Late Nights (12 page)

“Sweetheart, you know I would love to spend another month here with you,” she admitted. “However, I’ve been away from
Luxury
too long. You know how I am when it comes to my little sisters running the business. I don’t like leaving them there for too long by themselves. It’s like giving them too much control, which is something that I can’t do.”

“Honey, you have to realize your sisters are adults,” Cash pointed out to her. “Why don’t you think they can’t take care of themselves? They can handle the responsibility of
Luxury
while you are with me.”

For such a long time she thrived on being in control, organized and on time for everyone. If she stopped being the leader of the family, it would be hard for her to give up, but she could do it.

“You’re right,” Rachelle agreed reluctantly. “I need to let my sisters live their own lives now. But, ever since our childhood, I’ve felt like I was the responsible one. I’m their big sister. I was the one who never said the word
no
when it came to helping to my mother when she needed it from me.”

Her husband held her even tighter to his body. “Baby, I love that you’re such a high achiever with everything you do. I think the extraordinary expectations you have is such a wonderful quality to possess. I’m very proud of the way you get things done.”

“You do?” Rachelle questioned as she wrapped her arms around Cash’s wide shoulders.

“Yes, baby. I do. I love how detailed you are. It’s something that makes me want you even more. I hope you keep those qualities.”

“Cash, your belief in me is very touching. I think I can keep part of it tucked away for later. I mean I will need to have some of it for our children.”

Tenderly, Cash’s eyes melted into hers. “Rachelle, you want to have babies with me? We have never talked about this before.”

“How could we? I think we fell in love and got married in record time. I would love to have at least four. What about you?”

Instead of answering her, Cash swung her up into his arms. “I think if you want four kids then we better get started on the best part first.”

Turning on his heel, he carried her into the direction of their bedroom and she couldn’t get over how much she loved that her husband’s mind was on the same track as hers.

Chapter Twenty

“Come over to my house tonight for dinner,” Sterling whispered by Sasha’s ear as she hung up the phone in his office the following night.

He and Sasha had been working nonstop since yesterday, and tonight was the last leg of the promotion. He was tired of only seeing her during work hours, because after leaving this job she was usually rushing to
Luxury
since her sister Rachelle was still on her honeymoon.

Why wasn’t she longing to be around him like he was with her?

For months, he had yearned for a deeper connection with her, and now that he was almost there she was still holding back on him. He couldn’t fix it unless Sasha spent more of her free time with him.

“I can’t,” Sasha apologized. “I just got off the phone with Genise and she has a surprise for me. Rachelle caught an early flight with Cash and they are back early from their honeymoon. She wants all of us to have dinner at her home tonight.”

He couldn’t believe this! What was going on?

How could another obstacle get shoved in his way?

Sterling was more than pissed with the situation, but he wasn’t going to let it deter him from his goal of winning Sasha’s heart. He really wanted to spend more time with her outside of the workplace.

It was going to be now or never.

“Can’t you just stay for a little while at your sister’s and then come by my place later?” Sterling suggested again. Grabbing Sasha by the shoulders, he spun her around in his arms and stared down into her wide eyes.

“Don’t you want to spend more time with me? I thought our first date was better than any date I’ve ever been on and I’m dying for a second one.”

Sasha smiled at him, then gave him a quick kiss on the mouth. “Sterling, you know that I do, but I just can’t abandon my sister and my new brother in-law Cash on their first night back in town, can I?” she asked. “How about you come with me? I’m sure that Rachelle wouldn’t mind at all. She would love to get to know you better.”

Go with her?

He wasn’t comfortable with big family gatherings because he didn’t experience them too much growing up, but he would deal with it to spend time with Sasha. He wanted to show her how much he cared about her.

“I’m not that fond of family dinner parties,” Sterling admitted, “but I’ll do this for you.”

Leaning back in his arms, Sasha stared up into his eyes a slight frown etched across her beautiful face. “You know that you can open up to me about anything. You didn’t talk about your childhood much to me over dinner. What else happened with your father that you aren’t telling me?”

