Served Sweet Read online

  It’s all or nothing, and to the victor go the dirty sweet spoils.

  Best Revenge, Book 3

  As if buried in their respective DNA, Riley Hewitt and Anson Black have been rivals since grade school. Always trying to one-up the other…until Anson left town right after graduation.

  Fast forward a few years. Just as Riley is thinking of expanding her profitable baking business, who should plant his new restaurant right next door but smug, annoying—and, unfortunately, drop-dead-sexy—Anson. Spurred by a large bottle of wine and her two best friends, Riley sets out to get revenge.

  Of all the women Anson has known, no one has stirred him—or made him work harder—than Riley. Moving in right under her nose, he’ll be a constant thorn in her side. After all, he’s smart, sexy and successful. What’s not to love?

  Much to her chagrin, Riley finds more than her competitive edge coming back to life. So is her libido. But if she lets her heart fall into Anson’s win column, she could lose in more ways than one. And this time around, second place just isn’t going to cut it.

  Warning: A smug man needing his comeuppance duels with a baking queen who stirs his passion like nobody’s business. No cupcakes were injured in the making of this romance, but the same can’t be said for the knitting needles.

  Served Sweet

  Marie Harte

  Acknowledgements

  To Diana McCollum, for helping me with knitting. I don’t know how you do it, but I’m impressed. And to Julie D, for being such a great sounding board. You truly are “The Doctor”.

  Chapter One

  Staring at the back of his stupid head wasn’t making the night go by any faster. Riley Hewitt stifled a groan, looked away and forced a smile at something Maya said.

  Maya, one of Riley’s best friends since the second grade, smirked at her. “You are so not fooling anyone.”

  “Oh?” Riley sipped from her wine glass, wishing she’d thought to bring something stronger to Ann and Jack’s engagement party. Like a mallet to bludgeon herself unconscious.

  Ann, Maya and Riley had been dubbed the Terrible Trio back in elementary school, when the bonds of friendship had built the foundation for a lifelong sisterhood. Outcasts who’d dared anyone to try to take them down a peg, the three girls had been united in solidarity against boys, catty girls and frozen peas.

  Except now her best friends seemed to have gone to the dark side, falling for the handsome men who’d once done them wrong.

  Maya stood a few feet from a dream of a guy, her lover and soon-to-be fiancé if Dex had his way. Riley had a feeling there’d be some Valentine’s Day proposing going on in a few more weeks. Across the room, Ann beamed as she stood arm in arm with Jack—both of them high school sweethearts who’d bridged a distance of misunderstanding and heartache to find a lasting love.

  Riley’s gaze gravitated to him again, boring a hole into the back of his skull as he chatted with Ann and Jack. As usual, a few women glommed to his sides, like skanky remoras feeding off the predatory shark Riley knew the man to be.

  “Yep. There you go. Staring daggers at Anson. Come on, Riley. Go big or go home. Don’t just think about talking smack. Go up to the guy and put him in his place.” Maya, ever the instigator, tossed back a beer, dressed like a runway model in her hippie-chic skirt and sweater.

  Like Riley, Maya had a darker skin tone than most in the crowd. Though Riley loved living in Bend, Oregon, the social climate was decidedly paler than those of her African American roots and Maya’s Native American ancestry. Ann, the token redhead of the Terrible Trio, had bonded with the two outsiders early on, as if unaware that homogeny was typically sought after in the white world of Central Oregon.

  Proportionately, only a small number of non-Caucasians resided in Bend. Though Riley had dealt with her share of prejudice when younger, she chalked those asshats off to ignorant hicks. Most of the people she now dealt with couldn’t care less about her skin color. They sought her for the treasures she offered in her bakery—Riley’s Sweets.

  “I don’t want to ruin Ann’s party,” Riley mumbled in response to Maya’s dare, wishing she had the guts to tell Anson off once and for all.

