BARON
“Baron?”Sunny’s dark eyes grow wide and twinkle with mischief. She lifts her glass of iced tea and brings it to her lips, enjoying her drink like it’s the greatest thing she’s ever tasted. She’s so easy to please, but I wish she’d make me work harder. I feel like an unworthy shit trying to earn the affection she willingly offers. I wanted to order her a glass of wine, but she refused to lie about her age. She’s a week from turning twenty and admits she’d lie if she was that close to twenty-one, but the gap is too far to justify in her mind. After years of being lost in the fake jungle of Hollywood, her honesty slays me.
“Is something wrong with your food?” I cut into my steak and take a bite, admiring the flush on her cheeks and the vertical line plunging into her cleavage. I boasted that I’d blow her socks off after dinner, but I don’t know what that means. It was said in the heat of the moment when I felt her nipples graze my shirt. My body responded. My voice had a mind of its own and shouted promises I’m not sure I can deliver. I haven’t had sex in years. What if I blow it before we get through the door?
Dear God, I will never be able to face her again. But I can’t live without my Sunny. Why the shit did I have to promise a thing like that?
She shakes her head and gives me an earnest expression, placing her elbows on the table to let me know she means business. I’m all ears. “I want you to tell me why you’re not speaking to my brothers anymore. Why did you fire Sebastian, and why did Seth quit? It never felt right to me, and Mom won’t give me the details. She doesn’t want to get involved.”
This was inevitable. We’ve avoided the subject all week, and although I hoped we could sweep it under the rug a while longer, now that we’re taking our relationship to another level, it’s best to get it out in the open.
“I’m glad you asked.” I clear my throat and summon the nerve to lay it all on the table.
“Please be honest with me, “she pleads with her eyes, my favorite eyes in the entire world.
I bob my head and reach for her hand. “I know what your brothers mean to you, sunshine. The last thing I want to do is speak ill of them or drive a wedge between you---” A wandering violinist with bad timing swoops past us and drowns out my voice.
“It’s not one or the other, Baron. I can make up my own mind.” She yells over the music, then shrinks in her seat when her volume draws attention from other tables.
I squeeze her hand and release a breath I’ve held since that stupid day in Vegas. “It’s silly, really. I’ve been in love with you since my twenty-eighth birthday party, and I’ve been fucking miserable keeping it a secret from you. Seth knew. I didn’t know he knew, but he did. Then a month ago, he got pissed at me and outed me in front of a crowd in Las Vegas. But more importantly, he outed me in front of Sebastian, who’d been fucking clueless. Sebastian threw a fit. He warned me to stay the hell away from you and quit on the spot. I never fired him. When he found out I was moving here, he did what he could to make you go home. I guess that’s why he stopped helping you with your rent. I didn’t know about that part until you told me, and I’m so sorry, baby.”
Her stunned expression softens and transforms her tight lips into a swollen pout. Her unblinking gaze sharpens, but she remains speechless.
“Talk to me, baby. Are you mad, sad, shocked, ready to tear this place apart?” I wiggle her fingers and hope I haven’t ruined our special evening.
A server stops by the table and clears her half-eaten plate. She turns on the charm, smiles, and thanks him for his help. Before he leaves, she nudges me to ask for the check with the same bubbly inflection. I’m not sure if she’s angry or eager to be alone. When he disappears, she whips her head to face me and breathes fire.
“How dare they treat me like a baby!” She seethes and pounds her fist into the table. “That jerk made me feel guilty about losing his job, and he quit just to deny his sister a little sex!”
I cheer her on, then gasp, nearly falling out of my seat. “Hey! I’m more than sex.”
She nods and locks her hand with mine. “Of course, you are. But he doesn’t know that. He doesn’t know how I feel about you. And at the bare minimum, he thought he could deny me a good time because he knew better than me. I’m a big girl, Baron. I can make my own decisions about what cocks I do or do not want to enjoy. End of story. Oh my God, the freaking nerve of that sanctimonious jerk.”
I sign the check, and my hand trembles with the throbbing pulse of my racing heart. “Cocks you want to enjoy? Do you want to give me a stroke?”
“I’m being facetious.”
“I was going to take you to the top of the Empire State Building, missy.” I check the time and wipe the sweat from my hairline, unsure if I can last another hour before making her mine.
“We can still go.” She nods, then shakes her head in tune with mine.
“No, I don’t think we can.”