Licorice Whips (36 page)

Just saying the word “serve” brought memories of the times she’d served Sweet. She would leave those stories out when talking to her father about Sweet Hawkes.

“What do you have to tell me? You’re going to say that I don’t listen to you and that I’m preventing from you living your life? You’re going to say that being here with me would be like being a prisoner? You think you know everything, Nicole?” He stopped and quickly said, “Nikla.”

What Nikla had suspected finally reared its head. She sat down across from her father and held his hands. “I love you, Dad.”

Lawrence, proud as always, kept his head turned as she spoke.

“Mom left us both. But you stayed. You made sure Junior and I focused on what was important.” She squeezed his hand. “You’re a great man and an amazing father.” Nikla thought she noticed her father’s eyes transforming to a cherry color. He still refused to look at her. “You have to trust that if I’m not by your side that that doesn’t mean that I’ll leave like Mom did.” She took a deep breath. Since they delved into deep topics, she would continue. “I still want to open my own business. If it wasn’t for you, I wouldn’t even think about it. As a matter of fact, I should hear about a pretty nice space in a few days.”

Her father glanced at her and cocked his head. “Opening a business is hard. It’s not all roses and light.”

She nodded. “I know. I’m hoping if I have any questions that you’ll be there to help me.”

Lawrence remained quiet.

Nikla barreled on with her other news while she had his attention. “A couple of weeks ago, I met a man.” She smiled as she thought about him, his incredible hands that seemed to transform her body whenever he’d touched her, and his eyes that saw down into her soul.

Lawrence pulled his hand away from her. “Who is this man?”

Nikla cleared her throat. “His name is Sweet Hawkes.” She watched her father’s eyes narrow for a moment before he widened them and bolted up to his feet.

“Traitor!”

Nikla stood. “It’s not what you think, Dad. I was handing out fliers in front of his store and I had one of my attacks.”

Her father shook his head. “Weak. You’ve always been so weak. You’re just like your mother.”

That dig ordinarily would have crumbled Nikla. Her normal kneejerk reaction would be to tell her father that the reason his son joined the military had everything to do with getting away from him. Nikla could have also revealed that her brother had a wonderful relationship with a man.

Nikla kept her word with her brother. Despite what her father thought, Nikla didn’t want to cut him out of her life. She didn’t see herself as someone who couldn’t be loyal, someone who would run. Thanks to what she learned from Sweet, she felt strong enough to take his slings and arrows.

“Sweet is very special to me, Dad.” Nikla went behind the counter and grabbed her purse and sweater. “I’d love for the two of you to meet.” As she walked toward the back door to leave, she felt her father’s vise-like grip around her upper arm.

“I forbid you to see him.” Her father’s booming voice echoed off the walls.

Nikla concentrated on the constricting feeling around her arm. Her father grabbed her, not out of anger, but more out of desperation. He dropped his gaze when he noticed the candy bracelet around her wrist. As he reached down to touch it, Nikla wriggled away from him.

Again, she took a deep breath and connected to his gaze. “He’s an amazing man who likes your daughter for exactly who she is. That should make you happy.” She opened the door but stopped to address him. “I’ll call you in a couple of days when you’re calmer.”

Nikla managed to make it to her car and all the way back to her apartment before she let what happened tonight settle into her thoughts. She had always suspected that her father wanted to keep her close to ensure that he didn’t lose her. His type of bondage didn’t appeal to her.

Nikla always found it odd that being tied up by Sweet gave her the most freedom that she’d ever felt. She hoped she offered something to him as well.

After the tense conversation with her father, she wondered how admitting that her father owned Healthy Bites would go over with Sweet.

Tomorrow. She would have to tell him tomorrow. Maybe in her costume he would be more receptive to listen to her.

****

Sweet took a few sips of his coffee as he stared at the man working behind the counter. After talking to Masaun last night, Sweet immediately went to his apartment to do an online search on Lawrence Dearwood. After finding one Lawrence Dearwood who looked to be about his age and in the military, he found another one in the Virginia Beach area who happened to run his own bakery in town.

