Page 5 of Taming Her Temptations

A laugh escapes my lips.

Ryan looks at me like I’ve lost my mind.

“I was just thinking how much Steven would be horrified by this scene,” I say, laughter lacing my words.

Ryan grins. “He would be shaking his head and looking at his phone, just pretending not to see you.”

Now I’m really laughing and Ryan is too.

Tears form in my eyes, this time from laughter. “Remember that one Christmas that Dad put way too much rum in the eggnog and we all had a sing-along?”

Ryan is shaking with laughter. “I thought Shithead Steve was going to cry that night, seeing what kind of family he had married into.”

The sound of a foot squelches to a stop nearby. I look up, expecting to see Jessica eager to make fun of us, but it is most definitely not Jessica. My laughter stops immediately. I move up to my elbows to make sure that the punch and the hit to my head didn’t finally push me over the edge and I’m hallucinating.

“Hello, Ruby.” Levi Wilde looks down at me. His lips curl into a smile. “We’ve got to stop meeting like this.”

“Shit, Levi Wilde?” Ryan gets up and offers me a hand at the same time that Levi does. I glare at Levi and take Ryan’s hand, then brush my dress down, as if it could make any difference to the mess that is currently me.

I see my dad shuffling towards us with Dean and Asher.

“So. I’ve been meaning to tell you, gemstone,” my dad says, out of breath. “Before you and Shithead Steve split, he found a buyer for the Rosewoods to sell the manor to.”

“Who?” I dare to ask even though I’m afraid I already know the answer.

“Us,” Levi grins.

CHAPTER THREE

Ruby

“Trespassing twice in one day,” Dean traces his gaze up and down me. “You going for some kind of record?”

I open my mouth to hurl the first insult that comes to my head, but my dad steps between us.

“It’s my fault,” he says with urgency. “If you need to call the police, please know it was me who had them come out here. I didn’t think you had moved in yet.”

My dad genuinely looks nervous. I hate seeing him cower to these three young cocky assholes. My dad has always bent over backward for the wealthy, entitled people of this town when they should be the ones doing that for him.

“Dad!” I shake my head. “No one is calling the police. We’re having an Easter egg hunt, not spray-painting their hedges. Although knowing you live here, I can’t make any promises.”

“Listen, we come in peace.” Asher raises his hands. “We actually came here to find Ruby. Could we sit down and talk somewhere?”

“Oh, of course.” My sweet dad offers before I can say no. “Come on in, we’ve got plenty of punch for everyone.”

And just like that, any moment of blissful distraction has been stomped on by these three.

Asher twists a bunny mug in his large hand. He observes it and then I catch him looking up at me before quickly glancing away.

Yeah, buddy. I hope you feel really tough for almost depriving our family of bunny mugs on Easter.

“Oh, it’s so nice to see the house filled up like this.” My dad grins from ear to ear, handing out the last mug to Levi. “Now what can my Ruby do for you, gentleman?”

My dad is acting like I’m about to get asked to the prom. He’ll be disappointed when he finds out that more likely, I’m getting a cease and desist letter from them.

“Dad, do you know who these guys are?” Ryan sits on the armrest of the couch. Our entire living room is packed to the brim, with no seat left for Ryan, but he’s lingering anyway likely because he wants to witness either my embarrassment or get an autograph. Daisy is settled on my lap, her duck dress splayed out over my knees, while Jessica is to my right. Somehow, I feel like Jessica sensed my trepidation and she and Daisy came to guard me.

“I’m afraid I don’t,” my dad shifts in his leather armchair next to me. I’m not surprised he doesn’t know who they are. The man thinks that screens dull his creativity and doesn’t even own a TV. That’s pretty much the only way you could avoid knowing who these three intruders are.

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