Page 7 of Taming Her Temptations

I swivel my head to him, surprised. I was expecting some pushback.

“Deal?” I repeat, doubt lacing my voice.

Levi stands up and brushes his hand down his white t-shirt and jeans, straightening himself out. Then he reaches his hand out to mine. I grab it and the reality of who I’m making a deal with hits me. Levi Wilde. Madison’s brother but also, well, him. American heartthrob, soulful singer, and apparently my neighbor. His hand is warm around mine and his gaze is intense. I swallow, looking up at him.

“It’s a pleasure doing business with you, Ruby Rivers.”

It’s strange hearing my full name on his lips. Hell, I’m still getting used to hearing my maiden name again, but when he says it, it doesn’t sound so bad.

“Tomorrow at 9?” He offers.

“Tomorrow at 9.” I agree.

And for the first time in a long time, I consider not hexing the entire Wilde family name before I go to bed. We’ll see how long that lasts, though.

CHAPTER FOUR

Levi

I step into the bookshop, pulling my baseball cap low over my face. This town is pretty good about not coming up to me in public. Probably because there are far more important people living here. The kind of people who make presidents rise to power or make economies come crashing down. Not to mention, I’m pretty sure they consider it tacky to fawn over celebrities. And I’m starting to learn that being tacky is the most horrible sin you can commit here.

I spot my sister tucked into a corner, browsing the parenting section. I tap her on the shoulder and she jumps.

“Jesus, Lev. You scared the crap out of me.” She looks left and right before she brings me into a hug.

“Feeling a little on edge?” I assess her. Her pregnancy isn’t obvious in the loose white top she’s wearing, but she has one hand on her stomach showing a slight curve.

She takes a long sigh. “Yes. Our trip was not great.” She looks around her again, checking if anyone is nearby. “I’m more and more sure he’s hiding something from me.”

I want to shrug and ask her what the hell she expects; the man is a snake. But I’m trying not to stress her out. Except clearly, she’s already stressed by her jumpiness. A thought occurs to me.

“Are you safe living there?” I ask, an edge in my voice. “Has he ever gotten aggressive?”

She rolls her eyes. “Don’t be so dramatic. He’s harmless. He just seems really stressed out.” She rubs her stomach absentmindedly.

I take a deep breath, wanting to avoid what I’m going to say next.

“Listen, I wanted to meet you here because I’ve got something to tell you.” I fidget with a book with a smiling chubby baby on the cover and avoid her eye contact. “We hired Ruby Rivers to work with us to help with the gala.”

“What in the hell, Lev?” She smacks me on the shoulder. “That woman hates me.”

“Can you blame her?” I meet Mads’ eyes now. She’s tan and her straight blonde hair looks even lighter from their trip to Aruba, but her eyes have dark circles under them. She’s tired. But I can’t help myself when I push further. “You guys won’t even let her get her clothes, Mads? That’s cruel.”

She throws her hands up in exasperation. “It’s not me. Of course, I want her stuff out of the house. Steven is the one who insists on keeping every damn thing until it can be settled in court.”

I shake my head. “Well, I need you to ask him to get her clothes. It’s part of the arrangement we made with her to get her to work for us.”

She cocks an eyebrow at me. “She’s calling the shots? She should be over the moon to work with you. I’m pretty sure she’s living at her dad’s house. It’s not like she’s got many options.”

I had wondered if Ruby was back living with her dad. I remember the image of the two of them side by side. Ruby held herself with poised elegance, despite being covered in mud and surrounded by the strange figurines and artwork that crowd every inch of their cottage. Her dad had the hunched posture of someone who spends hours on his work, but still somehow came across as graceful. He seems like a kind man and there was so much warmth in that household. Well, at least between them. Definitely, no warmth directed at us. And I don’t blame them.

“Just see what you can do about getting her clothes back. It’s the least you can do.” I eye her, daring her to argue. I’m not exactly sure what the whole truth is between Madison, Steven, and Ruby. Madison claims that Steven and Ruby were separated when they got together. I don’t get that same impression from Ruby, though.

“You know,” she takes a book on swaddling off a shelf and thumbs through it. “It could be a good thing to keep an eye on her. Maybe whatever Steven is hiding, Ruby has something to do with, too.”

I glare at her. “You have the audacity to take over her life and then make her out to be the bad guy, too?”

Madison is my little sister, and I would do anything to protect her. But sometimes I wonder if I’ve given her too much. We didn’t have a damn thing growing up. Then when I started making money, I made sure she was just as well off as me. I’ve given her access to the parties and the lifestyle that I worked my ass off to get. Maybe she was too young to get all that access, though. Hell, I was too young when it was all thrust at me and she was even younger. She never had a chance to even try to make it in this world without the things I’ve given her access to.

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