Page 15 of Taming Her Temptations

“Uh,” I stop in my tracks, really taking in the vision before me. I’m speechless, which is a rarity for me.

A white boxy stretch limo is parked at the end of my driveway. And if a stretch limo wasn’t enough to grab anyone’s attention, the whole thing looks like it’s some drunk deepwater fish, with neon colors spasming throughout the interior in no discernable pattern.

“You didn’t think we would just roll up to our first Greenfield event like it was a normal Thursday?” Dean grins at me.

“I have so many questions,” I shake my head. “But mostly, why?”

“That’s easy.” Levi opens the door for me and puts his hand out to help me step in. “Because we thought it would be fun.”

I slide into the beastly car. The interior is gaudy and looks like a time capsule.

“Were they all out of modern limos?” I ask when they pile in behind me.

“Awesome, right?” Dean throws his hands out wide as if showing off his prized possession. “We requested something from the 70s. We had to call ten different places until we finally found one.”

I just shake my head in disbelief. These guys have been to too many Hollywood parties. The scene we’re about to step into isn’t about fun, it’s about status.

Asher lifts a bottle of champagne from a faux-wood ice chest that sits under a row of bobbling heads that I think are supposed to be Cher. He pours some into a glass and hands it to me with a crooked grin.

“Good thing this is just practice,” I say in an exhale and drink up because I’m going to need it.

CHAPTER EIGHT

Dean

I trust Ruby River’s taste in women for me as far as I can throw her. Actually, screw that. Because I can probably throw her pretty far. I’d grab under her little shoulders for grip and she’d go flying.

As for the women she’s trying to get me to talk to tonight? Well, I wonder if this is actually some kind of twisted revenge scheme of hers.

I glance at Astrid, the blonde botoxed woman who is currently talking about her summer place in the south of France. Then I bring my gaze right next to her to Ruby. Ruby is like a warm flame next to all these cold, rigid people. Maybe it’s just the crowd tonight, but if this is the company we’re going to be spending our time with, then these next couple of months are going to be more exhausting than I expected.

“Well, I’m going to head to the little girl’s room. It was lovely to meet you, Dean,” Astrid says with no facial expression, so I can’t tell if she’s being genuine or not.

“Uh, yeah, you too.” I nod and take a chug of my beer as Astrid nods to Ruby and strides away.

“Can you at least act like you care?” Ruby manages to yell at me while still keeping her voice down.

“She talked about herself the entire time. I doubt she noticed that I couldn’t give two shits about her summering habits.” I try and do the best imitation of Astrid’s pretentious tone.

“Even if you’re not interested in her romantically-”

I cut her off. “I’m not even interested in her abstractly, let alone romantically.”

Ruby takes a deep, frustrated breath before continuing. “You still need to invite these people to your gala. Do you know how much a table typically costs for the event you’re hosting? One hundred thousand dollars. Astrid might use a season as a verb, which yes is absolutely annoying, but she is also an heiress.”

I sigh. What the hell did we get ourselves into this time? We’ve had a lot of dumb ideas in our life. But this is starting to feel like a damn waste of time that could be spent making music. Let’s let Madison finally figure out her own mess for once.

Then I think about the fact that Mads just found out she’s having a boy. I’ve known Madison since she was a baby herself. When Levi’s dad would disappear for long stretches without saying when he’d be back, the two of them would show up at our doorstep. She’s like a sister to me, no matter how dumb that girl can be. And that baby she’s carrying is like a nephew. I’ll deal with a few phony Astrids and Benedicts in order to make sure that baby starts out on the right foot in life.

“Noted.” I say, begrudglingly and then change the subject. “You look nice, by the way. You managed to borrow a dress from someone?”

She shifts from foot to foot, clearly uncomfortable.

I look at her, confused. She looks embarrassed, but I’m not sure about what. When she took her coat off this evening, I could tell all three of us didn’t know what the hell to do with our eyes. The woman who, let’s face it, has been a bit of a hot mess recently, sure cleaned up pretty tonight. When I first met her, she was still with Shithead Steve and I stopped myself from fully admiring her beauty as you do with married women. But tonight, I let myself notice: her high cheekbones, the way her wide smile gleams with red lipstick on it, and the curve of her hips in that dress. She’s the only one in here I would want to spend time with, but of course, she’s not on the list.

“I don’t want to talk about my clothes.” She unconsciously tugs at the single strap holding the dress up. She’s self-conscious. I must be missing something because I don’t know what the hell she would have to be self-conscious of.

“Hello, Ruby.” A high-pitched voice makes Ruby snap her head up and lower her hands from her strap down to her sides. I notice her throat bobbing with a deep swallow.

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