She nodded. “It was a quick discussion, but one I needed to hear. I’d let things go too far between us. Overreached, just like with Jesse. I was just going to get hurt.”
“And what about me getting hurt? I was already feeling down, but then you ran out on me without a word and refused to return my calls. It hurt me that you would pull away without even trying to talk to me.”
Lauren scoffed. “You’re Sutton Wingate. You’ll have some buxom, poised socialite on your arm in no time and you’ll forget all about me and how hurt you are.”
“Forget about you?” He sounded incredulous. “I can’t forget about you, Lauren. Believe me, I’ve tried. Those days after the masquerade party, I couldn’t get you out of my mind. You haunted my dreams.”
“That girl wasn’t me. She was glamorous and elegant and all the things I’m not. That night was a fluke and you fell for nothing more than some fancy window dressing courtesy of the Cinderella Sweepstakes. Take away the masks and the makeup and all you have left is me.”
“Take all that away and all that’s left is a smart, talented, caring, sexy woman who means more to me than anyone else. You talk about yourself as though I could ever be disappointed in who you are or how you look. I fell for you without even having seen your face. And once the mask was gone, things only got better. The real woman is so much more amazing than the mystery could ever be. And when I thought I’d driven you away by the mess my life had become, I wanted to kick myself.”
“Driven away?” Lauren asked. “What do you mean?”
Sutton sighed. “When we went to the club that day, the laughter on the other side of the room was all I could hear or think about. The others joking about my family’s misfortune and how we’re all just criminals doomed to wind up in jail... It taunted me from almost the moment we stepped inside. I knew that going to the club was a mistake then, but it was important for me to keep it together and help you get over your fears—” regret tightened the corners of his mouth “—That’s why I had to take a minute away. I was embarrassed by the talk, but didn’t want you, or them, to know it. When you vanished, I thought maybe you’d heard enough and decided I wasn’t worth the trouble. You would’ve been right if you had. Because I think you deserve better than a mess like me.”
* * *
Lauren’s mouth dropped open, her expression one of utter disbelief. “How could you believe you’re not worth the trouble? You’re an incredible man. An innocent man. And seeing you through these rough times is absolutely worth it.”
He was relieved that she thought so, but he still felt the need to explain himself. “And when I came here today, you were right about me constantly trying to fix things. I have probably made you feel worse about yourself with my misplaced drive to succeed. You don’t need fixing and I never meant to imply that you did.”
“Sutton, I—”
He held up a hand. “No, please let me finish. This needs to be said.” Swallowing hard, he continued. “I realize now that your business is yours to run however you want to. If you want food trucks or a restaurant or a hot dog stand, that’s your choice and I’m happy to stand by your side whatever you want to do. The truth is that I wasn’t pushing you because you weren’t good enough. I was pushing you because I felt useless. I’ve had all this power and control from the moment my brother and I took over the business from my father when he got sick. And in an instant, the bottom fell out on us all and it was stripped away.
“I had everything and suddenly, I had nothing. Choosing which coffee to make in the morning was as close as I got to making an important decision. Then I found that helping with your business made me feel useful again. I was able to help you build and grow and achieve goals that you may not have even had, but I couldn’t stop myself. I’m sorry for turning your life into a project.”
Lauren moved closer to him on the couch and reached out to place her hand over his. “Don’t apologize. You got me to dream bigger than I ever would have on my own. Because of you and your help, I’m opening my dream restaurant. Without you, Sutton, it would’ve taken me years to work up the nerve to even try. You refused to let me stand behind imaginary barriers and pushed me to be my best self—” she released a ragged breath “—Yes, I worried that you were pushing me so I was good enough for some standard society had set, but I went along with it because I wanted to be worthy of someday being a Wingate, and—”
“Wait,” Sutton interrupted. His heart stuttered at the words she’d just said. “Did you just say you wanted to be a...a Wingate?”
Lauren’s cheeks flushed red and her lips pressed tightly together as she tried to suppress her embarrassment. She’d obviously said more than she intended to. “I didn’t mean anytime soon, obviously. There are other factors at play, of course. And we’ve just started, really uh...”
“I love you, Lauren.”
It was the first time he’d said those words aloud to anyone aside from his close family, and even they were not a particularly touchy-feely group. He’d certainly never even come close to saying it to a woman before. The phrase felt amazing on his lips so he said it again. “I love you.”
“I heard you the first time,” she said with wide eyes. “I just thought perhaps I was imagining it.”
Sutton leaned in and took her hand into his own. “You’re not imagining anything. I love you. And I love you just as you are. I don’t care if you’re wearing fancy gowns, sweatpants or your chef’s whites. You are perfect and I’ll never try to change who you are.”
