Sugar is Sweet

by Snow, Jenika

  She’d fallen for him, fallen in love with the man she didn’t think she could ever have. Yet here she was, Lucas baring his soul to her, the promise of a future between them a reality.

  “I love you, Milly. I think I loved you from the moment I saw you. It’s crazy and fast, but it feels right, baby.”

  She couldn’t help but smile. Millie wrapped her arms around his neck and pressed her body to his, rising up on her toes to be the one to kiss him this time.

  He moaned against her mouth and tangled his hand in the back of her hair, keeping her head toward him, her mouth on his.

  This was perfection, and she knew that no matter what, they were in this together.

  They broke away, both of them panting, arousal thick between them. He took her hand in his, gave it a squeeze, and smiled down at her.

  “We’re in this together, Millie.”

  She nodded and took a deep breath. She didn’t know if he would tell anyone about them tonight, and as much as she wanted to be prepared, being in the spotlight had never been her thing.

  They made their way out to the main room, sat at the table, and as the catering company served them, she watched as Lucas stood at the head of the table.

  He held his glass up, making a toast as he did every year, about how proud he was of the restaurant and all the work everyone did. But then he turned and faced her, and Millie’s heart jumped in her throat. Her stomach tightened because the look he gave her told her he was about to blow their secret. He was about to tell everyone exactly what they were to each other.

  She glanced around at everyone, some looking at her with curious expressions on their faces, others looking like they might already know what was going on. They glanced at her, then back at Lucas. He still stood, his glass raised, this look of total adoration on his face as he stared at her.

  “I also just wanted to say that I wouldn’t have been able to plan or organize any of this without you all, especially Millie, who helped me detail the menu.”

  Okay, maybe he wouldn’t tell everything about them. But then he cleared his voice and glanced down for a second. When he lifted his head and looked at her, she felt her breath catch.

  “But what I really wanted to say was that…” He took a deep breath and she glanced around the table.

  “If this is about Millie and you seeing each other,” Teddy, one of the sous chefs, said, “we all know.”

  She felt her eyes widen. They all knew?

  “I mean, the way you two look at each other,” Rosa said.

  “And the way she would go to your office a lot,” Michael said.

  There was a round of laughter.

  “It’s cool. We approve,” Sharon said.

  And before Millie knew what was happening, Lucas was moving toward her. She felt her eyes widen as he helped her to stand, cupped her nape, and leaned in to kiss her in front of everyone. For a second, she was frozen in place, her eyes open wide, the feeling of everyone watching them having her body tight.

  But the longer he kissed her, Millie felt herself grow soft against him.

  Oh, fuck it.

  She wrapped her arms around him and opened her mouth, sliding her tongue against his. There was a cheer of approval from everyone, and she couldn’t help but grin against his mouth.

  Looked like there was no secret anymore, and as strange as it was, as fast as things were moving, she was more than okay with that.

  18

  “What do you want to be when you grow up?” Millie asked, watching as Timothy flicked over the page. She was waiting for Lucas to get ready before they headed to the restaurant together. She was waiting tables while Lucas made sure everything ran smoothly. She knew they were fully booked till midnight and wouldn’t close their doors until after two in the morning.

  Timothy’s nanny was taking him for the night and Lucas had promised his son a week of doing whatever he wanted, no questions, no arguments.

  She had also been invited. She adored Timothy so much and in the past few days, she had enjoyed every second she spent with him. He was just so … lovable. Like his dad.

  “I want to be a chef like dad, and a fireman, and I want to help people. Millie, can I ask you something?”

  “Of course, you can. You can ask me anything.”

  “Will you be my mommy?”

  Out of everything she would have expected a young boy to ask, being his mommy wasn’t on her list. Her cheeks heated and her heart raced.

  This was … how did she get out of this? Lucas didn’t talk about Timothy’s mother and well, she didn’t even know how far her relationship with Lucas was going to go.

  “We’ll talk about this later, Timothy,” Lucas said.

  She looked toward his dad and wondered if he was mad at her.

  She hadn’t done anything wrong, but this was a huge step. She and Lucas had only really started dating a few weeks ago, and things were moving really fast.

  Millie got to her feet as Lucas entered the room. He kissed his son, hugged him, and as she was leaving, Timothy asked for a hug and kiss as well.

  She didn’t want to look like the mean old girlfriend, so she kissed him. The truth was, she loved the young boy so much already. Being his mother would be an honor but … this was so far out of her comfort zone.

  They left Lucas’s apartment and neither of them spoke on the elevator down to his car. She tried not to stare at him, hoping she wouldn’t see anything that could risk getting her heart broke.

  The awkwardness didn’t exactly make for a very comfortable experience. When the doors opened up, she breathed a sigh of relief, only they were about to have a short car drive to the restaurant. Not to mention the mounting tension as they served many guests wanting the perfect night.