Opening up about his father wasn’t something he wanted to get into right now. This was his time with Sasha and he wouldn’t ruin it with memories of his father. He gave up on having the storybook thing with his dad a long time ago. It was a good thing Victor Hamilton was dead because he wouldn’t listen to his complaints about his relationship with Sasha.

In the short time he had known her, Sasha and her sisters had shown him what a loving and caring was really about. He knew Sasha might fight with her siblings, but he heard the love in her voice anytime she spoke about them.

Sterling knew Sasha would welcome him into her home with open arms, but how would the rest of her family treat him?

Akisha and Genise shared a connection with her. They could have a huge influence over her when it came to him, but it didn’t matter what they did. He had gotten the dinner invitation from Sasha and he was going to be there whether they liked it or not.

“How about you hear stories about my childhood another time?” he suggested.

Titling her head back a little more, Sasha continued staring at him with real concern in her beautiful eyes. “I can cancel my dinner with Rachelle and stay here with you if you need to talk. My family means a lot to me, but you’re important to me as well.”

Family stability was a big part of Sasha’s life, and Sterling had known this for a while. Her willingness to cancel her plans with her sisters showed how much he was beginning to mean to her. However, he’d rather be with Sasha tonight as her boyfriend to prove to everyone that they were more than boss and employee.

“No, you aren’t,” Sterling corrected, then kissed the corner of Sasha’s mouth.

If he kissed her on the mouth, he didn’t want to start something he couldn’t finish. He moved back, putting some space between them since he was already so close to losing control.

“Why don’t you go home and get ready for our first appearance as a couple? What time should I pick you up? I can’t have Rachelle hating me by making you late for dinner,” he teased.

“Rachelle won’t hate you,” Sasha replied as she walked away from him. “She might give you a look, but I’m pretty sure she will keep her opinion to herself until I’m alone with her.”

Sterling watched as Sasha picked up jacket off the chair in his office. He couldn’t believe that he was so close to having everything he wanted. Growing up, he never thought a woman as beautiful and loving as Sasha would be a part of his life.

After Sasha put her jacket on, she spun back around to him. Sterling couldn’t keep his pulse from speeding up. God, he still was trying to wrap his mind around how hard and quickly he had fallen for her.

She was perfection in every sense of the word. Sasha was an intelligent woman with a knockout body, and she only had eyes for him.

Grabbing him by the front of his shirt, Sasha pulled him down until they were eye level. “I just had the most amazing idea while I was getting ready to leave.”

Whatever Sasha’s proposal was, he would agree to it without a second thought. How could he not do it?

“What is it?” he asked.

“How about I think of an excuse so we can leave early and go back to my house for a nightcap?” she suggested then gave him a sexy wink.

“Sweetheart, I think I love, and I do mean love, the way your mind thinks,” he breathed against Sasha’s plump lips before capturing them for a kiss.

Chapter Twenty-One

Taking a sip of her drink, Sasha watched Sterling joke around with Cash near a small table across the room filled with her big sister’s famous finger foods.

She touched her hair, making sure that it was still in place since Sterling decided he wanted more than a kiss when he picked her up at home. If she hadn’t come to her senses rather quickly the two of them wouldn’t be at her sister’s dinner party.

Turning away from Cash, Sterling gave her a huge smile and then waved before he looked back at her new brother in-law. Sasha couldn’t keep the smile off her face, even after Sterling was now looking in her direction.

Was this what it felt like when you were falling in love with another person? If it was she didn’t want it to end anytime soon.

“Care to tell me why a huge smile is plastered across my little sister’s face? Did something happen between you and Sterling while I was away on my honeymoon?” Rachelle asked. “The last time we spoke about him, Sterling Hamilton was an asshole and you wanted
nothing
to do with him.”

