotels. Walking through the lobby had been a blur. As the doors opened, he blinked to get himself back in the game and on his morning routine.

The meeting was already under way when he arrived, and Everett merely stood back against the door, listening as the hotel’s general manager went over the day’s events.

When he was done, he glanced up and saw Everett. “Mr. Myers, is there anything you’d like to add?”

Everett shook his head. “Not at all, you go ahead. I’ll just listen in.”

Thankfully, the hotel pretty much ran itself, with Everett stepping in only periodically, when a major decision needed to be made. Hiring the best and brightest in the hospitality industry and paying them a fair wage had ensured that Myers Hotels were respected in the industry and one of the more sought after places of employment in the Seattle hotel market.

He slipped out before the meeting concluded and headed to his office. His executive assistant, Mildred, was waiting for him with his messages. There were the usual suspects, along with a message from EJ’s school.

Everett immediately thanked Mildred for the update and closed the door to his office. Being a father came first, before business. It had been that way with his own dad and Everett was ensuring he did the same. Although Stephen Myers was a serious and austere man to some, he had always made sure that Everett and his mother were his top priority. Even when his father had been building the Myers Hotels into a well-respected luxury chain, he’d made certain he had time for his family. If ever Everett had a problem, his father had always been there to help him solve it. It was because of him that Everett was the man he was today. And it’s why he’d wanted to emulate him by marrying his first love. He’d thought he and Sara would be together forever, until fate struck.

Everett picked up the receiver and dialed the principal of EJ’s school, who’d left the message for him.

“Mr. Myers, thank you so much for the quick response,” the woman said.

“When it comes my son, nothing is more important,” Everett replied. “What’s going on?”

“Well, EJ was having a hard time today, so I brought him to my office.”

“Why?” Everett sat upright in his chair. “Is something wrong? Is my son okay?” Ever since Sara’s death, he had become somewhat paranoid and hypervigilant about EJ’s safety, but how could he not? EJ was all he had left.

“He’s fine, he’s fine. Physically, that is.”

Everett understood her meaning. “And emotionally?”

“I learned there were some students picking on him...” She paused. “Because his mother is gone.”

“I see.” Everett’s voice was clipped.

“I’ve disciplined them accordingly,” the principal continued, “but EJ was clearly upset, as he has every right to be, and I just thought that—”

“I’ll be there in twenty,” Everett said, and hung up the phone. He grabbed his keys and sunglasses as he headed for the doorway.

“Is everything okay, Mr. Myers?” Mildred asked in obvious concern, since he’d only just arrived.

“It’s EJ.” And with those words, he was out the door.

He made it to the school in fifteen minutes, parking his car in the tow-away zone. No one would dare tow his vehicle, given the thousands he’d donated to this private school.

The look on his face must have said it all, because the receptionist rose as he walked straight past the front counter and toward the principal’s office. He knocked twice and didn’t wait for a response before entering.

“Mr. Myers!” The principal jumped up from her desk.

“I’m here to pick up my son.”

He glanced across the room and saw EJ sitting at a table, while the principal looked up, startled, from her computer.

“Of course, of course.” She rushed toward him. “And I’m sorry to have to bother you,” she said, closing the door behind him so they could speak in private. “Just given the time of year, with Mother’s Day coming in May, I thought it prudent you come.”

“Thank you for calling me.”

“You’re most certainly welcome.” She touched his arm. “And I can assure you that we don’t tolerate bullying of any kind. The children have been reprimanded and their parents were contacted.”

“I appreciate that,” Everett said. “EJ, grab your things,” he told his son over her shoulder, since he was several inches taller. He bent down to whisper in the principal’s ear in a lethal tone, “Let’s ensure this doesn’t happen again.”

The woman nodded.

Once they were outside the school, Everett stopped and turned to his son. “How you doing, buddy?”

EJ just he kept walking toward the car. Everett understood the cue that he didn’t want to talk here, so he unlocked the Cadillac Escalade and EJ jumped into the passenger seat.

Everett came around to the driver’s side. He turned on the engine, but thought better of it and said, “Do you want to talk about it now?”

