Chapter Nine
Thirty minutes after leaving the Good Day, San Diego studio, August pulled into a parking spot at Sugar Blitz. He’d had the good sense to park in the back when he spotted the throng spilling out the front door when he turned onto the street.
What the hell? Were they there to see him, “single and ready to mingle” SugarBae? Were that many people watching Good Day, San Diego ? If so, how and why had they made it down here so fast?
August shook his head. Maybe he was being an egomaniac and the crowd had nothing to do with him. Maybe they were there for Nicholas’s latest creations. After all, he was getting a lot of buzz about his latest series of decadent cupcakes, including his crème br?lée cupcake.
Even so, August wasn’t taking any chances. He tiptoed through the back entrance on the balls of his feet, like his “fans” (and he was still going to hurl) could hear the tread of his shoes against the tile. Yes, that was a ridiculous thought, and he undoubtedly looked ridiculous, but he had to do what he had to do. Football drills were coming in handy once again.
Creak!
August made a quick left into the kitchen as the bathroom door started to open from the inside.
Nicholas spun around from the counter where he was mixing ingredients. “Hey, dude, what are you doing here?”
August frowned. He could say, “I’m terrified I’m going to run into someone who wants me to sign her bra,” or he could deflect. He went with the better option. “What do you mean what am I doing here? I work here.”
Nicholas sent him a give-me-a-break look. “Yeah, but I thought you were off being a TV star.”
August rolled his eyes. “I finished that.”
Nicholas wiped his hands on a towel and tossed it aside. “How did it go?”
August grimaced. “Fine. I think. Maybe.” He’d tried not to think about it on the ride back to the shop. Or the business cards an assistant producer and the makeup artist had slipped into his pocket as he departed the station. Or the butt pats and the almost-pat to another part of his lower body he’d avoided.
No sounds emanated from the hallway. He cracked the door open and peered around the edge.
“Hiding from your fan club?” Nicholas asked, his snicker filling the room.
August looked over his shoulder at his best friend. “Being smart.”
The hall was empty. The only sound he heard was the normal chatter from the front of the store. Maybe the customers were just their regulars. Nothing for him to hide from. Not that he was hiding, really.
“Sure, dude.” Nicholas came to stand next to him and crossed his arms across his chest. “I can go out there and distract them.”
Maybe this time that distraction would involve a striptease, which actually might not be the worst thing in the world. Nicholas could go viral and August would be in the clear.
He sighed. Yes, he could take Nicholas up on his offer, but no. One, he was a grown man and could fight his own battles (or at least walk through a crowd of women) and two, he’d made the decision to pursue this opportunity. There was no backing out now. He’d vowed to lean into the SugarBae thing, and that was that. That was how he lived his life. His word was his bond, for better or for worse.
“No, I’m good. Is Donovan in his office?”
Nicholas grinned. “No doubt. He and his computer with its sales figures are attached at the hip.”
August easily returned the smile. They all had their strengths, which made them such good friends and business partners. Though they all wore whatever hat was necessary when it came to their business, they each took the lead role in a different area. Donovan had the best head for business and made sure they were reaching their financial goals. He probably knew to the cent how much profit they’d made last week. Nicholas was in charge of the kitchen. He loved coming up with new cupcake flavors and shared his kitchen reluctantly. August was a jack-of-all-trades, helping out wherever he was needed and handling any repairs and ordering that needed to be done.
“I told him I’d talk to him when I got back.”
Nicholas nodded, returning to his latest creation. “Okay, man. Let me know if you need any advice on how to juggle multiple women.”
August rolled his eyes again. “Thank you for being so generous. I’ll remember that.”
He slipped out of the room with Nicholas’s laughter ringing in his ears. Thankfully, the coast was clear and he traversed the hall to Donovan’s office none the worse for wear. He gave a perfunctory knock and slipped inside.
He recognized his mistake immediately.
He’d given himself no time to prepare for Sloane’s presence. No time to steel himself against her impact on him. No time to wipe his expression clear before the need that clawed at him showed on his face.
Oblivious to his emotional turmoil, she grinned—no, more like smirked—at him. “August! Just the person we wanted to see.”
She wanted to see him? Hope, that infernal bastard, uncurled near his heart. Wait. No, she said “we,” not “I.” He nodded stiffly at her, his best and usual response when he unexpectedly ran into her, then turned to the room’s other occupant. “What’s going on?”
Donovan jerked his chin toward the empty chair in front of his desk. The chair less than two feet away from Sloane. “Have a seat.”
