Page 35 of Sweet Temptation

Last night, I’d overheard Ronan telling Brody, when he walked him out to his car—yes, I’d been eavesdropping from my window upstairs—something about how I might be in “flight mode” for a while.

Fuck him for being right.

I wanted as much distance between myself and this shit as I could get. Unfortunately, it seemed to be coming right along with me.

Jessa was eying me with concern. Nick was still toddling around in the foyer, and she caught him right before he put Ash’s shoe in his mouth.

“How’s the little cutie?” I asked, looking to deflect. “I see he’s walking.”

“Oh, he’s a handful,” she said, picking him up. “It’s so amazing when they start walking. But then the reality sinks in. He’s a lot more work now that he’s mobile.” She bounced him on her hip and fixed me with that concerned look again.

I really couldn’t get away from it. Everyone was looking at me that way today.

Everyone but Ronan, who seemed so totally calm and cool that it was both calming and irritating to behold. The man had this controlled, efficiency-under-pressure thing going on that was really fucking annoying me right now.

Maybe because it was so damn hot.

Kinda almost made me want to keep him around, even though I really didn’t. I did not fucking need a bodyguard.

“You know what?” I told Jessa. “I refuse to allow one crazy person with severe boundary issues to have the power to change my entire way of life.”

“Uh, are you talking about Brody? Or one of the other guys?”

“I’m talking about the guy who tried to break into my house,” I said dryly.

“Oh.” She laughed a little. I could definitely see how she’d misinterpreted that one. “Are you really okay, Summer?”

I sighed. “Do they treat you like that, too? Like a child who needs to be bubble-wrapped so she doesn’t get any bumps and bruises?”

Surely, the woman standing in front of me had been through these kinds of conversations with her husband. Jessa was a lingerie model—or at least, she had been—and she was a songwriter for Dirty. Maybe she wasn’t as famous as some of his clients, but Brody was protective as hell about his wife.

“Well, they treat me like someone who’s important to them,” she said thoughtfully, “and who sometimes needs protecting. And these days, I’m thankful for it. Believe me, if you have to have someone watching your back, you want it to be the men in that room. They know what they’re doing, Summer, and all they want is for you to be safe. You’re important to them.”

I made an annoyed sound under my breath.

But then I wondered… Maybe I could get some intel off her?

“Do you know this Ronan guy?”

“Only by name,” she said. “But I can tell you, Brody wouldn’t have him here, in our house, with Nicky here, if he didn’t totally trust him.”

I looked at Brody’s son in her arms, and I knew that had to be true. I brushed my knuckle gently on his soft, pudgy cheek.

“Thanks, Jessa. I think I need some air. Let them know I’m in the driveway before they panic and call in the search-and-rescue team.”

“Will do,” she said, but she gave me that concerned look again. “Stay close, okay?”

“Uh-huh.”

I pulled on my jacket, stepped outside and took a fresh breath of air. It was a cool, crisp October morning, but the sun was out.

I’d barely even exhaled when the door opened behind me. I turned to see who was hovering now.

Ashley.

He sauntered out, closing the door behind himself. I sighed a little.

My ex-boyfriend was easy enough to read, for me. Usually, he didn’t give a rat’s ass what anyone told him to do, including me. The black T-shirt he was wearing right now under his leather jacket said: Shut your mouth before I fuck it.

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