“Can’t we just go?”

“Not when something’s on your mind,” Everett responded. “You know you can talk to me about anything and I will always sympathize and be here to listen.”

EJ turned to face the window and said nothing.

Everett sighed as he put the Escalade in gear. “All right. Well, when you want to talk about it, I’m here for you, okay?”

EJ didn’t answer; he just nodded his head.

Chapter 4

Everett wasn’t surprised when EJ claimed he was sick the following morning. Everett suspected it was a ruse, and normally would have made him go to school and face his bullies, because that’s what a father taught his son. But in this instance, Everett couldn’t make the boy do so, not when he knew this hurt went deeper because it was over the loss of his mother. He went to work instead, leaving EJ with Margaret, who’d keep any eye on him until Everett returned later that afternoon. He would make it an early day, so he could spend some time with his son.

But first he had a strong desire for another one of Lillian’s pastries, or so he told himself as he walked toward the bakery. He opened the front door with a flourish and a bell signaled his arrival.

Everett was happy to find Mariah at the front counter instead of Jackson. “Good morning,” he said, strolling toward her.

She sighed in apparent exasperation at seeing him for the second day in a row. “Everett.”

“You’re looking lovely today,” he said, admiring the way her glorious honey-blond hair hung in soft waves to her shoulders. She’d clearly done something different with the style, but he didn’t care. It just made her look all the more attractive to him. He’d love to rake his hands through it as he brought her mouth closer to his.

He liked everything about Mariah, from the color of her eyes, which reminded him of sandalwood, to her delicate round little nose, to the sinful curve of her alluring lips. Lips that he would love to kiss, tease and suck into his mouth.

“Everett?” Mariah was saying his name again and he had to stop staring at her as if she were a fresh piece of meat.

“Yes?”

“I asked you what you would like,” she said, looking at him strangely.

“If I said you, would that be too much?”

She grinned at his come-on. “Are you always this much of a flirt?”

“Only with you.”

“I’m flattered, really,” she said, as the chime of the doorbell indicated another customer had just entered the bakery, “but as I told you before—”

“You’re not interested,” he stated, cutting her off.

She pointed her index finger at him. “See, you really are as smart as the internet says.”

“Have you been looking me up?” Everett was intrigued as the familiar air of electricity he felt on the prior occasions with Mariah sizzled between them. There was no mistaking it. She was not as immune to his charms as she was leading him to believe.

Mariah flushed and he could see he was right.

“There’s a line forming,” she said, as yet another customer came through the bakery door. “What can I get you?”

“If you’re not on the menu, then I guess I’ll have to settle for one of those,” Everett responded, pointing to the assortment of quiches they’d prepared as a breakfast selection. “And another of those scones from yesterday.” He would bring a treat home to EJ in the hopes that it would cheer him up.

Mariah smiled. “Excellent choice.” She opened the display case to procure his items. Once she’d rung them up, she said, “Have a great day and see you soon.”

His brow rose a fraction. “Would you like to? See me, that is?”

“I always like paying customers.”

He laughed as he made his way out the door. Mariah might be telling him to go away, but he suspected she was starting to enjoy seeing him come around just as much as he was enjoying seeing her each day. And if he had his way, it wouldn’t be long before the walls she had erected around her would come tumbling down.

* * *

Mariah was grateful when she saw the back of Everett’s head as he left the bakery. Today made the third time she’d seen him in as many days. She’d told him in no uncertain terms that she wasn’t interested in dating him, but he kept coming back. The man was relentless and she wasn’t sure how long she could keep turning him down, when it would just make more sense to go out with him and put him out of his misery. Maybe then he would see that they weren’t a match and she was completely out of his league.

Everett was handsome and, according to everything she’d read online, wealthy as sin. Despite herself, she’d been unable to contain her curiosity about the man after he’d visited the bakery twice, and she’d tried to absorb as much information as possible on the man. She’d learned via an internet search about the accidental death of his wife, Sara. But the details were vague because Everett had secluded himself, keeping out of the news, pretty much right after the accident.

