Page 180 of Sweet Temptation

I stared at him.

It was a bar. It was dark. But he was sober and on duty. And he was definitely staring at Elle’s sister.

I watched as he watched her… Every fucking move. He stood rigidly against the wall, his body unmoving… but he kept following her movements. He was blatantly doing that stupid thing guys did when they were pretending not to check a girl out, but they totally were. Turning his head to look past her, pausing in her direction each time…

Back and forth his gaze swept the room, and every time, it caught on Angie.

Every. Fucking. Time.

How had I not noticed this before? He was watching her, checking her out.

I’d never caught him doing that with anyone.

I was pretty sure Flynn found me attractive. But he’d definitely never looked at me like that.

And Angie, from what I could tell, was totally oblivious. Her back was still to him, and she didn’t look at him once.

Well. Wasn’t that just interesting as all hell.

I watched, for a lot longer than I really needed to, just to make sure.

Yup. I was sure.

He was fucking infatuated with her.

It was like the greatest reality show I’d ever watched, unfolding right before my eyes… Or maybe a riveting nature documentary about a bizarre, exotic courtship ritual. I had to know what was gonna happen next.

I was only torn away when Brody arrived and we all stood to greet him. Hands were shaken, hugs were exchanged, and I finally lost sight of Flynn… and Angie, as she and Courteney vanished into the crowd.

When I got a chance to speak to Brody, one-on-one, the first thing he asked me was how I was doing—and threw a sidelong glance at Ronan, who was still hovering nearby.

And I wondered, was Ronan as subtle about checking me out as Flynn was when he looked at Angie?

Dear God, I hoped my man had more game than that, if he really wanted to keep this a secret.

“I’m doing fabulous. Ronan’s doing a fabulous job,” I said, seeing as how he was, and Brody should hear it… and the last few times we’d talked about it, I’d complained, passionately, about Ronan’s “over-vigilance.”

“Glad to hear it,” Brody said, cautiously, maybe wondering when and why my tune had changed so dramatically. “I know you thought we were all overreacting. But Ronan’s the best, and that’s why I wanted him working with us. Working with you. In my line of business, you protect your assets.”

“I get that. And I thank you,” I admitted. “As would my dad, if he were here.”

Brody chuckled. “You know, if you’re a hammer,” he said, glancing at Ronan again, “what’s that they say? You treat everything like a nail.”

“Yeah, he’s a hammer, alright,” I muttered.

“It’s his job to assess risk, to look for danger,” Brody said. “He may come on strong at first, but that’s because he is. And you need people like that in your corner. This thing is only gonna get crazier for you. For all of you…” He glanced around at my band. “You can talk to Elle, I’m sure she’ll tell you all about it.”

“Yeah. She does. And I’m getting it. Gradually.”

I was getting it.

I was also getting nailed, quite fabulously, by the hammer in question, so I wasn’t exactly gonna complain about Ronan’s style anymore.

When Brody moved on to talk to Xander, I caught Ronan’s eye. I drifted over and asked him, “Say hi to Brody yet?”

“I did.”

“And did you by any chance mention to him that you’re hammering me?”

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