  Clicking her seat belt into place, she waited for him to pull out, chancing a glance over at him to see how he was coping.

  “I didn’t mean for Timothy to ask that question,” she said.

  “I know.”

  “Are you mad at me?”

  “Why would I be mad at you?”

  “I don’t know. You usually talk, but right now, it feels like you’re angry with me.”

  She gasped as Lucas grabbed her hand. “I’m not angry at you, sweetness. I’m thinking.”

  “What is there to think about?” she asked.

  It was Valentine’s Day. The night for love and romance. Only their night hadn’t exactly gone off great. She couldn’t even be angry with Lucas or Timothy.

  “Millie, you mean a lot to me. Being with you, it’s what I want. I want to make a life with you, so much so that I even shared my son with you.” They stopped at a traffic light and Lucas looked toward her.

  “I’m so sorry.”

  “I want him to have a mother, Millie. I want him to know what it’s like to have both parents, but I also know from personal experience that this is not something you just jump into without knowing what you’re giving up.”

  She swallowed past the lump in her throat. “You think I can’t handle it?”

  “I know you’re young and so incredibly talented even if you can’t perfect the best hollandaise sauce. I want nothing more than for you to be Timothy’s mother. I’m not upset that he asked you. I’m fucking thrilled that he loves you just a fraction of what I do. You and Timothy, you’re both my life and I know that this can be a full-time job by itself.” He had to stop looking at her as the light had turned to green. “I feel like I’m hitting you with a lot of shit just lately. Moving in with me …”

  “It’s not a lot of shit, Lucas. What is it you want to ask me?” She knew there was something clearly on his mind and she wanted to relieve him of whatever concerns he had. She loved Timothy and regardless of her age or career, she’d gladly be his mother, but that also meant she and Lucas had to be permanent. Could she really hope for him to want to take this to the next level?

  “Millie, will you marry me?” he asked.

  Out of everything she expected him to say, that wasn’t it.<
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  She stared at him in shock.

  That was a giant leap she wanted but hadn’t anticipated him actually asking.

  19

  Several days later

  She hadn’t actually answered Lucas about marriage, but it had been on her mind. It had consumed her, if she were being honest. But she also didn’t know how to fully respond.

  Marriage? They’d just agreed to move in together, yet as fast as this was all going, it also felt so right.

  She sat at her kitchen table, boxes all over the place, her place half-packed. She had school books in front of her, papers spread out as she created menus for her class. Valentine’s Day had come and gone, the restaurant had done incredibly during the rush, yet all she could think about was Lucas and how her life was going in all kinds of different directions.

  Millie closed her textbook and leaned back on the chair, exhaling roughly as she felt the stress of everything start to settle on her shoulders.

  She saw Lucas every day, tried to spend as much time with him and Timothy as possible. She thought about Timothy’s question, about her being his mother. With time, she’d love to be a mother figure to him, but as with all things in life, it would take time. She was new to him, someone his father was getting serious with.

  But the more she thought about marrying Lucas right now, the more she wanted to get to know him and Timothy better, settle in their lives, and finish school.

  On the heels of that, she thought about being with Lucas forever, marrying him, being tied in that way. She wanted it all; wanted her independence, to get things more stable with Lucas, and to finish school.

  So many discussions.

  She looked down at her left hand, at where a wedding ring would be. The thought of Lucas slipping that on her finger had her smiling.

  God, she was so conflicted.

  The sound of someone at her front door had Millie standing and walking toward it. She grabbed the handle and opened it, seeing Lucas standing there, his button-down shirt tucked into his dark slacks, his whole appearance making her instantly aroused.

  He looked like he’d just come from the restaurant, maybe going over the next few weeks’ menus. His hair was disheveled, as if he’d been running his fingers through it.

  “Lucas,” she said softly. “I didn’t know you were coming over.” She smiled.

  He looked like he hadn’t been sleeping well, with a little bit of darkness around his eyes.

  “Lucas, are you okay?” She stepped aside and let him in. After closing the door, Millie stood there facing him, watching as he ran his hand over the back of his neck, hearing the soft sigh that escaped him.

  He turned and faced her, almost looking defeated. “You know I love you, right?”

  She took a step toward him and wrapped her arms around his waist, pressing her body to his. “I love you too, Lucas. Where is this coming from?”

  He cupped her face and leaned in to kiss her, lingering on her lips longer than was necessary, but she wasn’t complaining.

  “It’s just, after asking you to move in, then asking you to marry me, and the silence that came from you the last few days, I was worried I fucked things up.” He sounded frustrated and she shook her head and smiled.

  “You didn’t fuck anything up.”

  “I don’t want you to think I’m rushing you. I just can’t think of not being with you, Millie.”

  “It’s just, I’ve had a lot on my mind is all.”

  He rested his forehead against hers and closed his eyes.

