by Arthurs, Nia
Sweet, Sweet Disaster
A Sweet Treats Novel
Nia Arthurs
First published in Belize, C.A. 2019
Copyright © Nia Arthurs
Cover Design: Oliviaprodesign
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, without the prior written permission of the publisher, nor be circulated in any form of binding or cover other than that which it is published without a similar condition including this condition, being imposed on the subsequent purchaser.
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Contents
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
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Epilogue
A Word From The Author
Also by Nia Arthurs
Sneak Peek
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
1
“Is this a joke?” Sun Gi wrenched his arm from Luis’s grip. “I told you. I’m not in the mood to go drinking.”
“Come on, man. You’ve been putting us off for weeks. We had to kidnap you.” Luis ran a hand through his thick hair. He wore a black T-shirt, jeans and his freshest sneakers. His style hadn’t changed much since high school.
“I’m out.” Sun Gi strode away.
The sound of a car door slamming was quickly followed by thudding footsteps. A moment later, another man appeared on the sidewalk. Arnold, his other high school buddy, was dressed like Luis in a blazer, pressed shirt and heavy blue jeans.
Sun Gi growled. “Get out of my way.”
“Nope. This is Guy’s Night Out. No excuses.”
Sun Gi ran a thumb over his bottom lip. “If Hanna finds out…”
“Your fiancée won’t hear a thing.” Luis swaggered over, a grin splitting his pale face. “We swear.”
Sun Gi gave in with a glare. “Fine.”
“Yes!” Arnold pumped his fists.
Luis offered his hand for a high-five.
Sun Gi shoved him back. “You could have brought me a change of clothes.”
“Don’t worry,” Luis steered him inside the bar, “this is a classy place. And ladies dig a man in a suit.”
“He’s engaged,” Arnold reminded.
“Who said I was talking about him?” Luis strode forward and called over his shoulder. “Tonight, Sun Gi’s our wingman.”
Sun Gi snorted and let Luis drag him inside the building.
The sign overhead blared ‘Hidden Reef Sports Bar and Grill’. Seemed nice enough on the outside.
The boxy brick building was perched on the very edge of the business district. Prime location. He could already see young hot shots heading out on Friday nights to chill and pick up women.
“After you.” Luis bowed theatrically as he opened the door for them.
Arnold chuckled.
Sun Gi just rolled his eyes.
The men stepped into a dimly lit foyer with a bouncer and a woman who looked way too young to be the hostess of a bar greeting a long line of guests.
The prospect of Guy’s Night immediately soured. Wait twenty minutes just for a few beers? Sun Gi didn’t have the patience.
Just before he tapped Luis on the shoulder and made a flimsy excuse to bail, his friend turned and winked. “Follow me.”
Clueless, Sun Gi trailed Luis to the front of the line where he whispered something to the hostess. She checked her clipboard and smiled, motioning to the bouncer.
Everyone in line stared jealously as they cut through the rope.
“What was that about?” Sun Gi asked.
Luis smirked. “I have connections.”
“Well, alright then.” Arnold bopped his head, his eyes locking on a pretty waitress dressed in a white vest and a flirty black skirt. Half of her face was hidden behind a delicate, lace mask. “Let’s party.”
Sun Gi followed his friends into the main room. Heads turned when they walked inside. He ignored the curious gazes and kept going.
The looks didn’t faze him. At this age, he was used to it.
Sun Gi was tall, often towering over his classmates. He was also Asian, which meant that whenever he entered a room, people did a quick sweep of his outfit and face before dismissing him as ‘one of them’.
The Asian stereotype in Belize was that they were quiet, hard working and stuck to their own. True on every count but the last one. He knew many Asians who were loud and obtrusive (the Kriol in them, he guessed).
The stereotypes locked him into boxes he didn’t necessarily belong in.
Of course, he didn’t fault anyone for that. It was easier for the general public to lump all Asians together. Chinese, Korean, Pilipino, Japanese—locals didn’t care. They were men and women with monolids, which meant they probably couldn’t speak English and owned a small, corner grocery store. No need to investigate further.
“It’s nice, isn’t it?” Luis raised his voice to be heard over the reggae music playing in the background. “Place just opened. The owner is a friend of mine.”
That explains the VIP treatment.
Arnold whistled under his breath. “I wonder how much it costs to open one of these?”
Sun Gi looked around the room. Hidden Reef was one of those modern, sophisticated places that took itself way too seriously. It was all metal barstools, dark wood and recessed lighting. There were more mirrors than walls.
“It’s nice,” he said politely.
“You hate it, don’t you?” Luis poked a finger in his cheek. “It’s all over your face.”
