Page 4 of Sugar (Gilded #1)

At least I was until the doors opened, and Doug walked out.

Another man swaggered out behind him, and no lie, time slowed.

I was sure of it. He wasn’t a celebrity or a model—though he was hot enough to be.

He should’ve been plastered on every billboard, website, and screen across the world.

It seemed like a crime against beauty that I’d never seen him before.

And I knew for a fact that I hadn’t. I would’ve remembered.

Every woman who’d ever crossed his path likely remembered each exhilarating second of the interaction, no matter how brief.

He was beautiful. It was an odd description for a man so overwhelmingly masculine, but there was no other word for him.

And, honestly, even that one was lacking.

The angled, square jaw. Full lips that were set in an indifferent slash.

Intense brown eyes that were so dark, they were nearly black.

Chestnut hair that was brushed back like he ran his fingers through it often.

Each detail was better than the last.

His gorgeous face was a gift from God. But his tall, built body was from below.

Sin wrapped in an expensive suit.

Proving my assumption correct, he ran a hand through his hair as his sharp eyes scanned the room.

For half a second, I wished I’d taken more care with my appearance.

Or any care. After a long day of packing, I’d quickly showered before tossing on baggy sweats and a cropped tee.

My hair was piled in a messy bun, and I wasn’t sure whether the pieces that’d escaped made me look alluring or like I’d stuck a fork in an electrical socket.

Since I was there for movie night and not a singles event, I quickly shook off the stupid insecurity.

“I take it he’s why you look two seconds away from needing smelling salts and a fainting couch?” I whispered to my usually chill friend.

“Yup,” Greer whispered back. “He’s some big shot lawyer to all the even bigger shots.”

“Why is he here?”

“Dad wants to hire him.”

My stomach dropped, and I opened my mouth to ask if there was a problem.

She beat me to it. “Not for anything specific. He says it’s smart to have a shark lawyer on retainer.”

“What’re we whispering—never mind.”

We both jumped at Wren’s words spoken right by our sides. I’d been so busy perving on Counselor Handsome, I hadn’t even heard her arrive.

“Not cool, Wrench ,” Greer muttered, trying to downplay the embarrassing jolt.

Wren cut a glare at the nickname, but it smoothed out when she looked back at the man. “Who’s the hottie?”

“Some VIP lawyer,” I filled in like I had some immense knowledge of him and hadn’t just learned that fact.

“Yeah, very important peni— oof .” Greer’s sentence ended in a wheeze when I elbowed her at our moms’ approach.

“See?” Eve hissed to my mom and Dina as they passed. They paused outside of the walk-in pantry and wine cellar, whispering to each other.

Seeing them together usually made me smile. It was like getting a glimpse of my future with Wren and Greer. But as they continued to steal peeks at the man, I grimaced.

Eww, I think they’re perving on him, too.

Awkward.

“Damn, that’s disappointing,” Wren said before turning away from the man. Dismissing him. “All that outer hotness wrapped around no soul.”

Her opinion of lawyers hasn’t softened.

I wonder if she still doodles mustaches on their ads…

“Mom thinks we should invite Gloria over to set them up,” Greer shared with a barely contained laugh.

Giving my back to Attorney Hot Stuff so he wouldn’t see the insane face I was about to make, I grimaced and made only one of my eyelids flutter. I put my fingertips to my temple. “I’m sorry, I must’ve had a stroke. I almost thought you said him with Gloria .”

“I did,” Greer confirmed, and I made the unhinged expression again.

“You surely mean some other Gloria, right?”

“Josh’s mom.”

Officially, Josh was her ex-boyfriend. After two years of dating—and almost a lifetime of knowing each other—Greer had randomly broken up with him a couple weeks before.

Unofficially, though?

They talked like they were dating. Hung out like they were dating. Touched like they were dating. He worked as her dad’s admin, lived in the same gated community, and was literally always around. The only change was that he wouldn’t be returning to Coastal with us since he’d already graduated.

He could easily make the short trip to visit her every weekend, but it wasn’t good enough for Greer.

She claimed she’d run through all the scenarios, and they were up against too much. She didn’t want to drag it out and end things hating each other, so they ended it hurting instead.

It didn’t make any sense to me, but I was a girl’s girl. I supported her decision—mostly because it wasn’t my life. If it was, I wouldn’t have dated Josh to begin with. Not that he was a jerk. He wasn’t. He was just cocky and self-centered in the way that all guys seemed to be.

“Your mom actually thinks they would make a good couple?” Wren’s nose crinkled at the thought.

Greer’s expression matched. “Uh-huh.”

