Page 21 of Sweet Temptation

“This is one of your talents?”

“Yup.” She squinted at his palm, and he felt an unexpected trickle of nerves. “I don’t tell most people about it, because they’re skeptical. But since you shared with me, I’m going to share with you.”

“Huh.” She continued to study his palm, where the skin was lighter than it was on the rest of his body.

“Huh?” He was unexpectedly nervous. That was weird. “What’s huh?”

“See this line here?” She traced a finger over the line that curved near the base of his fingers. He nodded, and she continued, “See here, how it branches into two? That’s weird. Like... I’ve never seen that before, and Mamesie never mentioned it as a possibility. I’ve heard of the life line splitting, but never the heart line.”

“What does it mean?” In the dim light, her pale eyes glowed, looking almost otherworldly. He would believe whatever she told him.

She pondered for a moment before speaking. “I don’t know for sure. But my instincts tell me that it means you believed in one direction for your heart, and only one, that you thought would last you for your entire life. And then the branching off indicates that your feelings on matters of the heart have changed, or will change, at some point.”

That was scarily accurate. His feelings had changed...when he met her.

She frowned down at his palm, then looked up, faltering when she saw the intensity on his face.

“I do need to be going.” Dropping his hand, she shimmied to the edge of the bed. He loved that she didn’t hold a sheet to her skin like a life preserver. Instead, she walked naked around the room, collecting her clothing without a shred of embarrassment.

He focused on the view, rather than the words she’d just flayed him open with. Her confidence was hot.

“Can I see you tomorrow?” He knew by now that he was never going to get his fill of her before he left, but he was greedy and wanted as much as he could.

“No can do.” He appreciated the bounce of her breasts as she shimmied into her bra. “I have a girls’ night with Amy tomorrow night, and a family dinner the night after.”

“I like your mom’s cooking.” The words were out of his mouth before he could think them through.

Dinners with Meg’s family were one thing when he and Meg were just friends. They were something else entirely now that they were involved.

It didn’t matter. He still desperately wanted to attend.

She studied him curiously, as though she was meeting him for the first time. When she finally spoke, it was just to say one word.

“Okay.”

CHAPTER ELEVEN

“I HAD NO idea how hungry I was until I bit into this,” Meg said to Amy as she devoured a spicy, cheesy taco. She needed to dissect it so she could replicate the taste in her kitchen. Then again, chances were that the taco was mediocre—she was likely just ravenous from all the sex she’d been having. Anything she put into her mouth right now would likely taste divine.

Speaking of putting things into her mouth...

Don’t go there, Meg.

Nope, too late. Now she was thinking of John, and all the delectable things she could be tasting if she agreed to see him tonight as he’d asked. A streak of heat moved through her, and her lashes fluttered as she briefly reminisced about the way he’d taken care of her. But when her lids fluttered back open, she caught the intense and far too curious way that Amy was watching her.

Stop thinking about him.

Amy toyed with the stem of her margarita glass, the overhead light dancing on the blond streaks in her long well-kept dreadlocks. “And I had no idea how little I’ve seen of you lately until now.”

Meg frowned at her sister and blew a strand of hair from her face. She missed hanging with Amy. Honestly, she’d been so preoccupied with John that she’d been neglecting her youngest and closest sister. Reaching across the table, she took Amy’s elegantly inked hand into her own and gave it a little squeeze.

“I’m sorry. I’ve just been so busy with work. I’m trying to put a menu together for that Gavin Aronson guy that I told you about. I pretty much have to set my alarm for the middle of the night just to go to the bathroom.” She crinkled her nose. “I want to get it right, you know?”

She wasn’t lying—catering for the mayor’s event was a big deal. It would potentially give her enough money for her dream, which she hadn’t voiced aloud to anyone yet. Still...

She wasn’t telling the whole truth, either—there was no denying that other things were preoccupying her brain. “This is a great opportunity for me, Amy.”

“I know. I’m so thrilled for you. No one deserves happiness and success like you do, Megs.” Amy squeezed her hand back. Something in the depths of her bright blue eyes flickered, and Meg felt a wave of guilt—she felt guilty that Amy felt guilty about everything Meg had done for their family over the years.

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