Read Sugar Rush for Free Online Page B

toward the front door, and Wayne walked at her side before holding the door open for her. Glancing up, Wayne’s eyes met Eliot’s for a moment, and it was clear to Eliot that Wayne was expecting him to be instantly rebuked. Eliot’s mouth twisted, as he considered what the other man might have told her about him.
    She limped to the entrance as the crutches bunched her shirt beneath her arms and Eliot found himself temporarily distracted by a smooth expanse of brown-skinned tummy revealed.
    She stopped beside his car, looking at it for a long moment. Eliot would have paid anything to know what she was thinking. Then she continued limping toward the door.
    In a way, she was almost as fragile as Mae, he thought, sighing heavily. These were no greedy moguls hungry for money and power. What had he wandered into here? he wondered.
    As he was considering simply confessing the truth and reissuing his offer to buy them out, her eyes came up and met his, and all bets were off.
    The sharp-witted soul that stared back at him from those eyes was no child. And Eliot knew in an instant that she was already considering the truth. That he was not who he said he was. He saw the questions in those amber brown depths, probing, and thinking. And Eliot knew this was his true adversary.
    This was no sweet old lady who reminded him of his mother. His eyes roamed over her shapely form. No…nothing about her made him think of his mother. And despite her size and the crutches, she was about as helpless as a black widow.
    She was gorgeous. Absolutely gorgeous. Everything from her large, almond-shaped eyes and sharp little nose to full, shapely lips that had him licking his as he considered how soft hers would be. All covered in flawless mahogany skin that had the pads of his fingertips tingling with the need to touch her.
    She looked as if she should be traipsing across the state in beauty pageants, not here running a small bakery and becoming a thorn in his side. And Eliot fought a smile, as he saw desire reflected in her dark brown eyes. They fairly twinkled with surprise and interest. Despite his grungy appearance after a day of working harder than he had in ten years, she liked what she saw, he thought. Eliot wasn’t a vain man, but he knew when a woman found him attractive.
    Then she smiled, perfect white teeth so bright they could rival the sun. “Welcome to the Mayfield Bakery, Mr…”
    “Montagna. Elberto Montagna, but my friends call me El.”
    “Nice to meet you, El. I’m Sophie Mayfield.”
    “Mayfield?” El frowned slightly.
    “Sorry I wasn’t here to meet you this morning, but as you can see something came up.” She laughed. “The floor—when I hit it.”
    Eliot smiled, liking her already.
    “You’re back!” Lonnie came charging out of the back headed straight for Sophie, but Wayne quickly intercepted the girl and caught Lonnie up against him. The momentum knocked him back a step and Eliot realized the impact would’ve knocked Sophie down.
    Two things occurred to him at once. The quickness with which Wayne stepped in to protect Sophie spoke of an intimate connection. Eliot didn’t want to dwell on that. And the second was that Lonnie had not realized she would knock Sophie down. Suddenly the blank look to her eyes made sense. She was apparently mentally challenged. It was fairly obvious at first meeting, and the people who loved her were aware of her shortcomings and compensated for them.
    From Wayne’s arm, Lonnie’s enthusiasm did not diminish even slightly. “You’re back! You’re back!”
    Eliot watched as Sophie braced her body and nodded to Wayne to release her, and Lonnie threw herself against her cousin. Sophie shifted for a moment before regaining her bearing.
    “Yes, I’m back. See, I told you it was nothing.” Sophie smiled at the girl.
    “Is the cast heavy?” Lonnie asked.
    “A little, but I’m getting used to it.”
    “Welcome back, Sophie.” Dante had come out of the kitchen behind Lonnie,