Gloria was four times divorced. Some might say that made her unlucky in love, but only those who’d never met her. If they had, they would know she was selfish. Whiny. A gold digger. Embarrassed to have a son old enough to graduate, but fine with hitting on his friends.

An LA stereotype.

Since we knew how she acted when all eyes weren’t on her, we didn’t like her. The OGs, however, gave her the benefit of the doubt. They thought she simply needed to find The One .

I glanced back at the man as he accepted a bottle of water. It killed me to say it, but they would make an attractive couple.

If not custom-made, his high-quality suit was at least expertly tailored to accentuate and accommodate his broad shoulders and chest. The matching black shirt was undone at the neck. He looked effortlessly classy, like he’d stepped out of an ad for a cologne no one could afford.

He was probably in his mid-thirties—which put him about ten years younger than her—but most would guess they were the same age. Gloria might’ve been annoying, but she was also beautifully expensive looking.

Wren shrugged. “Eh, maybe.”

Something about that just felt wrong as it twisted in my stomach. No one deserved to have Gloria’s meticulously groomed acrylic talons dug into them.

Though maybe he did. He could be her The One , a match made in hell.

“But they didn’t invite her?” I asked, needing the reassurance. Not just because the idea of watching Gloria throw herself at the man nauseated me—though it totally did. Our final summer movie night was too important to ruin with her whining theatrics.

“Nope,” she said.

Oh thank God.

“Is Josh coming?” I asked.

“Any minute. Hence why I’m getting my ogling in now.”

Wren might’ve seemed immune to the man, but when she looked behind me, her dark eyes widened. Her words came out in a frantic rush. “Be cool because you’re about to get an up-close opportunity.”

The opposite of being cool, I instinctively looked over my shoulder to watch as Doug led the man our way.

From across the expansive kitchen, I’d already noticed he was tall. Once he was in front of us, though, I saw I’d been mistaken.

He was tall .

My fourteen-year-old self’s dreams of a growth spurt had sadly never come true. Even if I had grown that extra six inches, I still would’ve needed to crane my neck to look at him.

There was a light dusting of stubble on his jaw that I hadn’t noticed from across the room. His nose was also slightly crooked, like it’d been broken at one point but hadn’t set quite right. Both added an edge to his appeal.

Doug turned toward Mr. Stud, attorney at law, and gestured toward our huddle. “This is my daughter, Greer, and her friends, Madeline and Wren. Girls, this is Easton Wells.”

Girls.

Ack.

It wasn’t like I’d planned to chat up the lawyer. Checking him out was one thing. Like fine art in a museum, I could look. That didn’t mean I could—or even wanted to—touch.

But being referred to as girls was still mortifying. It highlighted that Sexy McHot Stuff, Esquire, was playing MLB while I was taking a spinning swing down in tee-ball.

Starting with Greer, Easton shook hands like we were power players gathering for a business meeting and not a trio of girls . When he got to me, his large hand engulfed mine. His fingers were surprisingly calloused for a fancy lawyer, and his grip was warm and strong.

He released the hold and gave Greer his attention. “Your dad tells me you leave for your senior year in the morning. Are you excited?”

Her brain short circuited, but she snapped out of it quickly. “I am, Mr. Wells.”

“Call me Easton.” His eyes scanned between Wren and me. “Do you also go to Coastal?”

Wren might’ve despised lawyers, but she still looked two seconds from twirling her hair and kicking her feet as she nodded up at him.

I assumed her response counted for both of us, but his expectant gaze went to me.

God, he’s hot.

Wait, what am I supposed to be doing?

Oh. Right. Answering.

I nodded. “Yes, Mr. Wells.”

Unlike with Greer, he didn’t tell me to call him by his first name. I had no clue why I’d used any name.

Well, except the obvious. He was intimidating, and his focus on me was enough to make me flustered. I was just relieved I’d gone with the polite title, and not any of the stupid ones I’d been using in my head.

He gave a subtle nod. “Good.”

I didn’t know what was good about it, but it didn’t matter. It was my turn for my brain to fritz out.

Greer’s mom, Eve, slipped in between us to stand next to her husband, flawlessly stepping into her role as hostess. She peppered Easton with questions about when he’d moved to LA and how long he’d been practicing law.

His answers got mixed with Wren and Greer’s conversation as they whispered next to me, but my focus stayed fixed on Easton.

His polite head nods.

The way his neck muscles moved as he spoke.

How he unbuttoned his suit jacket and pushed the material back before sliding his hands in his pockets—a move that was commanding and showed off that he was even more fit than I’d thought.

I couldn’t drag my gaze away.

And I really should have.