Since he had no real, logical reason not to do so, August sat. Sloane’s light honey scent drifted toward him. That scent haunted his dreams. He faced Donovan. “What’s up?”
He gestured toward his computer. “We watched your appearance on Good Day, San Diego .”
Right. It was the twenty-first century. Streaming was a thing. “What did you think?”
Donovan’s nose and eyes scrunched up. “Well, umm…”
“It was a disaster,” Sloane supplied, as matter-of-fact as only she could be. Her plush lips tipped into a wide smile before he could decide if he was impressed or insulted by her candor. “But luckily for you, I’m here to help.”
It was his turn for his mouth to gape open like a goldfish waiting to be fed. “Uh… what?”
She clasped her hands together, and crossed one leg over the other, angling toward him and giving him a brief flash of firm, mouthwatering thigh before she tugged her skirt down. “I’ve reconsidered my brother’s job offer and have decided to come work for Sugar Blitz.”
Donovan side-eyed her. “She needs to do a big splashy social media campaign for a job she wants, and she decided our little company was worthy of her talents.”
He was supposed to laugh at the sarcastic comment, at the natural ribbing of siblings. But he couldn’t. Not when his heart had climbed up into his throat and rendered him mute. This couldn’t be happening. He’d reconciled to himself long ago that he and Sloane could never be a “we,” and he didn’t believe in torturing himself. Self-preservation was a thing he wholeheartedly believed in.
Sloane rolled her eyes at her brother before turning those beautiful eyes toward him. “As true as that may be, after that little performance this morning, you definitely need my help.”
Before he could think it through, August’s chest puffed up. Perhaps insulted was winning out. “What was wrong with my performance?”
She ticked the points off on her fingers. “You were stiff. You gave one-word answers, even though she asked the most leading questions ever. When you talk, and yes, we know you don’t do a ton of that, you usually have a dry sense of humor. We got none of that today.”
“Any other faults you want to mention?”
She wagged her finger at him. “There’s that dry sense of humor I was talking about.” She bobbed her head side to side like she was thinking about the question. “No, I think that’s it. For now.”
“Thanks.” He shouldn’t be grumpy. She was right, of course, but that didn’t mean he had to like it.
Sloane beamed at him, clearly relishing getting on his nerves. “Any time.”
August’s lips twitched. That was the thing about Sloane. She could always make him smile when very few could. Even when he was determined to be in a bad mood. Her eyes gleamed at him, like she could read his mind. For a moment, the years melted away, and they were kids again.
Donovan chuckled, jolting August back to the present. “I really want to stay for the rest of this riveting conversation, but it might get bloody, and I told Jada I wouldn’t get any new scars before our wedding. And my shift out front is about to start.” He stood and strode to the door. “I also have faith that you both have Sugar Blitz’s best interests at heart and can come to an understanding on how to proceed.”
August bit down on his tongue to prevent himself from protesting and sounding like a fool. He watched helplessly as his best friend abandoned him, leaving him alone with his biggest temptation. Not that Donovan had any idea. August kept that secret to himself. It was so ingrained in him, it was like second nature. Though Donovan knew they’d had a friendship as teens, as far as he knew their relationship had cooled when Sloane went away to college. Donovan assumed Sloane liked to antagonize him just for fun now that she was living in San Diego. The full nature of their history was the only secret August kept from his best friend.
Silence made an uncomfortable companion in the room. He should break it. And he would as soon as he thought of something to say. He was the one Donovan and Nicholas counted on to see beneath the surface and get to the heart of the matter. The one who could keep steady when the world was tilting off its axis. But he was never on sure footing when it came to Sloane Dell, which is why he usually kept his distance.
“It looks like it’s just you and me, kid,” she said. She sounded about as thrilled about the idea as he did. He couldn’t blame her. He’d hurt her, and he didn’t doubt for a moment she’d gotten over it and moved on, but he knew as well as anyone, scars lingered and could start itching at a moment’s notice.
He nodded again. Not for the first time, he wished he had a hint of Nicholas’s suaveness or Donovan’s logic. She sprang into action, leaping up from her chair, and started pacing around the room. She wore a white tank tucked into a red skirt that ended at mid-thigh, the better to showcase her terrific legs. Her braids swung back and forth as she traversed the small space. “Before we can move forward, we have to acknowledge the elephant in the room.”
He blinked. “We do?”
They never had before. The Madrigal family from Encanto had nothing on them. Fuck not talking about Bruno. He and Sloane didn’t talk about that night.
