Page 60 of My Temptation

“No, he’s not in town, but when she was here yesterday, she said he still calls her.”

“Dammit,” he swore. “I hate to ask, but can you...?”

He trailed off when Kyle spoke. “Already done. He’s still in Florida. Used his credit card this morning. I’m tracking his accounts to make sure he’s just being annoying.” Kyle paused before continuing. “This dude dangerous?”

“He hasn’t been, but I wouldn’t put it past him. He’s been bothering her for years. If he planned to leave her alone, he would’ve when she left town.”

“Don’t worry about it while you’re there. We got eyes and ears all over her. If he even thinks about coming to New Hope, we’ll know about it before he makes the move.”

“Appreciate that, brother. And thanks for helping her move in. Brody told me he got a bunch of guys to carry her shit in for her.”

“No problem. Your niece is hilarious. I’d help again just to listen to her tell all of your sister’s secrets.”

“Oh god,” Ethan groaned, but he chuckled. “How’d Everly take that?”

“Seemed to me she was used to it.” Kyle laughed before moving on. “Alright, kids, I gotta get back to it.” He paused for a moment before continuing. “Good work finding that picture, Mila.”

“Thanks.” I smiled, appreciating the compliment. “Why the hell are you working on a Sunday?”

“I didn’t say I was getting back to work.” He snickered. “Unlike you two, I have a personal life.”

When the phone went silent, I looked at Ethan, who was smiling. “Why do I like him?”

He laughed and threw his leg over the side of the bed before standing. “He doesn’t give us a choice.”

“That was nice of Brody to get people to help Everly move in.” I was surprised to hear the team had jumped in to help Everly when Ethan couldn’t.

“I’m not surprised.” Ethan put his hands on his hips. “He and Jax do that shit all the time. Honestly, they would’ve all shown up to help even if I was in town.”

I hadn’t met many people like the ones I’d been meeting in New Hope. Growing up in the city had its advantages, like Chinese food at four in the morning if I worked late or all the incredible shopping, but it also had a lot of disadvantages. I never knew my neighbors, let alone the girl who worked in the coffee shop because those employees changed all the time, but now I not only knew my neighbors but was becoming friends with the girls who owned the coffee shop.

It was different, but maybe exactly what I needed in my life.

“I’m starving.” I pushed off the bed and pointed at the bags on the dresser. “What did you get?”

Facing me, he gestured toward the bags. “Bagels, cream cheese, fruit.”

“Grape jelly?”

He raised an eyebrow. “The last time I bought bagels and didn’t get grape jelly, you made us go back.” I smirked when he continued. “You really think I’d forget?”

“I’m impressed you remember things like that.”

“You make it hard not to.”

I tilted my head to the side, but I was still smiling. “What does that mean?”

He studied me, and I wondered if he was trying to talk himself into answering or out of answering. I didn’t have to wait long to find out. “Means, you leave an impression.”

“I do?”

“Yeah, when someone eats weird shit like you do, it’s hard to forget.”

Laughing, I walked toward the dresser just as he turned and headed toward the bathroom, completely unaware that his words and actions were changing the way I felt about myself. That he was single-handedly forcing all my memories of bad experiences to the side. I never doubted my work, not once during all those years in the FBI, but I had lost a part of myself. I lost my humor and the freedom to be myself in front of my coworkers for fear that it could be used against me somehow. I became solitary and secretive, never sharing too much about myself, and because of that, no one really knew me.

But Ethan was encouraging me to be myself just by his reactions to me. I loved that he felt comfortable teasing me, but even more than that, I didn’t feel defensive when he did. It seemed so small, but for me, it changed everything, and I doubt he even knew what he was doing.

I began unloading the bags, chuckling when I saw the small grape jelly containers at the bottom. He would’ve had to ask for them specifically, which meant a lot to me. A small grin tugged at my lips when I found a carton of chocolate milk in the second bag.

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