Semi-Sweet On You (Hot Cakes #4) - Erin Nicholas Page 0,50

too.

But as he took his suitcase up to his new temporary bedroom, he was trying to figure out what was going through Whitney’s mind for sure.

She’d given in on him staying here with Didi far easier than he’d expected. It was a little crazy when he first thought it or said it out loud. But when he was talking to Didi about it, or explaining it to Whitney, it actually made sense.

Bottom line, he wanted to be here, Didi wanted Katherine to not to be here, and Whitney needed someone to be here with Didi.

Win-win-win.

Whitney had agreed, if reluctantly. Then she’d let him almost kiss her. Sure, in the end, she’d pushed him back, but she hadn’t done it with any feeling. She’d seemed reluctant about that too.

He meant it when he said he was stubborn and used to winning.

The question really was, what was he trying to win?

He’d gone into this with Whitney thinking that they just needed to figure out what they were going to be going forward. They needed to see what was still there and what was real now.

It had taken less than twenty-four hours for him to shift to wanting her. Period. Not just physically—though that was as strong as ever, if not stronger—but just her. He wanted to be the one she leaned on when she needed help. He wanted to be the one coming home to her as he’d done tonight. He wanted to be the one she came home to.

He was shocked by how quickly that shift had happened and how strong those wants were.

They still needed to get to know each other again. They still needed time to go over the past ten years. And for what the next ten would look like.

He was still going to have to come to terms with how important Hot Cakes was to her. He was willing to help her do what she wanted at work. He wanted to support her. He wanted her to feel included and valued the way her family apparently hadn’t included or valued her.

But he also wanted to show her there was more to life than that company.

He felt a ball of frustration tighten in his gut thinking about how much she’d given the company and how determined she was now to make it the most important thing in her life.

He knew many strong, independent women. He’d been raised by two, was the older brother to one, got to work with one—Piper—every day. He loved strong women. He wanted Whitney to be one.

But his grandmother, mom, sister, and friend knew there was more to life than work.

Whitney didn’t seem to.

He wanted to show her that as well.

And, yes, he wanted to be one of those things that mattered more to her than work.

This was complicated.

But complicated was something he was used to. It was something he was good at. He was the lead attorney for a multimillion-dollar company. He loved a good fight. He loved going toe to toe with people who could stand there and argue back and make him work at it.

That was Whitney.

She knew what she wanted. She’d fight him on it. He just needed to have his arguments ready.

Feeling better about everything, he tucked his clothes into the drawers in the dresser in the bedroom. He checked out the bathroom, felt the mattress, and looked at his view out the window.

It was all nice. Very nice. Five-star hotel-level nice.

He still really mostly cared about where Whitney’s bedroom was from here.

He left the room, heading back for the kitchen. He thought for one second—maybe two—about opening doors along the hallway to find her room.

But he didn’t.

He wanted to be invited into that room. He wanted her opening that door for him.

And she would.

Eventually.

Probably.

Cam slipped back inside from the back patio. He’d given Aiden a call to let him and Zoe know he wouldn’t be home tonight. He’d left a message, feeling a little relieved that Aiden hadn’t picked up. He wasn’t sure what his best friend’s reaction would be to him living with Whitney and he wasn’t sure he wanted to hear about what a dumb idea it was at the moment. There would be time for that later.

There was a single light glowing over the sink. The rest of the first floor was dark. And quiet.

Uh-huh. Whitney had taken advantage of him being outside to slip upstairs.

Cam had cooked. Pasta primavera with grilled chicken. They’d had a nice meal, during which Didi had told stories about