  Anson Black made her blood boil. The handsome bastard had been one-upping her since the science fair in the third grade. Hell, he’d even beaten her in Home Ec with that stupid knitting project—when her mother crafted things for a living. Man, had that been hard to live down at home. They’d gone back and forth, an unending competition between them. She’d always done her best, but somehow he seemed to come out on top of everything that mattered. Fastest boy to her fastest girl on the track team, and of course he’d lorded it over her that his time had set a record for the half mile. She’d been class Valedictorian, but he’d won the Student Council presidency. And though they were both voted Most Likely to Succeed, he’s become a financial genius while she’d just hit the black with her bakery. It was like he’d pulled ahead again, and she needed to even the playing field. Silly, but there it was.

  She took pride in the fact that people loved her bakery. Voted number one every year in The Source Weekly’s own Bend’s Best Of list. She’d been on top the past few years while Anson had been doing God-knew-what around the country. And then her nemesis, who’d left town after high school, had come back to stay.

  In just four months, he’d wreaked havoc. Not content to be a successful restaurateur away from Bend, he just had to set up shop right next door to Riley’s Sweets. The business was her pride and joy, and according to her friends, a substitute boyfriend that consumed all her time. Anson had made a fortune in the big cities. Why the hell had he come back to her town to set up shop? To destroy her?

  She fumed.

  Dexter joined Maya, saw Riley, and took a step back, putting his girlfriend between them. “Whoa. Look, it’s not my fault we’re related. I had nothing to do with our fathers being brothers. I swear.”

  Dexter Black was Anson’s cousin. The fact Riley approved of him despite his association with his cousin proved he had to be a quality guy.

  “I like you, Dex.” Riley patted his arm. The giant lug grinned down at her. He had a few inches on Maya, and man, he was huge. No longer the geeky kid he’d been back in high school, for sure. She shot a side-glance at Anson.

  Anson and Dex looked a lot alike. Both too handsome for their own good, with dark hair and large builds. She hated to admit it, but Anson was just her type physically. If he’d keep his mouth shut—a practical impossibility—she might try him on for size. I mean, he’s totally arm candy material. A dream in her fantasies, an egotistical nightmare in reality.

  Whereas his cousin had a military-short cut, a holdover from his Marine Corps days, Anson had thick black hair that reached his nape. He had that bad boy vibe going for him, but she’d be surprised if the anal retentive guy had ever even jaywalked.

  He turned suddenly and caught her studying him. He raised a brow in that supercilious way he had that shot her temper to the moon. Then he grinned, and she wanted nothing more than to kiss—no, knock—that smile off his face.

  And that right there. That was her major problem with Anson. As arrogant, obnoxious and annoying as he could be, her body had never gotten the memo that he should be too irritating to be considered boyfriend material. Instead, she continued to have naughty dreams of them doing all manner of things together. And Riley, unfortunately, had never done sex without the emotional commitment. No one-night stands for her.

  Ignoring the heat in her cheeks, she smiled back at him and saw his eyes narrow. Then she took her middle finger and scratched at her brow.

  He blinked before laughing long and loud.

  Great. He’d gotten the message and found it amusing.

  “You know,” Dex said as he drew Maya in
front of him and rested his chin on her shoulder. “I get the impression maybe Anson likes you.”

  “Oh God. Not this again.” Riley finished the wine in her glass and looked around for another.

  Maya rolled her eyes but took the glass and left to refill it.

  Dex nodded. “Yeah. See, Anson is a great guy.”

  She snorted.

  “He’s just misunderstood.”

  Riley gave Dex credit for his loyalty. But while Dex had been raised to be humble about his brilliance, Anson embraced his many kudos to the point where his head shouldn’t have been able to fit through Ann and Jack’s doorway. “So you’re telling me Mr. I’m-King-of-the-World isn’t full of himself? That his recent nomination as bachelor of the century for that Valentine’s Day charity ball, the one he announced to everyone as soon as he stepped inside this room tonight, is all an act? And what about that way he has of acting like he’s lord of the manor wherever he goes? I mean, really?”

  Dex blew out a breath. “Okay, so he brags more than he should. I admit, it can be a little annoying.”

  “A little?”

  “But he only does that super bossy thing to annoy you. I find it funny as hell.”

