Late Nights (16 page)

“Don’t you dare compare me to Sterling,” Sasha warned, glaring at Holden. God, why was he still here bothering her?

“You’re so much like Sterling that it’s hard for either of you to see how similar you are to each other. Sterling loves you with everything he has in him. Are you telling me that you really still don’t care about him?”

Sasha opened her mouth and then snapped it shut. She wanted to lie and say that she was no longer in love with Sterling, but she couldn’t do it. She still loved him with everything in her.

“Yes, I still love him, but you were there. You heard what he said about me. Sterling wanted me gone so I resigned before he could fire me.”

“Shit!” Holden mumbled. “I swear you and Sterling are going to give me my first gray hair. He doesn’t want you gone out of his life, only from Comforts Sleep Company.”

“What is the difference?” Sasha frowned. “Aren’t they the same thing when it comes to him?”

Sighing, Holden shook his head at her. “No, it isn’t the same. Not since you came into his life. Please stop hiding out here. Go and see him. Talk things through. Do you know that he has been working himself to death this past month trying to get over the pain of losing you?”

“If the pain of losing me is so terrible for him, why isn’t he here instead of you?” Sasha demanded.

“Pride,” Holden tossed back at her.

Sasha nibbled at her bottom lip. Why should she be the one who goes to Sterling? He was the one who had done something wrong…not her.

“I can see from the torn expression on your face that you’re having a hard time debating on rather or not if you should go to see Sterling. All I have to say is… are you going to allow a conversation you truly misunderstood keep you from the man you love?”

“I─”

“Think about that for a little while.” Holden gave her one last look before heading out of her office, closing the door behind him.

Once Sasha was alone she was able to think about everything Holden had told her—this was one time that she couldn’t run to Rachelle for any help. Her decision would have to be made all by herself. If she was honest with herself, Sasha knew she didn’t need any more time to think about whether or not she wanted Sterling in her life.

Getting up from her seat, Sasha took her purse off the back of the chair before heading out the door to deal with Sterling and their future together.

Chapter Twenty-Eight

Walking around his house, Sterling called himself a thousand kinds of fools. Why didn’t he tell Sasha what he was thinking when he left her house that day? He just had wanted everything to be so perfect when he proposed and he ended up ruining everything instead.

How could Sasha ever think that he didn’t want her in his life permanently? After Sasha rushed away from his office he had tried to stop her from leaving, but by the time he made it outside she was already driving out of the parking lot.

He had been shoving down his feelings for Sasha because he was afraid of getting too close to her in fear of being rejected. Maybe his fear of being tossed to the side still came from his father’s treatment of him growing up.

Just when there was a shimmer of hope that his father might pick him over his current lover, his hopes got a bucket of cold water poured over them. Ever since he could remember, some form of rejection had been in his life. He thought he might have gotten used to it, but he was able to see now how wrong he was. Sasha hadn’t even given him a chance to explain what she accidentally overheard.

All she did was throw him to the side without a second thought. She already knew how much he loved her. So, why was she so willing to accept the worst instead of seeing right what was in front of her face?

The sound of the doorbell drew Sterling away from his thoughts. Who in the hell could that be? He had already listened to Holden’s lecture before he kicked him out. He even tried staying at work, hoping it would get his mind off Sasha, but that didn’t work either.

Well, he would get rid of whoever was at the door. Today, he wanted to be alone so he could figure out a way to get Sasha back. There was no way in hell he wasn’t going to spend the rest of his life with her by his side.

Storming over to the door, Sterling swung it open. “Go…” The rest of the words caught in his throat instead when his eyes landed on Sasha standing there, looking too beautiful for words. He couldn’t believe it had been a month since he had seen or touched her.

Why was she here?

Hadn’t she already ripped his heart out of his chest? What did she want to do, now dance on it?

“Can I come inside for a few minutes?” Sasha asked. “I need to talk to you.”

“Come in,” he said, stepping back giving her room to move past him.

“Thank you,” she said softly.

He took his time closing and locking the door. “What are you doing here?” he asked, eyeing the short red dress Sasha was wearing, which showed off her toned legs to perfection.

“I went by Comforts Sleep Company and one of the employees told me you’d already left for the day,” Sasha told him.

“Yeah, I tried to stay but I couldn’t. Work just isn’t the same with you gone.” Sterling folded his arms across his chest so he wouldn’t pull Sasha into his arms and beg for her forgiveness. She had come to him for a reason and he would hear her out, but he was secretly hoping that Sasha was going to tell him that she would be willing to let him fix his mistake.

“Do you know Holden came by to see me at
Luxury
? He told me in so many words that the both of us were too obstinate and scared to realize what we have is good.”

