Yahrah St. John - Delicious Destiny

Sweet secrets…

It has been almost five years since Shari Drayson graduated college—almost five years since she had her heart broken. Now the only man in her life is her cherished son, Andre. But her life is full, and her family’s bakery is about to appear in a baking competition on national TV. Who needs love when you’ve got pastries?

Sweetest seduction…

When Grant Robinson finally tracks Shari down in Chicago, he expects she will still be beautiful. He expects she will still be smart. What he doesn’t expect is her four-year-old son—who looks exactly like him. The wealthy restaurateur is stunned, and his anger wars with passion for the woman he has never truly forgotten. Determined to claim what is his, Grant insists they marry at once. But his bride soon realizes she’s at risk for another heartbreak. Can Grant’s skillful form of persuasion change her mind and convince her that his love is all she really needs?

“Those are my terms. Take it or leave it.”

Shari shrugged with resignation and replied in a low, tormented voice, “Okay.”

Grant walked toward her and lifted her chin. “What was that?” His gaze traveled over her face and searched her big brown eyes.

Shari looked up at him and Grant felt his blood rushing through his veins. “I said I will marry you.”

“Then let’s kiss on it.” Before Grant knew what he was doing, he was lowering his head and slowly brushing his lips across Shari’s. He hadn’t meant to kiss her. He was still furious. He had intended to throttle her, but she looked so vulnerable, the way she had that night so many years ago, that again he was powerless to resist.

Her lips were soft and moist and she tasted as sweet as he remembered that night in the dorm. Grant lost himself in the kiss and circled his arm around her waist, pulling her closer to him. He deepened the kiss by using his tongue to trace the outline of her lips until she parted her mouth and opened up to him. He wrapped his tongue around hers, entwining it with his, sucking it, devouring it. Shari didn’t object. She responded to his kiss.

The ringing of a cell phone snapped Grant out of the kiss just as if someone had poured cold water over him. What was he doing? He was kissing the woman who’d kept his son a secret from him for four years.

YAHRAH ST. JOHN

is the author of ten books and numerous short stories. A graduate of Hyde Park Career Academy, she earned a bachelor of arts degree in English from Northwestern University. Her books have garnered four-star ratings from RT Book Reviews, Rawsistaz Reviewers, Romance in Color and numerous book clubs. In 2012, St. John was nominated for RT Book Reviews Reviewer’s Choice Award for Best Series Romance. A member of Romance Writers of America, St. John is an avid reader of all genres. She enjoys the arts, cooking, traveling, basketball and adventure sports, but her true passion remains writing. St. John lives in sunny Orlando, the City Beautiful.

Delicious Destiny

Yahrah St. John

www.millsandboon.co.uk

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Dear Reader,

I hoped you enjoyed the conclusion to The Draysons: Sprinkled with Love trilogy. It was a pleasure to be included in the miniseries with wonderful writers such as A.C. Arthur and Farrah Rochon.

My goal was to use Shari Drayson’s history with Dina and force a marriage of convenience with the love of her life—Grant. I heighten the drama with the You Take the Cake Competition as the backdrop. I thoroughly enjoyed researching baking, visiting Sweet Designs bakery in Orlando and watching a lot of Cupcake Wars.

Visit my website at www.yahrahstjohn.comfor the latest updates or contact me via email at Yahrah@yahrahstjohn.com.

Warmest wishes,

Yahrah St. John

To my boyfriend, Freddie Blackman,

for all his love and support

A huge thank-you to Susan and David Clippinger of

Sweet Designs Kitchen in Hunter’s Creek for showing me the bakery business. I couldn’t continue to pursue my passion without my Dad, Austin Mitchell; 2nd moms, Asilee Mitchell and Beatrice Astwood; cousin Yahudiah Chodosh; sisters and BFFs Dimitra Astwood, Therolyn Rodgers, Tiffany Griffin and Tonya Mitchell, Kiara Ashanti and Bhushan Sukrham.

You keep me grounded. To all my fans for their loyalty,

you’re simply the best.

Contents

Prologue

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Chapter 14

Chapter 15

Epilogue

Prologue

“You have to come with me,” Shari pleaded with her best friend and roommate, Dina English, as they sat in their dorm room at Ledgeman University. “Everyone from our graduate business class is going, and Grant is going to be there.”

Shari had an enormous crush on Grant Robinson, the six-foot-tall graduate student who was the object of her fantasies. He was breathtakingly handsome and brilliant. He was the only student she knew who dressed up when he came to class, usually in trousers, a button-down shirt and loafers. The problem was that Grant could have any girl he wanted, so why was she pining for a man she could never have? Could it be because he was every bit as nice as he seemed? In class, he always treated Shari with respect, as if her ideas and opinions mattered.

“All right, I’ll go.” Dina sighed. “Otherwise, I’ll never hear the end of it.”

“You’re a lifesaver.” Shari breathed a sigh of relief. If Dina hadn’t agreed, Shari wouldn’t have felt confident enough to go by herself. At five foot nine, Dina was slim and gorgeous, with fair skin and high cheekbones. She was easily one of the most popular girls on campus. Meanwhile, Shari was five feet six inches with brown skin, a round face, large nose and a curvy figure.

Shari busied herself getting ready for the party that night, humming happily the whole time.

* * *

A few hours later, they arrived at the Omega Psi Phi’s party. Dina wore skinny jeans and a flattering halter top and looked as if she had walked off the pages of Essence. The best Shari had been able to manage was black jeans and a print T-shirt. Since she’d been at Ledgeman, Shari had gained the infamous “freshman fifteen” and hadn’t been able to take off the extra weight.

Dina worked the party, flirting with several men, leaving Shari to her own devices. Shari was nervous about seeing Grant, so she downed cup after cup of beer. The party became a blur. She did remember, however, the moment Grant stepped in, like a knight in shining armor, and told her he was taking her back to her dorm because she’d had too much to drink. To have the object of her affection take an interest in her welfare was intoxicating. Or was it just the liquor talking?

When they got back to her dorm room, Grant deposited Shari on her perfectly made-up bed, which was right next to Dina’s unmade one. He settled her in the bed and then stood.

“I hate to leave you here unattended,” he said, looking around at the half-neat, half-unkempt room as if he was afraid to leave her alone.