Page 11 of Tempt Me-

“I’m sure you’re curious, so here’s the rest of it.We made the marriage work for two years.And she left me and Bailey for a rich guy she met at the gym… until he got bored, dumped her ass, and she came back.She said all the right things about having learned her lesson and wanting to be a real mom this time.So I took her back for Bailey’s sake.”

He braces a hand on the table and glances over.“God, I was such an asshole.”

“No.”I pull my chair closer to his, the warm scent of his aftershave hitting me without warning, powerful, hot, and sexy.All the wrong things to be thinking about now, while he is baring his soul.

“Want to know what I think?”I ask in a husky voice I hope doesn’t betray my yearning.I don’t wait for his reply.“I think you’re a great dad who would do anything for his daughter.That’s something to be proud of, not to beat yourself up over.”

He shakes his head and lets out a pained laugh.“Well, it’s a mistake I won’t make again.Not with anyone, but especially not with Kayla.She doesn’t have the patience or the temperament to be a parent.But thank you for saying that about me.”He lifts the mug and gives me a sexy half-smile.

I glance away.Not sexy.Just a smile.Jeez.I can’t contain my thoughts around him for one single second.

“But I do want you to know the reason she can’t be allowed near Bailey again.”He takes a sip of the hot tea, draws his tongue over his lips, a movement I can’t help but follow.

“Bailey was four… almost five,” he says, bringing me back to focus on what is important.“As far as I know, and hope, too young to remember.I worked late, and Kayla was home.Bailey’s schedule was pretty much the same as now except for the fact that it’s later now.And she tries to negotiate harder.”

“She’s good at brokering a deal.”

He shakes his head and laughs, but he quickly sobers, his expression turning dark.“She was… is… precocious.All I know is the morning after that night, I helped her get dressed for the day and she had finger marks on her arm.Adult-sized red marks,” he says through clenched teeth.“I asked her what happened.She said, and I can still hear the words, clear as day, ‘Mommy did this,’ followed by big crocodile tears.”He rubs his palm against his eyes and I duck my head, giving him a moment of privacy.

Nausea fills me at the thought of anyone hurting that child, let alone her mother.“I’m sorry,” I whisper after a moment.

“Yeah, me, too.Sorry I gave her a second chance.Sorrier I didn’t document it.Kayla didn’t deny it, either.Said Bailey wasn’t getting dressed fast enough, was giving her a hard time, so she grabbed her—hard enough to bruise—and forced her into the pajamas.”

“What did you do?”I’m almost afraid to ask.

“Saw a lawyer, had custody, divorce, and settlement papers drawn up, handed her a check for one hundred grand, and told her to get the hell out and never come back.”

I swallow hard.“Yet she showed up today.”

“My guess?She ran out of cash.She’s threatening to sue for custody and tell the judge a sob story about how I forced her out of her daughter’s life… unless I pay up.But if I do that, I’ll keep paying, and that’s sure as hell not how this is going to go down.”His grip is so tight on the mug his knuckles turn white.

“I won’t let her near Bailey.”

He meets my gaze, his deadly serious.“You see her, you hear from her, you call me.”

I nod.“I will.I promise,” I say.“Do you think that black car on the street was her?”I ask.

He shakes his head.“She had a blue rental today.Maybe she hired someone to watch the house.But that wouldn’t jibe with her running low on cash.”He shrugs.“I don’t know, but I’m going to find out,” he says, his stress still obvious.

“It’s going to be okay.”I place what I mean to be a comforting hand on his arm, hoping to calm him.But it is the first time I’ve touched him, and the sizzling shock runs straight through my body.

He glances at my hand, and I freeze, meeting his gaze.The warmth of his skin seeps into my palm and the heated look in his eyes wraps around my body like a caress.Physically, there is no doubt I desire him, but every warning in my brain tells me to walk away before either of us does something stupid, and from the darkened hue of his brown eyes, I’m not alone in the wanting.

But I have a good job for a man I respect and a little girl I adore.I’d be a fool to let lust get in the way of common sense and living a smart life.Quietly and with his hot gaze on me, I slide my hand off him.

Shooting him a regret-filled look, I pick up my tea and make my way to bed.

Alone.

Chapter Three

Austin

September goes byquickly with no word from Kayla, which makes me nervous.My lawyer says we can take her apart on the stand if it ever gets that far.As time passes, I become convinced that my ex-wife is more afraid she’ll be awarded custody than I am of going up against her in court.That is the hope I hold on to as I try to push her to the back of my mind.

Dan holds up his end of the bargain, and by late September, I’m working three days a week from home, at the office one day for the weekly meeting, and a second when needed.An intended result of my time at the house is more ability to be on call when parents are requested in class.Bailey’s school is big on “Days of the Year” celebrations, and once a week the teacher allows parents in with the kids.

Today is a celebration of Stanley Berenstain’s birthday, the children’s book author and illustrator, and Bailey volunteered me as one of the parents who will read to the kids this afternoon.Unfortunately, an office emergency comes up and I have to go in to work, so Mia is going to read for me.Bailey took the news in stride, no doubt because she has Mia to take my place.