Page 39 of Sweet Temptation

What were the two of them just talking about? Theo moved to the end of the counter to get their drinks, and he crossed the near-empty coffee shop and stopped at their table.

“Hey,” John said, and Meg gestured for him to take a seat beside her.

“You sure I’m not interrupting?”

“Nope, have a seat,” Jo said. “Although, Theo can head right back on upstairs.”

“Theo, the man you live with?” John lowered himself into the chair, and his thigh brushed Meg’s under the table. His pulse picked up at the intimate contact, and he was pretty goddamn certain Jo could feel the tension arcing between them. Hell, it was powerful enough to light up the high-rise they were in, in a blackout, for a month straight.

Jo’s eyes moved from his to Meg’s, back to his again. She angled her head, her gaze assessing them both.

“How’s the blog coming?” he asked, getting them all back on familiar territory, a subject Jo loved to talk about, before she had time to comment on the energy they were generating.

“Wrong question.” Meg groaned and slumped in her seat.

“The blog is doing phenomenally well.” This, at least, was something he was on solid ground with. Sitting up straight, he eyed Jo from across the table. “We’re making killer revenue on the advertising sold against it.”

“What’s the problem?”

“The problem is Theo censoring my words.” Jo sat up straight, indignant. “Maybe you can talk some sense into him.”

“Talk some sense into whom?” Theo asked as he slid into a chair beside his live-in girlfriend, sliding the Americano across the table to John.

“Quadruple-shot Americano?” Meg translated the Sharpie scribbles on the side of his cup and arched an eyebrow. “Not planning on sleeping tonight?”

“That’s what I asked.” Theo leaned forward, placing his hands on the table. “You don’t have to stress so much about leaving, you know. I don’t plan on burning the place to the ground once you’re gone.”

“I know,” John replied mildly. He noticed Meg’s wince at the reminder that he was leaving tomorrow, even though she barely moved, and he hated it. “But I take pride in my work.”

Okay, then...

“Why am I supposed to talk some sense into Theo again?” John asked, redirecting the conversation.

Jo threw exasperated hands into the air. “The whole reason you hired me was that I write kinky stuff on my blog. Now he wants to take the blog ‘in a different direction.’”

She finished the sentence off with air quotes and another glare at Theo, who sighed.

“Don’t use air quotes if you’re not actually quoting me!” Theo set his coffee cup down on the table with enough force to send hot liquid squirting out of the slit in the lid. “I suggested adding in a few posts that were less steamy, among the hot ones that you already write. To widen the appeal of our readership.”

“So...you want to sell out is what you’re saying.” Jo’s eyes widened, a warning of the storm she was about to unleash. John had seen it before—he’d never seen two people fight more than Jo and Theo.

He’d also never seen two people make up as much. He took a sip of his drink, pondering that, when he belatedly realized that the table had grown silent, and everyone was staring at him.

“Uh...”

“I said, ‘What should we do?’” Jo folded her arms across her chest. “The blog was your idea. You choose.”

“Actually...” John checked the clock on his phone. “I’m off the clock. Dibs out.”

“You’re done?” Meg looked at him with alarm, her sister pausing in her boyfriend-glaring long enough to glance at her curiously. “I thought you were here until tonight.”

“I am.” He wanted to smooth away that wrinkle of concern in her brow. “I’ll be here at the office for a few more hours, and I’m staying the night at the hotel before checking out in the morning. But technically my contract ended at noon.”

“Chicken,” Jo said wryly as he pushed away from the table and stood.

“A smart chicken.” He grinned at her. “I’m heading back up.”

“I think I’ll ride with you,” Meg said. “Listening to these two has given me a headache. I’m going to grab some Advil from Jo’s desk.”

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