Lauren sat silent and still as he spoke. After a moment without a response, he reached out to caress her cheek. “Lauren?”
“I love you, too,” she blurted out as she snapped back to life and took a deep breath of relief. “Even after you said it first, it was still a little scary to finally say the words out loud.”
“You scared me for a second,” Sutton admitted with a smile. He leaned in and pressed his lips to hers. He’d missed the feeling of touching her these last few days. Actually, he’d missed everything about her, but didn’t want to push her if she wasn’t ready to talk. Now he had her back in his arms for the second time and, this time, he wasn’t letting go.
The warm sensation of love filled his chest for the first time and urged him on. He told himself before he came here today that he was going to say everything that was on his mind. If she rejected him, he would cope with that and move on, but so far, so good.
Forcing himself to break off the kiss, he sat back and looked into the golden brown eyes that had first captivated him at the party. “Lauren, I know that you have a lot on your mind with the restaurant and all. But do you think you can answer one more question for me?”
“Of course,” Lauren said. “What is it?”
“I’ve been thinking a lot about us these last few days and about what I would say if you finally answered the phone again. I’ve run it over in my mind dozens of times. And the most important part is not only that I love you, but that I can’t envision my future without you in it any longer. I want to be there when you open the doors of The Eatery for the first night and the hundredth night and the thousandth night. And I want you to be at my side when we walk back into the family estate with our names cleared at last.”
Sutton clutched her hand and slipped off the couch onto his knee. “But most importantly, I want to spend the rest of my life with you, Lauren. Which is why I was so happy to hear you say you’d thought about becoming a Wingate. Because honestly, truly, the only thing I would ever change about you...is your last name. Will you marry me?”
Tears started welling in Lauren’s eyes. Thankfully, a smile spread across her face and allayed his fears. “I will,” she said. “Absolutely, yes!”
Sutton leapt to his feet and pulled Lauren up with him. He wrapped her in his arms, hugging her tightly against him before capturing her lips in a sizzling kiss. There was a time this week when he thought he might not
get to hold her again. And now, he had his bride-to-be wrapped in his protective embrace.
When he could finally bear to pull away from her, he reached into his pocket and pulled out a small jewelry box. “I picked this out, but if you don’t like it, we can absolutely take it back for a different design.” He opened it up and held up the engagement ring he’d chosen for her. It was a bezel set, round, two karat solitaire with channel-set diamonds in the platinum band. It was beautiful, but it was even more important to him that the ring would be easy for her to wear. She was in a constant state of putting on and removing food service gloves and he didn’t want it snagging or, God forbid, falling into someone’s meal.
Now he just held his breath and waited for the verdict. And it came when she plucked it from the box and slipped it onto her finger, beaming with pride.
“It’s perfect,” she breathed. “Actually, it’s beyond perfect. I never dreamed of anything as lovely as this is.”
“Do you mean it? I didn’t want it to interfere with your work, so I chose a setting that was mostly flat.”
Lauren admired it for another moment and then caressed his cheek. “I do mean it.”
“I’m glad. And I know you’re busy ramping up the new restaurant, so I don’t want you to worry about the wedding right now. There’s no hurry. Maybe by next summer, you’ll be comfortable enough to take some time away and could use the break. And if I’m lucky, maybe the Wingate Estate will be back in our hands. If so, we can have a beautiful wedding there. Or wherever you want, really. It’s entirely up to you.”
“All I care about is the food,” Lauren said with a smile.
“I thought you might say that. It’s going to be hard to find a caterer talented enough to make you happy, but I look forward to taste testing until we find one.”
Lauren shook her head and looked at him with eyes full of love and excitement. She had the same expression on her face as she did when Gracie offered to invest in the restaurant. He’d been jealous that day that he hadn’t been responsible for making her dreams come true. But now, as she looked at him with the same unabashed joy, he realized he’d succeeded. She had more than one dream and he was a part of them all.
“You are amazingly thoughtful, Sutton Wingate. You bring me bouquets of fragrant herbs instead of pretty, but useless flowers. You choose an engagement ring that won’t snag on anything so I can wear it always. You offer to eat your way through Texas with me to find just the right caterer. Who would’ve expected that underneath it all the big, bad wolf was such a softie?”
“Don’t tell anyone,” he said with a grin. “You never know when you might need your wolf to huff and puff and blow someone’s house down.”
“What a big heart you have.”
“The better to love you with, my dear.”
Epilogue
The restaurant was really coming together.
Lauren took a step back from the accent wall they were painting bright blue and smiled. Her vision was coming to life and soon, she would have everything she ever wanted.
“I feel like a Smurf.”