According to sources, he was currently single and had been that way since becoming widowed. So what could he possibly see in a newly divorced baker from an upper-middle-class family? For some reason Mariah presented a challenge to him, but perhaps as soon as he won he’d stop his pursuit of her.

“Was that Myers again?” Jackson inquired, coming up behind her and heading to the second register. He turned to the next customer in line. “Can I help you?” he asked.

“It was,” Mariah said, as she smiled and handed her customer some change.

“Wow! Someone’s sprung on you,” Jackson said, after he’d fished out several pastries and boxed them up for his customer. “Here you go. Have a nice day.”

Several minutes later, the storefront was empty and it was just the two of them, so Mariah turned to glare at her brother. “It’s not that serious.”

“Apparently it is for him,” Jackson retorted. “He’s been here three days straight.”

“You can’t count the opening, because he just met me,” Mariah responded, reaching for a cloth underneath the register to wipe down the counter.

“I sure as hell can. The man was enthralled with you. Trust me, I know when a guy is interested.”

Mariah laughed. “I guess it would take one to know one.” She bumped his hip and continued wiping the displays.

“So what are you going to do about it?” He folded his arms across his chest.

“Nothing. Eventually, he’ll tire of the rejections and move on.”

“Ha!” Jackson laughed as he headed back to the kitchen. “You don’t know men at all.”

Mariah thought about her brother’s words later that evening in her apartment, when she was cuddled with a bowl of popcorn, watching a romantic comedy. Jackson had been right that she didn’t know men at all. Her experience with the opposite sex was limited to her college career before she’d met Rich, and there hadn’t been much to speak of. She’d always been into her studies, leaving very little time for dating.

Now she had a rich, successful businessman like Everett Myers interested in her and all she could do was run. Mariah wasn’t proud of it. She’d always prided herself on being a person who persevered even when things got difficult, as she had with her inability to conceive. She’d been the one who’d dug in the trenches, refusing to give up on her marriage even though she suspected Rich had checked out. Mariah had thought that she could win him back somehow and that in time he’d see that she’d done all of it for them, but he hadn’t.

Mariah considered it one of her greatest failures. It was why she was reluctant to go down that path again so soon with Everett, even though she found him stunningly gorgeous. Every time he came into the bakery, Mariah caught herself holding her breath, and when he touched her, her entire body came alive. It made her feel things she hadn’t felt in a long time, such as desire and passion. Whenever he was near, her skin became prickly and the place between her legs became heated. She wanted to push the feelings away, but Everett wouldn’t let up. And did she really want him to? Of one thing she was sure—Everett could quench all her desires.

If he continued his quest of stopping by the bakery, Mariah wasn’t sure just how long she could hold out before she finally gave in.

* * *

Later that afternoon, Everett returned to his penthouse and found EJ sitting at the breakfast counter eating one of the pastries he’d brought from Lillian’s yesterday, while Margaret was at the stove, no doubt starting supper. Everett chuckled inwardly. Clearly, the boy wasn’t that sick if he could enjoy the delicious concoction.

“Looks like someone’s feeling better,” Everett said, placing his briefcase on the counter.

EJ smiled and looked up, his face smeared with chocolate. Everett reached for a paper towel and threw it at him. “Wipe your face,” he said with a laugh. “You have chocolate all over it.”

“This is good, Dad,” EJ replied, after wiping his mouth. “Where’d you get it?” After dinner last night, they’d been too full for dessert.

“Lillian’s. And I brought another.” He held up the box from that morning.

EJ reached for it. “I’ll take it.”

“Not before dinner, you won’t.”

“I was telling him the same thing, Mr. Myers, but he insisted on eating that one.” Margaret gestured to the empty saucer in front of EJ.

“You’d better listen to Miss Margaret,” Everett chided, pointing his finger in EJ’s direction. “Don’t you give her no sass.”

EJ frowned. “I wasn’t.”

Everett loosened his tie and undid the top button of his shirt as he headed for the refrigerator. He took a bottle of beer out and quickly dispensed with the top before taking a generous swig.

“Why don’t you come talk to me?” he suggested as he walked to the living room. “While Margaret finishes up dinner.”

