Sweet Dreams (A Sugar Rush Novel) by Nina Lane Page A

cap and her brown eyes wide with shock at the sight of him. He’d been shocked at the sight of her too—actually, more like something had slammed into his chest—only he knew how to hide it.
    But Polly wasn’t a girl who could hide what she was feeling. She was too open, transparent, guileless. He’d known that the instant he’d turned from the pool table and seen her standing there, all flushed, bright-eyed, nervous excitement.
    All sweetness.
    Tension laced through Luke’s shoulders. Despite the fact that he owned a candy company, he didn’t do sweet . His women were cool, sophisticated, and carefully vetted. Polly was not. Unfortunately, that was exactly what made her so intriguing.
    Well, that and the fact that she’d begged him to fuck her. And then snapped at him indignantly about his reputation. And called him a control-freak Capricorn, which was the truth. Not to mention, she was the reason he’d actually made candy, which he hadn’t done in more years than he could remember.
    Shit. He couldn’t do this. He also couldn’t not do this. He’d made a mistake coming on to Polly and asking her to dinner, but the thought of her with another guy made him want to explode with jealousy and anger—which irritated him to no end considering he barely knew her.
    Still. He couldn’t let that pretty girl loose on the town, looking for a hook-up. It’d be like sending a lamb into the lion’s den. Who knew what kind of dickwad would take advantage of her?
    By asking her to dinner, Luke was just keeping an eye on her. He’d have to make sure he wasn’t the dickwad taking advantage of her, but he could do that. Much as he wanted her, he was nothing if not self-controlled.
    So he’d take her to dinner, give her a brotherly lecture about the dangers a girl like her could get into, and drop her back at home with a kiss on the forehead.
    Yeah. He could do that. It might kill him, but he’d do it.
    He turned off the shower and switched his brain to his agenda for the day. First order of business was to confront his brother, who had been the reason Luke was at the Troll’s House at all the other night.
    He took ten minutes to shave, another ten to dress, then answered a few emails while eating his usual breakfast of oatmeal and egg whites with spinach.
    He got to the office three hours before anyone else, dealt with some overseas issues, put together new project teams, authorized two raises, and worked out a strategy for Sugar Rush to penetrate the “healthy candy” category.
    “Morning, sir.” His executive assistant Kate came in right at eight with his protein drink, her sharp gray suit and severe haircut signaling the start of his day interacting with employees. “Board meeting at nine.”
    “Is Evan in yet? He was supposed to be back from San Francisco by seven.”
    “He just arrived. I believe he’s in his office.”
    Luke stood and shrugged into his suit jacket. “Graphics is sending up a new design for the retro packaging. Bring it into the boardroom when it arrives, please.”
    “Yes, sir.” Kate set the glass on his desk and handed him the meeting agenda.
    Luke took it and went down the hall to his brother’s office, where the door displayed a plaque reading Evan Stone, Vice-President of Marketing .
    Evan looked up when Luke entered. Tension thickened the air. A renewed wave of resentment flooded Luke.
    “You want to explain why you didn’t tell me that Crown Foods approached you to take their chief operating officer position?” he asked, trying to keep his voice even.
    Evan’s mouth tightened. “When did you find out?”
    “Dad told me the other night. I tried calling you, but you didn’t answer.”
    Guilt flashed in Evan’s eyes. Luke sat in the chair in front of the desk, his shoulders tight. Not for a second did he think his brother would ever actually leave Sugar Rush, but he hated that Evan hadn’t even told him that a competitor had approached him.
    “What would you have done if