  “I feel there’s so much we don’t know about each other. I want to get to know you and Timothy. I do want to marry you, but I want things to evolve. I want us to date, to figure each other out. I want us to screw up and make up.” She rose on her toes and kissed him. “So, this is a yes, I will marry you, but let’s have some us time first.”

  She saw him smile and felt the stress leave her.

  “I want to know everything about you too, baby.”

  As he held her, thoughts played through her head, questions that maybe could have waited, but she figured if they were baring themselves right now, it was the best time to broach the subject.

  “What happened to Timothy’s mom?” She felt him tense against her and pull back to look into her eyes.

  “She was just a girl I knew, one that didn’t tell me she was pregnant until she knocked on my door with an infant. She handed him over, said I needed to get to know my son, and left.” He pulled back and walked away, stopping and looking at a picture of her and her parents on the wall. “She never came back.” He faced Millie, looking pained. “But I’d fallen in love with that little boy and wasn’t about to give him up, not without a fight. So, I went through all the legal routes, made things official, and the whole time I thought Shannon would come back.”

  Her heart hurt for Lucas and for Timothy.

  “But she never came back.” He gave her a sad smile. “Makes no difference because Timothy has never known a day of not being loved, and I say that’s a win.”

  She nodded. “Oh, Lucas.” She walked up to him and was the one to hold him this time.

  “I think the rush I have for you and all the things I want for us is because I don’t want to lose you. That’s my fear.”

  “I love you and nothing will change that,” she whispered. “I fell in love with you the moment I saw you. You’re stuck with me.” She tightened her arms around him. “I’m not going anywhere.”

  Millie closed her eyes and just listened to the sound of his heart beating beneath her ear.

  Things could be crazy in life but being held by Lucas was absolute perfection.

  Epilogue

  Two years later

  “You’re the prettiest bride ever,” Timothy said.

  Millie stared down at the young boy who would now be her son. She didn’t for a second believe he’d ever be her stepson, as she already loved him as if he was her own. Regardless of who his real mother was, Timothy was part of Lucas, and she loved both of them with all of her heart.

  Over the last twenty-four months a lot had changed. Not only was she living with Lucas and Timothy, she’d gotten engaged to Lucas over a year ago, and now stood here staring at her husband. She’d finished culinary school, and she was working toward a promotion at Lucas’s restaurant. It was the one place she’d always wanted to be, but she’d do it with hard work, not because she was with the owner.

  When she got a chef position, it would be because she’d worked her tail off. So, she was shadowing the chefs, learning the tricks and trades that school didn’t offer.

  And she loved every second of it, loved working from the ground up to hone her skill.

  Glancing past Timothy, she saw the man of her dreams, her new husband, as he made his way across the dance floor, heading straight toward her. Her heart raced as she watched him. No one stepped foot in his path and it made her ache in all the right places to know they were now bound together forever.

  Their wedding hadn’t been a big elaborate affair. There had only been close friends and family in attendance.

  Millie had eyes for no one else but this man. The love of her life.

  “Hey, champ. You keeping all the other men away from my wife?”

  Timothy giggled. “Yeah, Dad.”

  Lucas kissed his son on the crown of the head and sent him toward his grandmother, who waved at them. In the next second, he had his arms around her, and his lips against hers.

  “I missed you,” he said.

  “You were dealing with all of our guests.”

  “I’m the groom. My only priority is you.”

  “I think it’s the businessman in you. You’ve got to make sure everyone is taken care of.”

  “And how are you doing?” he asked. He tightened his arm around her waist and she loved it when he looked into her eyes as if she was the only woman in the world. The only person who mattered to him.

  “I’m the happiest woman in the world.”

  “Really?�
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  “Yes. This is a dream.”

  “It’s not a huge affair, and you deserve only the best, only the biggest.”

  She giggled. “I don’t need a huge wedding. I didn’t want one, to be honest.” She locked her fingers together at the back of his neck. “All I need is you, Timothy, and the priest. Nothing else matters. I love you, Lucas. I’ve loved you for a long time. This, for me, is the dream.”

  He grinned and leaned down to kiss her.

  All of the people disappeared and to Millie it felt like they were the only two in the world.

  “I’m going to make sure you never have a reason to doubt this, to ever doubt my love for you,” Lucas said, pulling away from the kiss.

  Sliding a hand to his chest, she felt the rapid beating of his heart, and sighed.

  He took hold of her hand, locking their fingers together. He turned her around and she looked at Timothy. He stood watching the two of them, his hands clenched together in excitement.

  She let go of Lucas’s hand, and held hers out for Timothy, who rushed on to the dance floor, his arms circling her and Lucas together.

  This was her happy family.

  Her life.

  Her future, and one day soon, they were going to give Timothy brothers and sisters. Lucas smiled at her and whispered the words “I love you.”

  The End

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