He stared at the man to see if he could find any of Nikla’s features. She certainly got her height from him. Otherwise he found no resemblance. His darker skin tone didn’t match Nikla’s butter caramel tone. Nikla must have gotten her cute button nose from her mother. The man’s thin lips gave him the appearance that he hadn’t had a happy day in his entire life.

After finding the story online about Lawrence and the store, she wondered why Nikla hadn’t admitted to him what her father did. Then it hit him. She did everything she did to support her father. Did that mean that she really didn’t care about Sweet? Was she playing him?

Sweet shook his head to get rid of the doubt. He hadn’t talked to her since yesterday, and she had planned on seeing him tonight. Right now he had to do this.

Sweet stood from the table and approached the front counter. “Mr. Dearwood?”

The man with a shaved head met his gaze with Sweet’s. “Would you like another muffin?”

Sweet had purchased the coffee and pastry to buy him some time to think about what he would say to this man. Eating the muffin, he could definitely tell that Nikla learned to cook from this man. Hers tasted better. Maybe he thought that because he desired her.

“No, I don’t need another muffin.” Sweet waved his hand.

“It’s good, right? Made without fattening eggs or milk or butter. Just applesauce and honey and one secret ingredient.” The man looked around like he would be sharing government secrets before he blurted, “Shredded zucchini. That’s what makes them moist. No one can ever taste it. It’s a great way to get your kids to eat their vegetables without telling them. You have children?”

“Not yet.” Sweet did imagine what a child between him and Nikla would look like.

In his lifestyle, they couldn’t fit a child. He wondered the same thing when Masaun said he and Kindle thought about having children. How could they make that work?

“Wait to have kids.” The man behind the counter snickered and shook his head. “They only end up breaking your heart.”

“Hopefully not all the time.” Sweet threw away his cup and paper plate where his muffin once sat. He wiped his fingers on his jeans. “Mr. Dearwood, you don’t know me.”

“Are you the I.R.S.? I paid my taxes. Yeah, they were late, but I paid them.” He placed his fist on his hip. The white t-shirt he wore accentuated his darker skin tone.

“No, I’m not the tax man. Although, with my business, I have to worry about them, too.”

Lawrence gave Sweet a suspicious glare.

Before Lawrence could make any assumptions in his head, Sweet quickly filled in the blanks. “I know your daughter, Nikla.”

Lawrence’s eyes started to widen.

“My name is Sweet Hawkes. I’m co-owner of Decadent Treats, and your daughter and I have spent a lot of time together recently.”

Lawrence threw the towel he had in his hand down and came from around the counter to square off against Sweet.

Sweet didn’t budge. He would treat Nikla’s father with respect but he refused to be intimidated or bullied by him.

“You’ve got some nerve stepping into my establishment. It’s because of you that I don’t have any business.” He raised his hands in the air to show off the empty space. “As soon as our doors opened, we did great business. Then Decadent Treats opened with their full-fat candies and crap. Customers ran over to you all. Then about a couple of months ago, business really dropped.”

The article appeared about that time. Sweet didn’t realize the effect it would have on people outside of their circle. For that, he felt sorry for Nikla’s father.

“You certainly don’t think my brother and I opened our business to specifically hurt your business, do you?” Sweet stood a few inches over the man and had to look down slightly to talk to him.

“I don’t care why you opened it. For all I know, you did it to pick up women.” When Lawrence made the statement, he pounded his fist on the counter.

It probably registered to him what Sweet had said just a moment ago about Nikla.

“I respect your daughter.” Although right now he had to question her decision about not telling him about her father and his business.

“So she and I argued last night and you show up the next day. Boy, she couldn’t wait to run home and tell you about it, huh? Used to be she told me everything.”

Sweet shook his head. “Nikla didn’t tell me you two talked last night. Was it about me?”

Lawrence regarded him for a while as though gauging whether he’d told the truth or not. “Yeah. She felt the need to admit her feelings about you to me after she worked in my store yesterday.”

So that’s what Nikla had to do. The fact that she had told her father about him took away some of his niggling doubt buzzing in his head.

“I don’t want her with you.” Lawrence shook his head.

Before Sweet could argue that as a grown woman, Nikla had the right to choose or refuse him, he went another route. “What kind of man do you see with your daughter?”

