Page 20 of Sugar Pie
My heart stirred when I saw Warren’s broad shoulders and bright smile. My husband had never made me feel tingly like Warren did. He closed the door, came up beside me, and said, “You didn’t answer your phone.”
Fair. I hadn’t thought about him. “I had to trash it, but I talked to your brother before that, and my papers should be served today. I hope you can call him now that you’re home.”
He nodded and held my arm gently. “Are you okay?”
The world went hazy when I was near him. I swallowed. “Is the job you mentioned earlier still available?”
His eyes widened. “Yes. With your help, I’ll work faster, and we’ll help each other achieve our dreams.”
His dream was more tangible, but the offer meant I would earn income to survive. Although my contracting experience was limited to years of decorating my house, my only interactions generally with the delivery people, that might come in handy if I needed to give a suggestion on the best lighting or kitchen schematic.
Either way, I wasn’t sure I had a tangible dream other than to sever all ties with Romeo. Second might be explaining to my parents that I was fine, but I’d have to show them stability for that. I reached for the oven to put the cookies in. “I can’t search for jobs anymore with my phone.”
He reached over me and turned off the burner and the oven. “Let’s go to the store and get a cheap phone and price out a laptop.”
He hadn’t asked what happened. Tension rose in my body. I wasn’t a charity case. Heat rose to my face. “I don’t want to burden you. I figure I’ll get a new phone once I start making money.”
He pointed me to my shoes near the door, and I put them on. “I’m telling you that you’re an investment, not a burden. We’ll call it a business expense, as you’ll need to make appointments for me. Then we’ll go home and cook together.”
He opened the door for me, and we walked out together. “It’s done. I just need to heat everything for about a half an hour.”
His eyes had a light in them that made my knees weak. I took a deep breath. “You’re a wonder,” he said.
Once we made it to his truck, I opened my own door before he even could offer. “Hardly. Cooking isn’t rocket science.”
He walked around the truck and took the driver’s seat.
The music on the radio kept us silent, which was good.
We drove to Best Buy and parked near the back of the full lot. His eyes widened at the number of people filing in and out. “Kerry, for most of my life, I had personal shoppers going into stores to get supplies. I’m not sure how it works.”
Shopping had kept me almost sane for a while, which only gave my parents and my husband more reason to say I’d spent cash needlessly. I took Warren’s arm to lead him to the electronics section. My fingers sparked with awareness, but I refused to let him go, as I was happy near him. I kept my head up and said, “I’ll guide you. It’s pretty easy, and I used to go to stores to fill my days. Personal shopping sounds like a fun job, to be honest.” I directed him to the back, past the TV section.
“Why didn’t you work before?” he asked.
Interesting choice of words. I shook my head and said, “I grew up privileged and wasn't expected to work. My parents earned a good living and afforded me a decent education, though my arts administration major was meant to get me a job in a museum, where I had no passion. My mother and grandmother told me it would help me as a wife, and then I married a doctor.”
He smiled at me as we made it to the computer section. “Ah, my brothers Cyrus and Elon are doctors.”
My gaze narrowed. Maybe he’d been as privileged as I had been, or maybe he and his brothers were just smart. I tilted my head as we scanned the laptops. “In New York or California?”
“California and New York.” He grabbed one and put it in the cart. “Elon set up his practice in California, and Cyrus worked in New York, though he took time off to bond with his new family.”
So he was younger and not making the big bucks yet. Family were supposed to invest in each other, but maybe that was all just a rumor about how people were supposed to act. I rubbed the back of my neck. “Romeo’s older and an anesthesiologist.”
We walked over to look at the phones. “That’s your ex’s name?” he asked.
“Romeo Cartier.” My voice went higher. Maybe his brother also studied the same group.
He shrugged and showed me a phone that cost two hundred dollars. There were fifty-dollar ones that had data plans, and I showed him one.
He shook his head. “Quality,” he mumbled.
I didn’t argue that it was an older model, as it was better than nothing at all. He put it in the cart, and we went to the cashier in the section so they could activate the line. He seemed confused that there was more than one place to pay and said, “You won’t regret trusting me.”
“I don’t.” I wanted to kiss him, which was silly. We waited in line, and I playfully bumped into him. “So if one brother is a lawyer and your other brothers are doctors, what happened to you?”
He stared down his nose, and I swore my toes tingled from the attention. “I… I like to build things from the ground up.”