Sloane nodded. “I’ve made a complete about-face after a year of saying I wouldn’t work for Donovan, and it’s weird.”
Oh. That.
A small smile played across her lips. He shouldn’t notice that they were covered in a purplish-red color that highlighted their fullness, but he did. And he would beat himself up about that later.
He cleared his throat. “Was Donovan right about you doing this for another job?”
“Yes. I need to prove to my potential boss that I can lead a campaign, and if I have to ride my brother’s coattails to do it, then so be it. At least it’s only temporary.”
August shook his head. “You know he doesn’t think that way. He never has.”
She sighed. “I know, but others do, or might, and I don’t like it.”
She never had.
“Regardless, I arrived this morning ready to work.” She threw her shoulders back, while a sly smile played across her tempting lips. “When I did, I learned, to my complete astonishment, that you booked a segment on Good Day, San Diego .”
“Which was a terrible idea, according to you.”
She held up an index finger. “No, I never said that. The ultimate goal is to bring attention to Sugar Blitz, and you did that in spades.”
August shifted uncomfortably in his chair. “But…”
“But you could have used some coaching beforehand. I’m not sure that interview was the right move out of the gate. But I’m here now, and I have ideas.” She’d resumed pacing. He tried not to notice the gentle sway of her hips, the way the skirt hugged her ass. He failed. Miserably.
He swallowed hard. Would she notice if he adjusted his pants? “How so?”
Her hands whirred in front of her chest, in constant motion. “We put you front and center. Give the people what they want.”
His stomach lurched. “Do we have to?”
“Yes. That’s why you went on the show, right?”
He reluctantly nodded.
Sloane’s head tilted to the side. “Why did you go on the show? That’s so unlike you.”
He could never forget that at one point in time, she’d known him as well as anybody.
“I was looking to do my part to market Sugar Blitz as we get ready to open the new location.”
Her eyes narrowed. “You do plenty around here.”
“I could do more.” Melinda’s words rang in his head. His head knew it was ridiculous. His heart was another matter. The critical thoughts were often so hard to keep at bay. If he did more, then maybe the next person wouldn’t find him so unwantable. Like Melinda. Like his father.
Sloane looked like she wanted to argue. He lifted his chin and met her gaze head-on. She pursed her lips and nodded finally, then resumed pacing. “Okay, then. In that case, we need to highlight Sugar Blitz and the cupcakes, of course, but what people really crave on social media is the human connection. They want to laugh and cry and feel seen. That’s why you went viral, and we need to lean into it. People want to know SugarBae.”
He groaned each and every time he heard that ridiculous nickname. This time was no different.
Sloane continued, undeterred by his reaction, her hands whirling all over the place. “They know you’re a football player and part owner of a cupcake shop. But that’s what you do, not who you are.”
Beautiful, impactful words from a beautiful, impactful woman.
She stopped when she noticed him watching her. “Sorry, I talk with my hands. It helps me think.”
He knew. She was in her element. It was the sexiest thing he’d ever been fortunate to witness.
“I’m going to give them that,” she continued. “And that’s going to lead to them coming down here to buy cupcakes and put money in y’all’s pockets. You want to be a star, right?”
No. “Yes.”
But he was committed. It was time for him to come out of the shadows. Time to take control of his life and make himself worthy of… His eyes flickered to Sloane. Make himself worthy of someone to love.
Clearly unaware of his inner turmoil, Sloane’s lips spread into a wide smile. “If that’s what you want, then I’m going to make it happen.”
August held back another groan. Barely. “What exactly are you thinking?”
She was thinking he was the sexiest man to ever sexy. But that’s not what he was asking and it sure as hell wasn’t what she should be thinking. She’d gotten over her crush years ago. Had had several real relationships since. Those relationships had ended not because she was still pining over August, but because she’d realized the relationships were nearing their expiration date. Her last boyfriend, Jim the Jughead, had made her finally realize she missed her family and San Diego, and she’d come home. When she’d needed him most, he’d fumbled the ball.
Her father, who had a gambling problem, had fallen off the wagon and started putting pressure on her, almost daily, to send him money. It brought back not-so-fond memories from childhood when his financial instability had placed a great strain on their family, and her mother, especially. She hadn’t known what to tell her dad or what to do. She loved him, wanted to help him, but she knew giving him money would only make the situation worse. She’d agonized and agonized before going to Shana, who encouraged her to put her well-being first. She’d offered paying for counseling instead. Her father had turned her down, angrily declaring that she didn’t love him. Jim had never seen what the big deal was or why she was so conflicted and hurt by her father’s words and actions. “Just give him the money,” he would say.