Lawrence put his fists to his hips. “You think I’m going to discount you because of your race. You’re wrong. I want my daughter to be with a man who has integrity.”

“Good. I am a man with integrity. As soon as I found out who you were, I made the decision to come here to meet you. Nikla doesn’t know I’m here.”

“What do you mean, found out about me? Didn’t Nikla tell you?”

“She told me your name. She said you owned your own business but didn’t tell me what it was. She said she was picketing Decadent Treats because she wanted to warn people about the risks of eating too much sugar. She didn’t tell me that she did it to please you.”

Lawrence took a step back. “I didn’t tell her to do that. She did it on her own.”

“To make you happy.” Sweet ran his hand over his hair. “Nikla said her relationship with you is tense.”

Lawrence blinked. “She did?”

“I’m not trying to get in your business, Mr. Dearwood, personally or otherwise. I run an honest business and I can tell you do the same. I’d like to invite you and Nikla to dinner so that we all can get to know each other and clear the air.”

Lawrence scanned Sweet before he retreated behind his counter. “Happy Halloween. Feel free to grab one of our menus on your way out. Pass it along to your friends.”

Hell, Sweet didn’t think anyone could be any more stubborn than him. Lawrence had him beat. Maybe Lawrence’s reluctance to listen to anyone had pushed Nikla in her decision to keep her father’s identity a secret. It didn’t matter. Sweet would have to get the truth out of her tonight.

Sweet passed a tall, thin Filipino man at the doorway as he left without further argument. Lawrence didn’t care that Sweet could make his daughter very happy. Did Nikla believe that?

Chapter Twenty-Seven

“Eight o’clock. Time to close up shop!” Nikla clapped as the last of the trick-or-treaters left with bags full of candy courtesy of Sweet, Connie, and her.

Usually Nikla never handed out candy. Her father said that begging didn’t become anyone. Tonight she felt like a kid herself handing out candies and treats to little goblins, princesses, and superheroes.

“You want me to help you clean up, Sweet?” Connie asked as she kept a suspicious gaze on Nikla.

Wearing a long trench coat as she handed out candy probably made Nikla look distrustful. She didn’t want to show her outfit to Connie. The view would only be for Sweet.

“No, I got it, Connie. Thanks for staying.” Sweet patted the woman on her back.

“Anytime, boss. I know how important these occasions are to you and this business.” She glared at Nikla.

“Connie–”

Nikla held up her hand. “No, I have this, Sweet.” She stood in front of the overly-protective woman. “Yes, I’m the one who handed out the fliers in front of the store. I’m not doing that anymore. I’m not trying to take Masaun from Kindle.” She turned to Sweet who had a confused expression on his face. “I’ll explain later.” She returned her attention to Connie. “I care deeply about Sweet, which is why I’m out here handing out candy and in an outfit that’s suitable for his eyes only. I appreciate how loyal you are to Masaun and Sweet, but please see me as an ally, not an enemy.” Nikla held out her hand to the matronly woman.

Until Sweet nudged his employee with his elbow did she finally extend her hand to shake Nikla’s.

“Don’t be fooled by my accommodating demeanor. You hurt Sweet or this business I will come after you.” Connie light voice didn’t match her fierce intentions.

“Never. Won’t happen.”

Connie nodded. “See you in the morning, Sweet.” She walked out the back door and Sweet locked it.

Nikla scanned over Sweet. In his dark blue suit with red power tie, she wondered if he dressed like the president or maybe he wanted to look like his brother as a joke. His hair threw her. He had a deep part on the side and swept over his head.

“Okay, I give. What’s your costume?” she asked as he led her up to his apartment.

“You can’t tell?” Sweet opened the door for her. Once inside he closed and locked his door. “Let me give you a hint. You’re fired!” He pointed at her.

Nikla couldn’t help but laugh. “Donald Trump. Really?” She reached up and touched his hair. “The hair should have given it away.”

“Let me see your costume.”

Nikla opened her coat and let it fall to the floor. Underneath hid her genie costume complete with the harem pants, curled-toed shoes, and belly-baring top that would make Barbara Eden blush.