He heard an audible sigh, but EJ slipped off the bar stool where he’d been sitting and joined Everett as he settled on the couch. “So are you finally ready to talk to me about what happened yesterday?”

EJ shook his head., “No, but I guess you’re going to make me?”

“Something like that.”

EJ sunk deeper into the sofa cushions and was quiet for several long moments before he finally spoke. “There were some kids razzing me because I don’t have a mother.”

Everett frowned and sat upright. He hated hearing EJ talk like that. “You had a mother, EJ. Her name was Sara. She’s not here with us now, but she loved you very much.” It was important to Everett that EJ remembered her and knew that he’d been loved and was a product of that love.

“I know that, Dad, but I still don’t like hearing about it. Have kids bring it up like I’m some sort of freak or something.”

“You’re not a freak.” Everett patted EJ’s thigh. “You’re just different. And you have to be okay with that. You still have me, or am I chopped liver or something?” It was one of things he worried about—that somehow he wouldn’t be enough for his son. Lord knows, he’d tried to be a father and a mother all rolled into one, but it was hard sometimes.

EJ gave him a reluctant half smile. “No, but it’s...it’s just not the same.”

Everett wasted no time pulling his son into a firm hug and holding him close to his chest. “I know that,” he said, leaning back to look at him. “And I know that I can’t be your mom, but I promise you I will do my best to be both a mother and father to you. Whatever you need, I’m here.” He gazed into EJ’s dark eyes, which were cloudy with unshed tears, then tugged him back into his arms. “I’m always here.”

“Love you, Daddy,” EJ whispered into his chest.

Those three words were all that Everett would ever need.

* * *

Mariah stared at her reflection in the mirror in the bathroom of her two-bedroom apartment. She looked pretty darn good if she did say so herself. She was wearing her favorite pair of skinny jeans, a floral tunic and a long dangling necklace. She’d applied a trace of mineral foundation, mascara, and the finishing touch was lipstick. She typically never went to such trouble dressing each morning, since she spent the first few hours of her day in the kitchen. But the thought that Everett might show up again today had her making a special effort. Her stomach was in knots with eager anticipation of his arrival.

She must have been noticeably antsy because later that morning Jackson commented as much. “What’s got you so jumpy?” he asked. “Every time the doorbell chimes, I can see you perk up. Are you waiting for someone?” One of his eyebrows rose with amusement. He knew the answer.

“No.”

“Liar.” He laughed as he continued with the fondant cake he was working on for an upcoming wedding. Jackson had become quite the cake aficionado and they’d already received a few orders.

“Am not.”

“You’re wearing makeup. And you’re dressed up today.” He eyed her attire and face before returning to his task.

Mariah glanced down at her outfit. She’d gone for casual chic, so as not to look as if she was trying to attract a certain person’s attention or advances.

“C’mon, sis, I know you, and you can’t get anything by me.”

Mariah rolled her eyes and sauntered out of the kitchen. “Whatever.” There was no denying that Jackson was right, but that wasn’t what irked her. It was Everett. He was late. He usually came around 9:00 a.m. and it was after ten, which meant she’d gone through all this trouble for nothing.

She shouldn’t be surprised that he’d finally taken the hint. She had given him the brush-off three times and he must have figured three strikes and he was out. She’d blown it.

The doorbell chimed and Mariah didn’t bother looking up this time, so was surprised when she finally did and found his dark brown eyes looking at her.

“Everett.” She swallowed the lump that suddenly formed by having the businessman yet again in her crosshairs.

“Hey.” He smiled, showing off his sparkling white teeth.

“Hi.” Mariah didn’t know why she couldn’t think of anything but a one-syllable word, and her heart was hammering in her chest.

“Surprised to see me?”

“Actually, no, I’m not,” she replied, finding her voice. “You’ve been persistent, so I doubted today would be any different.”

“Is that why you dressed up for me today?” Everett asked, raking every inch of her figure with his magnetic gaze.

Mariah started to say no, but knew it would be a bold-faced lie, so she led with the truth. “What if I did?”

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