Delicious Destiny

Delicious Destiny
Yahrah St. John

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 never truly forgot.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?The Draysons: Sprinkled with Love Passion has never been this sweet!

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 (http://www.millsandboon.co.uk)

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.com (http://www.yahrahstjohn.com) for 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 (#u18b913cb-be85-5431-bd94-3f69790e0b6a)

Chapter 1 (#u8d10ca62-5eb9-5a2c-8e25-a7026994a83d)

Chapter 2 (#ube6f602f-87a6-5b74-a15d-1dcef6d0820c)

Chapter 3 (#ubdcb5de1-e2f4-55b4-926b-08134945187d)

Chapter 4 (#u52920386-107b-59b2-a97f-2cb70922e31b)

Chapter 5 (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter 6 (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter 7 (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter 8 (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter 9 (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter 10 (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter 11 (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter 12 (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter 13 (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter 14 (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter 15 (#litres_trial_promo)

Epilogue (#litres_trial_promo)

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.”