“It’s spacious.” Sun Gi slammed his foot on the ground and heard the resounding thud. “Nice wooden floors.”
Luis threw his hands up. “Stop. Just stop.”
“Luis!” someone cried. The voice pierced through the reggae music that was near deafening. A slim woman in a slinky red dress and heels shot her arm in the air and waved it from side to side.
“I’m guessing that’s your friend?” Arnold asked with a jut of his chin.
Sun Gi chuckled. “She seems a little too excited to see you.”
“We’re messing around. It’s nothing more than that.” Luis shot him a look. “When Stacie comes over, don’t say a word about her bar. You’ll make her cry.”
Sun Gi exchanged a look with Arnold and shrugged. He’d been trying to be subtle. It had been a long day. Sun Gi figured he had earned a right to an opinion. Even if it wasn’t the one that would get Luis laid.
Luis’s friend scooted past the patrons seated around the bar and approached them. Her heels clicked against the dull
wood with each step.
“You made it!” She dipped closer and pressed both Luis’s cheeks with her own.
Sun Gi’s mouth twitched at the theatrics. They were in Belize, a developing country in the Caribbean. People hugged when they were acquainted and bumped fists when they weren’t. This isn’t Paris, lady, geez.
“Hey, Stacie. I brought my friends. This is Arnold and this is Sun Gi.”
Stacie batted her thick, black eyelashes. Her eyes were wide and ringed with enough eyeliner to mirror a teenager in goth phase. “It’s nice to meet you.”
“You too,” Arnold said. “Congrats on your opening.”
“You’re so sweet.” She giggled.
“We should find a table,” Sun Gi said, following Luis’s instruction to keep his fake compliments to himself.
“You can just sit anywhere!” Stacie threw her arms wide, indicating the crowded dining hall. Sun Gi arched an eyebrow, unsure if she was trying to be funny or if it was a low-key brag about how well the bar was doing.
Luis laughed nervously. “Thanks, Stace.”
Stacie nabbed Luis by the elbow and steered him toward the bar. “Guys, I’m going to borrow him for a minute.” She waved as she walked away. “Have fun.”
“And then there were two,” Arnold mumbled.
“I thought being a wingman would be more difficult.”
Arnold smirked. “Seems like Luis had his own reasons for suggesting we go out tonight.” Turning fully to Sun Gi, Arnold added, “You can bounce if you want. I won’t hold it against you.”
Sun Gi nodded. “Appreciate that, man.”
“Later.” They slapped hands and then separated—Arnold to find a spare seat and a beautiful woman to keep him company and Sun Gi to the exits.
Next time Luis drags me out of my office, I’m choosing the place.
Sun Gi was just about to slink through the door when the lights went out. Music thudded through the dimly lit room. The bass dropped. A keyboard played a steady electric sound. Light shot from an orb-like disco-ball, dispersing red and green dots on the wall and ceiling.
Then someone began to sing.
It was a well-known reggae song. Sun Gi didn’t listen to reggae often, but even he had heard this one pounding from the speakers in shops and restaurants all over the city.
Yet it wasn’t the melody that held him captive.
It was the voice.
The woman had a crooning trill, a sound that had been created and nurtured in the soul. She infused enough breathiness in her words to make it sexy without being cartoony. He was instantly enraptured and spun to find the owner of the voice.
She stood beneath a spotlight on the stage, every bit as sultry as her voice with curly brown hair that fell past her shoulders and a slim body with enough curves to stop traffic.
Sun Gi noticed the way the room was drawn to her, hanging on her every word, every exhale, every beat. Something in the back of his mind told him his response wasn’t unique, but he couldn’t hold back the tide of his intrigue.
She was calling to him, speaking to him in a place he thought no one could ever invade. As her slender fingers tightened on the microphone, so did her grip on his heart.
The singer took the song a key higher, her voice sailing flawlessly through the room. Her eyes were closed, eyebrows squeezed tightly as she belted out lyrics about love and passion.
He took in every inch of her tight black top and flared skirt that somehow looked classier on her than it did on the waitresses skating around the room.
Through the mask, beneath the pinpointing lights, she opened her eyes.
Their gazes met.
For a moment, he thought he must be mistaken. She couldn’t be staring at him. But when she didn’t look away, Sun Gi knew that the connection was real.
He stood there, immobile as she weaved her spell, dark brown eyes pinning him in place, hands weaving out at her sides like a dancer.
Towards the end of the song, she slowed down the arrangement. No one else would have thought to break up the melody like that, but her voice pulled it off. She was music, her head, her arms, her legs—simply a vehicle for the melody.