  She kind of did too, because Anson could be just ridiculous and she had a feeling he knew it. But liking him wasn’t on her agenda, so she frowned.

  “Besides, it’s not as if he’s making it all up. He really is that smart, successful and charming, much as it pains me to say.”

  Glumly, she accepted the glass Maya handed her upon her return. “I know.” She watched Maya snuggle up to Dex and at least took comfort in her friend’s happiness. Lord knew Maya was a pain in the ass most of the time. She could be a handful, but Dex had managed to wrangle her into submission.

  At the thought, Riley felt ill. She could just imagine Dex and Maya playing the sex games she fantasized about. No, not that kind of submission. Jesus, she needed to get her mind out of the gutter. She blamed Anson for that too.

  “Hey, Riley.”

  To her relief, a friend and fellow local business owner stepped forward with a smile.

  Ben was the head chef and co-owner of A&B’s Fine Food and Friends, a very popular restaurant downtown. He was tall, like Anson, but without the man’s breadth of shoulder, blazing green eyes or arrogance. He was nice, and she loved talking food with him. When the festivals started, she normally asked for her tent to be stationed next to his. It helped he wasn’t stingy when exchanging recipes and samples.

  “Ben. How are you?”

  “Better now that you’re here.”

  She smiled, noting his shining blue eyes. Safe, nice… She shot a glance at Anson again, saw him flirting with some perky brunette, and gave Ben a wide grin. “Back at ya, handsome. So what’s new on your menu lately?”

  Anson did his best to pay attention to Christy…Candy? Some name beginning with C. She’d been all over him the moment he’d stepped in the door. His fault for making conversation with her a few months ago and allowing her flirting to turn into a date. One date. But Ms. Chatty didn’t seem to realize he’d meant it when he’d said he wasn’t interested in more than a casual fling.

  Granted, she had a skilled mouth, and he’d reciprocated the pleasure. But seeing Riley again had made every woman he’d seen since then fade into the background.

  “Uh-huh,” he murmured as Chatty babbled about the Valentine’s Day bachelor auction.

  Of course the hospital had made the right call in asking him to participate in a bachelor auction, nominating him as their lead attraction. That didn’t bear discussing. It simply was.

  Like his unrequited lust for Riley Hewitt. He’d been dazzled by the girl, infatuated with the teen, and thoroughly bewitched by the beauty she’d become. Her physical appeal was only one of many reasons he wanted her. God knew he’d never seen a prettier woman. He’d traveled the world and seen some attractive ladies, but none as beautiful as Riley.

  She had the smoothest looking cocoa skin. Her dark hair was usually pulled together in a ponytail, like black silk tickling her neck. Her hazel eyes could seem golden-brown or green dependent upon her mood. She had full lips he’d envisioned parting under his on more than one occasion. Such luscious lips that would feel just right wrapped around another portion of his growing anatomy.

  Damn. He needed to get a handle on his erection before Chatty thought it was for her. He gave her a polite smile and a nod, then made an excuse about needing to talk to his cousin.

  “Oh, okay.” Chatty pouted. Not an attractive look. “I’ll talk to you later?”

  He gave her an absent smile, not committing, and made a beeline for Dex. The lucky bastard had himself draped around Maya Reynolds, a member of the Terrible Trio, like Riley, and a natural beauty. She and Dex looked perfect together, both tall and fit and cheerful.

  Anson didn’t think he’d ever seen his cousin happier, and for that he tolerated Maya’s attitude, even finding her amusing on occasion. Raised together as brothers, he and Dex had been tight growing up. Though Dex had transferred to a different high school in his senior year, and Anson had not only been taking his high school courses but college ones as well, they’d always made time for each other.

  They currently roomed together, but it wouldn’t be too much longer before Dex moved in with Maya. The schmuck had bought her an engagement ring and planned to propose on the most clichéd day of the year—Valentine’s Day. Yet Anson knew Maya would go for it because she’d do anything for her dyed-in-the-wool romantic boyfriend.