After that ordeal, it became clear that men were fine to have fun with, but giving them the power to hurt her? Been there, done that, not going back again.
She would never again find herself in the position of hoping a man would treat her better.
Still, none of those inarguable truths had stopped her heart from melting as she watched August on that morning show. He’d looked so uncomfortable, yet determined to do a good job, even if he had no clue what that entailed. He’d been adorable.
He looked adorable now. He’d forsaken his usual attire of T-shirt or Sugar Blitz polo for a blue button-down shirt. The top two buttons were undone and framed the strong column of his neck and his Adam’s apple. Jeans hugged his firm thighs. His dark brown locs were pulled back, as usual, in a low ponytail. Did he know the style highlighted the strong line of his jaw and his amazingly sharp cheekbones?
Okay, yeah, she couldn’t say any of that. She was Sloane Dell, Princess Shuri in training, hear her roar. Or something. “I’m thinking that making you a star will be fun.”
He looked like he’d swallowed something both bitter and sour. When he noticed her side-eye, he straightened his face.
Sloane wasn’t ready to let him off the hook. “That is what you want, right?”
After a moment’s hesitation, he nodded once, a herky-jerky motion that inspired exactly zero confidence. Why was he insistent on doing this? She’d spoken the truth earlier. He did plenty to make Sugar Blitz a success. There was no need for him to seek out the spotlight.
But she didn’t have the right to press. They were no longer friends. Maybe they’d get there again, but there would never be more. He’d made that plain years ago.
Sloane inhaled sharply. “What are you doing?” The question slipped out before her brain could catch up to her mouth. He was unbuttoning the sleeves of his shirt and rolling them up to reveal forearms peppered with dark hair and roped with veins that were begging to be licked. By her. No. That was a terrible, no-good idea. Right? No. Yes.
He looked at her like she was a few pancakes short of a silver-dollar platter at IHOP. “Getting comfortable. These long sleeves are working my nerves.”
She shook her head. “Right. Sorry. Whatever. Back to the topic at hand. I don’t know if you’ve taken a look out front, but your fan club has assembled, and they don’t have any intentions of leaving until you make an appearance.”
His face twisted into a half frown, half grimace. “Why? Did you post something on Instagram?”
“No, I didn’t have to. Good Day, San Diego hyped your appearance on social media, an appearance you scheduled, might I add?”
“Social media is the devil,” he grumbled.
She would not find his consternation cute.
“Hey, you’re lucky they didn’t camp out at the station to ambush you as you left. Here, they’re likely to be distracted by cupcakes and coffee.”
The half frown, half grimace made another appearance. “Right.”
Sloane forced out the next sentence because she was a professional, and this was a professional situation, and she had a job to do. “And need I remind you that you announced on local TV that you’re single. An announcement that will surely hit the national and international airwaves of the internet soon. I’m gonna keep it real. When you announced your singledom, a loud cheer went up in the store. Donovan and I were standing next to each other in here with the door closed, and we couldn’t hear each other for a good ten seconds.”
Just because her heart had seized up when he said it didn’t mean anything. It wasn’t like she didn’t know he was single. He was her brother’s best friend, after all, and she and her brother were close. If August or Nicholas had found the love of their respective lives, Donovan would’ve mentioned it at some point. But then she’d panicked, because what if her brother didn’t? What if he decided to do something crazy like respect his friend’s privacy or something? It would’ve been worse than when August married his ex-wife, which was one of the most painful days of her life. She’d blocked the whole day and situation out of her mind at the time. But at least she knew it was happening. This time she’d have to finally acknowledge and accept there was no hope for them to be together.
But then August had said he was single, and she could actually breathe again.
August visibly blanched.
Concern had her taking a step forward. “Are you okay?”
“Yeah, I’m fine.” He rubbed his palms up and down his thighs. His massive, muscled, marvelous thighs.
They hadn’t even started yet, and this was already a disaster. What had she gotten herself into? “You don’t have to do this, you know.”
She’d find another way to boost Sugar Blitz’s social media profile.
His head tilted to the side. “I don’t? Didn’t you just say there were a bunch of women out there dying to meet me? How would it look for me and Sugar Blitz if I disrespected them by not making an appearance?”
Sloane swallowed. Good point. “True, but you look a little ill. It’s not good when Black people look that pale.”
“Nothing a good Mike’s Hard Lemonade can’t cure.”
They shared a smile that could only come with a collective memory.