Even after the last note faded into silence like a raindrop evaporating on a blade of grass, the singer kept his attention.
No one breathed.
Then the applause swooped through the room, a roaring tide on a quiet beach. She raised an arm and waved at the crowd, but not once did she move her focus from him.
Beneath the mask, he thought he saw her smirking his way before she ducked her head and scampered off the stage.
Stacie took over the mike. Her squeaky voice shattered the illusion and he saw several people recoiling as the feedback ricocheted around the room.
Sun Gi shook his head, a little off kilter like a man who’d risen from a dream.
Another singer took over, but most just ignored her and returned to drinking. Sun Gi saw a head bobbing toward him and recognized Arnold with a blonde on his arm. She looked vaguely familiar. Maybe they’d gone to sixth form together.
Arnold stared at him in shock. “You’re still here?”
“Yeah.” He glanced over Arnold’s head at the stage. What kind of performer only stuck around for one song?
Arnold followed the direction of his gaze and smirked. “That first singer was incredible, wasn’t she?”
Sun Gi’s eyes moved to the stage again.
Arnold was still talking but he couldn’t focus. He felt… unsettled somehow. Exposed. He had to find out why the singer had been looking at him.
He had to find the girl.
2
Jo’s feet pounded against the stairs that led backstage. When she was fully behind the curtains, she wrenched the frilly mask off and handed it to the arm that stretched toward her.
“That. Was. Insane!” Carrie Lockwood stepped into the light. The lone white bulb suspended on the ceiling revealed her long black hair, dark brown skin and almond-shaped eyes. “Girl, I knew you sang but I didn’t know you could sang!”
Jo chuckled. “Carrie, those are the exact same words.”
“There’s a difference.” Carrie followed her further into the room. Boxes were stacked, one-on-top of the other, filling most of the space. To the right stood a Chinese folding screen.
Jo stepped behind it and wiggled out of her skirt. “Thanks for calling me tonight.”
“Girl thank you for showing up. Our singer was running late and Stacie was about to bite my head off. I swear, I don’t know how anyone puts up with the woman. If this job didn’t pay so well…” Carrie groaned.
“Be thankful you even have a job.”
“What are you talking about?”
Jo threw the skirt over the top of the screen and reached for the jeans that were folded on the floor. “I got into an argument with Halmoni today.”
“What’s your grandma’s problem?”
“She wanted me to quit helping out at Sweet Treats.”
“That cute bakery next to the trade school?” A thud sounded as Carrie leaned against the screen. “Why?”
Jo steadied the rocking wood with a hand. “You heard about Joon Gi Kim, right?”
“Yeah, he was all over the news. He got busted for bribery.”
“Sky’s dating him. Halmoni hates their relationship and told me to quit. I told her I wasn’t going to do that and then Halmoni said I could either work at her store or at Sweat Treats.”
“Harsh, but it’s not like you loved working at the grocery store. You have your own dreams.”
“My dreams can’t pay the bills, and the grocery store is safe, stable income. I’m not sure what I should do.”
Carrie waved away her concern. “Focus on the positive. You did it, girl! You just got on stage and wrecked the room! You should be proud of yourself.”
Jo slipped her feet into her jeans and grinned.
Performing with a mask on had sent her song to another level.
It had also given her a chance to
confess her feelings without revealing who she was.
The last person she’d expected to lock eyes with while on stage was Joon Gi’s brother. She’d honed in on his familiar face, pretending they were lovers meeting again after years apart.
The acting helped her get into character and was probably one of the reasons the audience went off when she was done.
I wonder if Sun Gi recognized me?
“Are you almost finished in there?” Carrie asked, breaking her from the trance.
“Give me a minute.” Jo pulled on her plain, unflattering T-shirt. She folded the silky black top that Carrie had given her when she rushed into The Hidden Reef ten minutes ago.
After draping it over her arm, she stepped out.
Carrie was right there waiting for her.
Thick eyelashes fanning up and down, she clutched Jo’s arm. “I’m so sorry about your grandmother and losing your job. Should we have a few drinks after closing?”
“I’m okay. Mom and Dad will worry if I stay out late.”
Carrie dropped her arm and broke away with a roll of her eyes. “I have no idea how you live with your parents.”
Jo shrugged.
“Don’t you want your own space?” Carrie insisted.
“Maybe. I always thought I’d move out after marriage and even then newlyweds and parents sometimes live together. It’s a culture thing.”
Carrie shuddered.
Jo grabbed her purse from the table and slung it over her shoulder. “If you have another singing emergency, feel free to call me.” She wiggled her finger playfully. “But I might be jobless in a few days so I’m charging next time.”