Sugar is Sweet

By Jenika Snow and Sam Crescent

From the moment Millie walked into his restaurant looking for a job, Lucas wanted her. But being with her would cause problems. He was her boss and it was against the rules … his rules. Not to mention, as a single father, he couldn't just let any woman near his son.

But Millie was different. He knew she was special from the moment he looked at her.

No matter what he planned, Lucas knew he had to have her and he was willing to do whatever it took to claim her as his.

Wanting her boss came with plenty of complications, mainly that Millie knew there was no reason for a man like Lucas to want someone like her.

Gorgeous, intelligent and successful, he wouldn't be interested in a Plain Jane girl like her.

But when he showed interest, Millie didn't try to fight the chemistry they had. As Valentine's Day approached and the restaurant was in full swing with everyone wanting to express their love, Lucas and Millie's relationship bloomed.

But what would happen if Lucas wanted to take it to the next level?

Could Millie throw caution to the wind and give herself fully to Lucas in the name of love?

• Language: English
• Publisher: Jenika Snow
• Release date: Feb 14, 2019
• ISBN: 9781386814047

Book preview

1

Millie pushed through the double kitchen doors and headed toward the stainless-steel table that separated the wait staff from the cooks. The kitchen was hopping, with the chefs all working hard to make each meal perfect.

I need a beef Wellington, side of steamed vegetables, and mushroom risotto. She shouted out the order, seeing the chefs get to work.

As a waitress at one of the most prestigious and popular restaurants in the city, she worked her tail off hoping to get noticed by management...mainly the owner of the restaurant, Lucas.

Although she loved her job, she would also really love to do something other than serving food to people. Especially given the fact she was going to culinary school.

But what she’d really like was for Lucas to notice her, to see her as something more than an employee. The thoughts played through her head, and she felt ridiculous for thinking them.

On the social totem pole, Millie was at the very bottom, whereas Lucas was at the top. No way he would notice her. He probably went after models, gorgeous women who wore gowns that cost more than a month’s worth of her rent.

And that was saying something, given the fact that rent in the city was astronomical.

She went back out, did a beeline to the bar, grabbed a bottle of red wine, and headed toward the table. After allowing the patrons to sample the wine, she poured the glasses, gave them a genuine smile, and headed back to the bar. She did this three more times, taking orders and letting the chefs know, then filling drinks.

For Saturday night it was insanely busy, but it kept her on her toes, and she enjoyed her job.

As she stood by the stainless-steel table that separated her from the profession she desperately wanted to do one day, she couldn’t help but be transfixed at the way the chefs moved seamlessly together. They were like a well-oiled machine, each one knowing what to do at the right time so everything ran fluidly. It was like an art, watching a masterpiece being created.

Millie felt transfixed, mesmerized by how gorgeous everything was. The customers outside would eat this, maybe not even realizing the work that had been put into making everything perfect.

The sweeping lines of the handmade sauces, the precisely placed garnishes on top of the entire meal.

Each plate was a masterpiece, and one of these days she would be creating them as well. One day she’d be an artist.

Lucas went over the Valentine’s Day menu one last time. February fourteenth was one of his busiest days for obvious reasons, and he made sure to make a special, limited edition menu for the night.

It gave his customers something to open up their palettes, to experience something new, possibly even foreign to them.

It’s how he ran his business, how he’d always envisioned it. His restaurant, Brick and Stone, was something he created from the ground up. He’d opened the restaurant as a memorial to his family, his mother and father who had once owned a small pizzeria ... a small brick and stone building that was older than they were.

It had been on the corner in their little city, a place that had been home, as much as it had taught him everything he knew today.

Delivering those pizzas as a teen, watching as his father made the crust by hand, his mother creating the sauce the same way. It was because of them that he wanted to do this, bring their legacy to the bigger picture.

It was because of them that he had a love for all things food related. And since his parents’ passing several years ago, each and every day Lucas strove to make this better than the last.

He set the menu aside and stood, heading out toward the kitchen. He liked to follow the progress of the night, making sure the plates were perfect. Even though he ran this business, owned the restaurant, he was still a chef at heart.

On occasion, he liked doing the meals himself, not just creating the menus. Cooking was in his blood.

Once in the kitchen, Lucas watched the chefs do their magic, everything the way it should be, the way he would’ve done it. And then he looked up and saw her.

Millie Stein.

She’d been working for him while she went to culinary school. And from the moment he hired her, Lucas knew that there was something special about her. She was smart and efficient, and gorgeous.

God was she pretty, the most beautiful woman he’d ever seen. And he’d been mesmerized by her from the very beginning.

He just didn’t know if breaking his own rule of not dating his employees was the smartest thing to do for either of them.

2

The next evening

Millie wiped the sweat from her brow before glancing around the quiet restaurant kitchen. What she was doing was breaking the rules. The head chef had given her the keys as she’d offered to do all the cleaning up for him so he could get home to his sick child. She’d clean the place up and it would all be spotless but in the meantime, she’d practice the skills she’d been training for. There was no way she’d be able to practice at her place. Her place had the smallest kitchen in the world.

It was placed in the corner of her tiny apartment, one tiny sink and one stove connected with one cupboard and a counter. That was it. Thanks to city living.

She loved cooking so much, creating dishes that people fell in love with or that brought them together, and because of

Reviews for Sugar is Sweet

[Kayla Brunson · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

This was an okay read. I didn’t really fully connect to the characters, but the story was cute.