Page 9 of Tempted To Be Mine

“Feels like an hour.”

“Just sit. Stare at the water.”

“I want to get in the water.”

“You’re wearing a suit. An expensive one that you do not own.”

“What are we doing after this?” he asked.

I sighed. “Nothing. Home. I want to go home.”

He wrinkled his nose. “That’s so boring.”

“We agreed we were going to take a few days,” I reminded him. “You said you were going to check in with the family. Sleep in. This conversation ringing a bell?”

He shrugged. “We could crash at Holli’s place.”

“Or I could hop on the freeway and drive home. I haven’t seen my apartment in weeks. I’m sure even my cactus is dead.”

His fingers started drumming faster. “Yeah. I guess.”

I pushed up my sunglasses and stared at him. “Do you not want to go home?”

“Of course I want to go home.” Jeremy sat up straighter in his seat. “Uh-oh.”

“What now?”

“Bossman coming in hot.”

I glanced over and saw Sebastian walking toward us. He looked way too serious. I suspected I wouldn’t be heading home anytime soon.

He stopped at our table, his gaze moving from me to Jeremy and back again.

“Hey,” Jeremy said, still fidgeting in his chair. “We good to go for the next setup?”

Sebastian didn’t answer right away. That pause made something in my stomach tighten. I glanced at Jeremy. If he did something to get fired from his own family’s campaign, I’d spank his cute butt.

“I need to talk to both of you,” he said. Something in his tone made me sit up straighter. “It’s important.”

4

JEREMY

What the hell? I hadn’t done anything wrong but I knew that look. I’d seen it way too many times in my life. I hadn’t been late for the shoot. Maybe a minute or two. And to be fair, they were taking forever.

If not that, then what? What did I do now?

I ran through the mental checklist. The shoot had gone fine. I’d done every setup they asked for, changed outfits without complaining, and I nailed every pose. I’d been mostly professional all afternoon.

So what was with the face?

I shifted in my chair, trying to look casual. Whatever it was, I hadn’t done it. Probably.

“What’s up?” I asked.

Sebastian pulled over an empty chair and sat down, which meant this wasn’t a quick thing. I glanced at Lucy. She’d gone still beside her laptop, watching him like she expected him to pull a snake from his pocket or drop a grenade on the table.

I didn’t blame her. Sebastian gave nothing away.