Page 45 of Tempt Me-

“Dan?”I ask stupidly, still lost in being with Austin in all the ways I pushed away.

He wrinkles his brows, obviously confused.“Dan, my boss.You’ve heard his name before.”

“Yes.Of course.Sorry.I’m still a little queasy,” I say, blaming my stomach for my frazzled behavior.

This time he does reach out and lift my chin with his hand.“Are you okay?”he asks, seriously worried as he looks into my eyes.

I do my best not to get lost in his.“Yes.I think I might have picked up a stomach virus or something.I’ll rest today.And as for your party… I’ll go with you,” I say.

I wish I was going as his date but again it all comes down to choices.And what I can and cannot live with.Besides, who knows, even if we were together, if he’d have taken me as anything more than a means to keep me safe.Or to allow me to meet my favorite pop star.

***

Austin

I drink fromthe travel mug Mia made me, trying my best to focus on the road, but I have so much on my mind, not the least of which is my ex, who I am meeting with, hopefully for the final time, and Mia, who I left home not feeling well and dealing with trial shit that should have been in her past.

I am so used to her being perky and happy that seeing her sick threw me.With her pale coloring and glassy, big green eyes, I wanted to pick her up and carry her to bed.I wanted to take care of her in the most primal, elemental way.

Which makes no sense to me.I take care of my daughter.Women are secondary.Or were until Mia.

I grip the steering wheel harder and force myself to concentrate on how I plan to handle Kayla, which means I am prepared when I walk into the diner and catch sight of her sitting alone at a table, drinking a cup of coffee like she doesn’t have anything to worry about except collecting her paycheck.

I stride over and settle into a seat, facing my duplicitous, smug-looking ex-wife, who sits drumming her fingertips on the table.She wears a satisfied smile on her face and a tight dress, though she has to know I am immune to anything she has or tries to offer.

“I’m so glad you called,” she practically purrs.“I knew you’d come around to my way of thinking.”

I force a smile.“I decided it was time we talk terms.”

I can see the dollar signs in her eyes and the pleasure I am about to get magnifies tenfold.

“So.”She trails her fingers across the table until she curls her hand around mine.“What are you willing to give me?”

I jerk my hand away.There are things I will not allow her to do and touching me is high on the list.“You know, I should be grateful to you, Kayla.Sounds crazy, I know, but poking holes in that condom gave me my greatest gift.”

I think of the little girl who looks more like me than her mother, with her toothless grin and happy laugh, and everything inside me eases.

Kayla nods, a satisfied grin forming on her heavily colored lips.“I’m glad you can see the upside in this situation.I have to say I’m surprised you’re being so generous with the compliments.”

Yes, I think, I am buttering her up and setting her up for the fall.And damned if I’m not enjoying every minute.“So you see, there really isn’t much I wouldn’t do in order to keep my daughter with me and… safe from you.”

She frowns at that.“I’m hardly a monster.”

“I suppose we can agree to disagree on that.”

“Excuse me,” a waitress says, coming up to the table with a pot of coffee in hand.“Can I get you something to drink before you order?”she asks.“A refill?”She glances at Kayla, who arrived first.

“No thank you,” I tell her.“Actually I won’t be ordering.”

“I’ll take a refill,” Kayla says, completely at ease with whatever is coming next.

Just the way I want her.

The waitress tops off her cup and Kayla adds her milk and Splenda, and I give her all the time she needs.

“So where were we?”she finally asks.

“Disagreeing on how to describe your personality, but that’s neither here nor there.”