Page 47 of Sweet Temptation

How had he managed to screw things up so spectacularly?

“Hey,” he said, and Theo glanced up. His features hardened when his gaze landed on John.

“Are you still here?” he asked.

John stepped into the office. “Did you expect me to leave without saying goodbye?”

“I guess I don’t know what to expect from you anymore.”

“Fair enough,” John said. “But I just want to say thanks for a great couple of months.”

Theo snorted, and John stiffened. “I’m sorry for going behind your back. I never meant to do that.”

“But you did it anyway.”

“And I’m apologizing for that.”

“Just for that, huh?” Theo pushed back in his chair and stared out the window for a second. “Not for screwing Meg over?”

“I didn’t screw her over.” John’s voice was full of frustration. “I...care about her.”

His gaze slowly moved back to John’s. “Then why are you leaving?”

“Hi, pot, kettle calling.” Frustration building inside him, he crossed the room and plunked himself down into the chair across from Theo’s desk. “Didn’t you leave Jo for years?”

“That was different.” Theo was indignant. “I loved her.”

John eyed him from across the desk. Theo’s mouth fell open. And then he laughed.

“Hey,” John protested, irritation closing in. “This isn’t funny. I love her, and I have to go. It sucks.”

“You’re an idiot,” Theo informed him, settling his elbows on his desk and pinning John with a stare.

“I thought the name-calling portion of the evening was done last night.” John glared. “What am I an idiot about? Please enlighten me.”

“Look. I lost years with Jo because we were both so stubborn.” Theo leaned forward in his seat. “You don’t have to. Go, finish your contract, then come back. There’s enough work here in Boston to take you into retirement.”

“What?” John blinked at his friend. This was so simple. This was brilliant. How had he not thought of this? “Do you... Do you think she’d wait? This contract is for three months.”

“FaceTime sex,” Theo told him gravely. “Jo’s working on a post about it right now.”

“Won that one, did she?” John grinned at his friend as his thoughts circled, faster and faster.

“Lesson to a happy life with one of the Marchande girls, my friend. Pick your battles.”

Sound advice.

And this... Asking Meg to wait... This battle was worth picking.

John pushed from his chair, his heart thumping against his rib cage. “Are we...okay?”

“Yeah, we’re okay,” Theo said. “Now, go do what you need to do.”

CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

MEG SPRINKLED TINY silver balls of sugar on top of the swirls of icing that she’d tinted lavender, lilac and amethyst. Patting them into place, she slid the plate of cupcakes onto the island. The timer beeped, and she turned expertly to remove a sheet of chocolate cookies with dried cherries and macadamia nuts from the oven.

“How is everything?” Setting the pan on the counter to cool, she wiped her forehead, then turned back to the island in the cramped kitchen of their house. She stopped short when she found that, instead of face-planting into the various treats that crowded the kitchen, her sisters all sat with empty plates, eyeing her warily. “Hey! Why aren’t you guys eating anything?”

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