  Some tough guy ex-Marine Dex turned out to be. The marshmallow. Not so for Anson. Though his parents had been married and in love for nearly thirty years, he’d seen enough twisted relationships with friends and gold diggers to be cynical. It didn’t help that he ended up comparing every woman he’d ever met to Riley and found them lacking.

  With a mental smack upside his head to stop obsessing over the woman, and God knew he had problems with obsessing over things, he casually walked toward Dex and Riley and overheard the blond bozo with them speaking.

  “Seriously. Any time you want us to spotlight your desserts, say the word. I’m not the only one gaga over your cakes. Mike loves them too.”

  Riley beamed. “That’s sweet of you to say… No pun intended.”

  The group laughed.

  Anson clenched his jaw.

  Dex spotted him and nodded. “Hey, cuz. How’s it going?”

  Anson did his best to appear unconcerned that Riley was wasting her time on someone not worthy of her. The woman had smarts, looks and true skill. The man next to her had the appearance of a doughy big-shot wannabe. Hell, he didn’t even reach Anson’s chin.

  “Hello.” Anson nodded at everyone, including Riley, who narrowed her gaze on him. He had never been able to figure out why they struck sparks off each other. Competitive natures, anger, lust. At least he hoped for lust. With Riley, he just couldn’t tell. She was the only woman he’d ever met who challenged him to constantly be on his toes.

  The perfect woman for him, if only she’d realize it.

  Dough Boy stuck out his hand. “Name’s Ben.”

  Trying to be polite, though such niceties with those not worthy of his attention annoyed him, Anson decided to stick to his new plan to win Riley over and gave Ben a short smile. “Anson Black. Nice to meet you.”

  The handshake started and ended with a tight grip. Perfunctory. Polite. Nothing Riley could criticize about him, was there?

  He tried to do his level best when around the woman, but somehow she always found fault with him. Yet another reason he found her fascinating. That she could think to find him lacking turned him on. And yes, I’m such a moron for wanting someone so dictatorial. She said he had issues? The woman was a perfectionist and a control freak. Though he didn’t see that as a detriment. Not like some others did.

  “So Anson, I take it you and Dexter are related?” Ben asked.

  “Can’t you tell?” Maya answered with a sly grin. “He might not b
e as handsome or hunky as my man, but they look alike. I mean, Anson’s passable, I guess.”

  Dryly, Anson said, “Thanks so much, Maya.” He caught Riley giving him a subtle onceover. His body, as usual, responded. His nipples felt hard, his cock thickened under his thankfully restrictive denim and he found it hard to breathe.

  So he deliberately relaxed, drank more beer and smiled when her gaze lifted to his. She blushed. Damn, but he wanted to see her flushed with desire, naked in his bed. Tying her up while he rode her hard, hearing her scream her orgasms.

  But instead of showing her any of what he felt, he compartmentalized and relaxed into the party. “How have you been, Riley?”

  “Just fine. How about you? Snow making it hard to get your business up and running?”

  As if she cared. The woman wanted nothing more than for him to go very, very far away. Not in this lifetime. The location he’d chosen, right next to her store, was prime for an upscale restaurant. He’d done the numbers. Like Riley, he’d chosen the perfect spot. And besides, it put him right next to her. No way for her to avoid him if he was constantly underfoot.

  Perhaps that much proximity would finally allow him to penetrate her guards and work her out of his skin. He needed to end this fixation with her so he could get on with his life being…unsatisfied with each mounting success. He swallowed a sigh.

  “The snow slows things down a little.” He shrugged. “But I factored poor weather and delays into my timeline and budget. We’re good to go so far.”

  “Terrific.” She grimaced.

  He did his best not to laugh, because even disgruntled, she made him want to smile. So bizarre.

  “What business are you in?” Ben asked.

  Before could answer, Dex cut in. “My boy’s been in the restaurant biz for seven years. Won a four star rating for his Dining Experience Club in Portland last year. And he’s building right next to Riley’s place. A restaurant, not a sweet shop,” he said, more to Riley than Ben.

  Ben snapped and pointed at Anson. “Right. So that’s you.”