Page 123 of My Temptation

Still grinning, he shook his head. “Who ratted me out? Riley?”

Ethan looked surprised by how easily Landon referenced Riley. “Yeah, she did.”

“Not surprised.”

He tilted his head to the side. “Is something going on with you and my sister?”

“Is this the brother talk?” He laughed and slapped his hand against Ethan’s shoulder. “I live in the townhouse next to hers. I helped her move in and told her to call me if she needed anything since I’m literally right there and you were out of town. She called, and I helped her move some shit around after they got settled.”

That made sense, to me at least, but it was obvious Ethan wasn’t totally buying it. “Why the hell didn’t she just tell me that?”

He shoved his hands in his pockets. “She shared that you’re a little overprotective, and she didn’t want you to worry.”

“I am,” he admitted. “She doesn’t have the best luck. Thanks for doing that.”

“No problem.” He shrugged. “Figured you’d do it for my sister if I couldn’t.”

“Your sister is Lucy Dimarco. If you couldn't help her out, there’s a fucking line of Dimarcos who would.”

He laughed again. “You’re right about that.”

“Well, since I'm back, you’re off duty.”

“Looks that way.” He rocked back on his heels. “Gotta get going. I’m heading to Crush. We had a security nightmare last night that I need to go over with the new owner.”

“Is he cooperative?”

“Not really,” Landon admitted. “But I think he’s trying to find a balance between bringing in money and keeping shit up and running. He knows he needs to follow our guidelines to do that. We’ve been butting heads, but this past weekend proved I was right so this should be a fun meeting.” He started walking backward. “For me anyway.”

Ethan grunted. “Good luck.”

I waited for him to leave to look up at Ethan. “That was nice of him.”

“Yeah,” He replied, but it was obvious in his tone that something was bothering him. Luckily, I didn’t have to wait long to hear what that was. “Didn’t it seem like he knew them better than a guy who only helped move furniture?”

I snorted out a laugh. “Oh, absolutely.” I poked him in the chest. “But you’re gonna leave it alone, right?”

“Right.” He shrugged like it was no big deal, but I was calling bullshit.

“What’s going on in your head, Ethan?”

He sighed and leaned his hip against the conference table. “I like Landon but not for my sister. He’s impulsive and walks a fine line between extreme fun and danger. She doesn’t need to walk that line with him. She’s been through enough.”

I tugged on the front of his shirt. “You need to just let this go.”

“You’re right.” He shook his head as if he was clearing it.

“She’s an adult,” I reminded him.

“I know.”

“And a mother,” I continued.

“Right,” he agreed. “I know.”

I pushed to my tiptoes and kissed him quickly before dropping back down. “Your overprotectiveness is one of the reasons I love you, but give your sister a little wiggle room. She’ll figure it out. Everly’s smart and she’d proven how smart when she moved to North Carolina to put some much-needed space between her and her ex.”

This time, the lines around his mouth eased. “You’re right. Okay, we should probably get to work.” He pushed a piece of my hair behind my ear and grinned. “See you tonight?”

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