She turned to where Sutton was rolling the wall a few feet down. He was covered in tiny blue speckles of cast off, in addition to smears of white, red and black paint all over his clothes. They’d been painting for what felt like days, but they were in the homestretch. From there, they’d have the new hardwood floors laid and they could bring in all the new furniture Gracie had ordered.
“You make an adorable one,” Lauren said as she leaned in to give him a kiss.
“That only makes me feel slightly better,” Sutton returned as he laid down the paint roller.
“How about if I offer to give you a sponge bath later and make sure every drop of paint is gone by bedtime?”
His wicked grin returned. “That sounds like a plan.”
Before she could respond, Sutton’s cell phone starting ringing on the floor a few feet away. He turned to look at it, frowning at the screen. “It’s my brother, Miles.”
“Hey Miles. What’s going on?”
Lauren sat the edging brush down in the paint tray and walked over to where he was standing. She couldn’t hear the conversation on the line, but she could tell by the suddenly serious expression on his face that it was important.
“Okay. I’ll be there.” Sutton hung up the phone, continuing to frown at the blank screen.
“What is it?” Lauren asked.
“My brother says he’s found out something important, but he wouldn’t elaborate over the phone. He called an emergency family meeting tonight at six.”
“What do you think it’s about?”
Sutton shook his head. “I don’t know for sure, but judging by the sound of his voice, he may have found the piece of information we’ve been looking for.”
“What piece of information?”
Sutton sighed and rubbed his face thoughtfully. “If we’re lucky...maybe the evidence we need to prove to the world that the Wingates were set up. And by whom.”
* * *
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Untamed Passion
by Cat Schield
One
Six weeks ago
Oliver Lowell glared at the single word scrawled across the bottom of the birthday card. Someday. No signature. No “sorry I missed your birthday.” Just one word that roused every demon Oliver had wrestled into submission these last eight years of sobriety.
Someday? What the hell kind of creepy message was that? A threat? A promise?
Just like everything else that reminded him of his father, receiving the gift of an expensive rod and reel had turned Oliver upside down. Too many times Vernon Lowell had promised to schedule a fishing trip only to have one thing after another take precedence. Was it any wonder that by the time Oliver entered high school the relationship between father and youngest son had soured to the point where they couldn’t be in the same room together without snarling at each other?
Oliver tossed aside the card, grabbed his camera and headed out into the warmth of a Manhattan September afternoon. The acrid scent of exhaust and grumble of rushing traffic struck Oliver’s senses as he paused on the sidewalk, gripped by a rare bout of indecision. Lost in a turbulent swirl of anger and resentment, he had no idea which way to turn.
Eight years earlier, he would’ve sought out his favorite dealer and scored something to dull his rage. Oblivion had been his best friend back then, his favorite way to cope with the loathing and self-disgust that no amount of professional success could eliminate. He’d been in his early twenties, either high or crashing, indifferent to how his behavior affected everyone a
round him. And then came the day when he’d decided to stop his destructive behavior. Sobriety hadn’t made things any easier. In fact, his life became a whole lot worse as he had to face the consequences of his actions. Consequences he continued to address every day as he navigated negative opinions and constant temptation.
Which was why when his feet finally began to move, he strode toward the Soho Grand Hotel. He intended to remind himself that he was firmly in control of his addiction and not the other way around.
Bypassing the high ceilings and optimistic atmosphere of the Grand Bar and Lounge, Oliver made for the Club Room, with its large photos of vintage films and artfully grouped sofas and armchairs. At six in the evening, the place was nearly full, and Oliver snagged the only available table near the entrance with a direct line of sight to the bar.
A waiter approached and addressed him by name. Although Oliver never drank alcohol, today he ordered a neat whiskey instead of his usual club soda with lime. Impatience burned in his chest at the waiter’s surprise. He didn’t often test his control this way.
The rage that had cooled while he’d walked through the late summer evening flared once again. The emotion was a destructive, living thing in his gut that stole his energy and ability to focus. It was the source of every bad decision he’d ever made.
While he awaited the drink, Oliver sent his gaze touring the bar in a desperate search for a much-needed distraction from the all-too-familiar need for the numbness that drugs and alcohol provided. Through most of his teenage years and into his early twenties, oblivion had been his only escape from the anger that fed on his soul. Once he’d gotten clean, he’d still grappled with the rage that simmered close to the surface. During his early days of sobriety, while he’d been learning how to cope with his darker emotions, he’d still needed an escape. With controlled substances no longer an option, he’d found a new kind of addiction. Hooking up with anonymous women for a quick, down-and-dirty fix in a random hotel room, bathroom or even alley had seemed like the perfect cure for what ailed him. Yet those fleeting encounters left him empty and out of sorts.
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