Spinning around, Sasha grinned at her big sister. She loved Akisha and Genise dearly, but she was so delighted to have Rachelle back home. Rachelle was the one she could always talk to about anything.

“Sterling and I are dating. We’re trying to see where things can go with us.” She hoped everything would only get better and better.

“Oh, honey, I’m so happy for you,” Rachelle said, giving her a hug and then moving back. “I was wondering what was up when Sterling came to dinner with you, and I couldn’t get anything out of Akisha or Genise when I asked them in the kitchen.”

Grabbing Rachelle by the arm, she dragged her away from the other guests. She wanted to her sister alone. She always gave her the best advice, out of anyone in the family. She kept walking until they were in the kitchen.

“Do you know how glad I’m that you are finally home? I’ve needed your guidance so badly lately,” Sasha admitted. She really hoped Rachelle could finally make her stop worrying about her relationship with the man standing across the room.

“Sasha, what’s wrong?” Rachelle asked, pulling out a chair from the kitchen table and taking a seat. “Sit down and tell me what’s going on.”

Grabbing a chair, she joined her sister. “You know how I can be. I’ve waited to be with Sterling for so long, and now that we’re dating I’m just wondering how things will turn out between us.”

Linking her fingers together, Rachelle leaned forward across the glass kitchen table, giving her full attention to her. This was the one thing she loved the most about her big sister. No matter what was going on around her, if she needed Rachelle’s help anywhere, anyplace, and anytime, she got it.

“First thing you should do is stop overthinking everything so much. You know that I’ve told you this before. Don’t worry about your future with Sterling. Just enjoy the journey of falling in love with him.

“Honestly, I think getting to learn more about the man you’re falling in love with is the best part. You have to take the good with the bad. Remember how I didn’t want anything to do with Cash? Especially after I found out what he did for a living, because I hate when a person profits from someone else’s misery.

“Well, I had to take a good look at myself and figure out if it worth losing Cash over. I realized it wasn’t, but he loved me so much that he stopped working as a freelance writer and now has a good job working for the newspaper here. He loves it and I love him, even more for doing it for me.”

Sighing, Sasha shook her head. “Rachelle, I understand what you’re telling me, but you know how I am about everything,” she cut in. “I’m so motivated by the need to understand where my feelings are coming from. It’s like I’ve wanted Sterling from the first moment I saw him, but he was so aloof for so long. How can I trust what we are moving towards is real?”

Reaching across the table, Rachelle placed her hand on top of hers. “Sweetie, sometimes it takes a man a lot longer to figure out what is right in front of his face. I saw the way Sterling was looking at you earlier in the living room. I promise you that he wants more than just a working relationship with you. I’ve no doubt he’s falling in love with you.”

Sasha eased her hand away from her sister and placed it in her lap. “Sterling has such a hard time expressing his feelings. He has told me a little about himself, but not enough. I want him to see me as that special woman he can share his deepest, darkest secrets with, when there is something on his mind. I want him to come to me about it.”

“Ever since you were a little girl you have always felt things more deeply than Genise and Akisha. I think it’s wonderful you want to be there for Sterling when he needs you, but don’t lose who you are. He needs to be an equal part of the relationship and if he isn’t then you should move on and find a man who will be.”

“I know, but─”

Rachelle held up her hand, cutting her off. “No buts, little sister. Sterling needs to be there for you as equally as you are for him or even more. A couple in any loving commitment has to work towards it and I can promise you that it isn’t easy as it looks. One person shouldn’t add more to it than the other one.”

Sasha heard what Rachelle was telling her and all of it was excellent advice, but she didn’t know if Sterling could be the man her big sister wanted him to be for her.

She wondered something. “Is Cash that for you?”

“Sasha, I wouldn’t have ever married Cash if he wasn’t. He’s truly the most perfect man, and we love each other so much. I can’t imagine my life without him now. He has my heart as much as I have his. Now, how about you get up from here and talk to Sterling? I think the two of you need some more alone time. You aren’t going to get it here with us.”