Uncrossing his arms, Sterling walked towards Sasha until he was standing directly in front of her. He realized how much Sasha truly loved him for her to come to him.

“I hate it when Holden is right. We both are stubborn sometimes, but I’m hoping that will end at least on my part after I tell you about my father.” Maybe after he got this out in the open, he would finally be able to keep his father in the past where he truly belonged.

Taking Sasha by the hand, Sterling took her over to the couch and pulled her down next to him after he had already taken a seat. “My father never loved me. I think he might have actually hated being a father more than he despised having me as a son.”

“Oh, Sterling that can’t be true.” Sasha gasped, placing her hand on his leg.

For years, Sterling tried not to believe the truth, but now it was time he did. He had to accept the fact that he needed to put everything in his past behind him to have a future with Sasha.

“Yes, sweetheart, it’s true. I know it’s horrible to hear, but my father never wanted me around. I had nannies taking care of me so much that I can’t really recall not having one around. I was a thorn in my father’s side that wouldn’t go away.

“He didn’t want to send me to boarding school because he had an image to keep up, both professionally and personally. However, he didn’t care about the endless women that were brought into my life.”

“What happened to your mother?” Sasha asked as her big brown eyes searched his.

Sterling shrugged his shoulder. “I don’t know. Every time I asked my father about her, he would change the subject and tell me to stop asking him. I knew then to just leave it alone. Honestly, I think I came from one of the many women who shared his bed. I will never ever know since he’s dead now.”

“Oh, honey. I’m so sorry.”

The concern in Sasha’s voice touched him deeply. He pulled her further into his arms, resting his chin against the top of her head. “Don’t be. My father was a very uncaring man when it came to me. I think the final nail in the coffin of our already horrible relationship came when he kicked me out of the house after one of his girlfriends lied about me coming on to her.”

“You can’t be serious.”

“Instead of listening to my side, he always stood by his newest girlfriend or lover. After that I knew there wouldn’t ever be anything between us, I guess my father’s constant rejection made me leery and very cautious of approaching you.”

“Why? Did you think I was going to hurt you the same way your father had when you were younger by pushing you to the side without a second thought?”

The hurt in Sasha’s voice was loud and clear to Sterling’s ears and it made him feel even worse than he already did.

“Yes, I guess a part of me did think that,” he admitted truthfully. “Holden was the only person there through the toughest times with me. I was afraid to open up completely to anyone until I saw you. I knew what I was feeling for you was something worth fighting through my own personal demons for.”

He moved Sasha completely back from his body so he could look directly into her eyes. Sterling wanted Sasha to see the love in his eyes when he told her this. “Baby, you have to understand what you heard at Comforts Sleep Company that day was only part of the conversation I was having with Holden.”

“Are you saying that you weren’t going to fire me?”

“No, I was going to fire you. You’re right about that part,” Sterling said and he held on tighter to Sasha when she tried to move away from him.

“Let go of me,” Sasha said, struggling against him.

“No, not until I’m finished, now be still.” Sterling waited for Sasha to calm down before he continued.

“The night I went to the party at Rachelle’s house and talked to Cash. Every other word out of his mouth was about how much he loved your sister and the wonderful feelings she had brought into his life. I knew then I felt the same exact emotions for you.

“I couldn’t possibly think about spending another moment without you at my side. Sasha Williams, you complete me. Everything I’ve ever wanted I found in you. The reason I was going to fire you from Comforts Sleep Company was I no longer wanted you as my employee, but I wanted you to run it side by side with me as my wife. Will you marry me?”

Suddenly tears filled Sasha’s eyes as she looked at him with utter shock on her gorgeous face. “You want to get married?”

“Yes, I want to get married, and I want it to be in a church full of people so I can show everyone the beautiful woman that captured my heart. So are you ready to accept my love and become Mrs. Sterling Hamilton?”

“Yes, I’ll marry you,” Sasha said, wrapping her arms around his neck. “I didn’t think this day would ever happen.”

“Me either, sweetheart,” he whispered against Sasha’s soft hair.

Sterling held Sasha close to his body as the sounds of his father’s harsh and uncaring voice calling him worthless and unlovable finally left his head because of the unconditional love he found with the woman who was in his arms.

The End

About the Author

The Queen of Tease: If you want to read interracial romance stories that leaves you panting for more and turning the pages faster than you can read them. Marie is for you.

After reading her first “dirty” book as a teenager, Marie knew she had to become a writer. She started writing a few years ago because she wanted to reach for her dream. She writes her characters so her fans will believe in the Happily Ever After. She loves collecting bear figurines and reading a HOT book when she gets the chance.

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