Page 46 of Sweet Temptation

The second he left, Meg gasped, and Jada’s arms were around her.

“Will you be my mommy?” Jada bounced up and down on her toes. “Or marry me? Be my Facebook BFF? I’ll take what I can get. That was amazing.”

“I cannot believe I did that.” She swallowed thickly, sitting heavily on a stool. “Holy shit.”

“You showed him,” Jada said. “How dare he think he can use you to get to John, and for free? What a douche.”

Meg laughed, feeling a bit lighter, as her thoughts went to John. He’d have been proud of her, standing up for herself like that. She wished he’d been here to see it.

“Speaking of John,” Jada began, eyeing Meg from beneath her fake lashes, “you should go tell him what you just did. Let him take you out for champagne to celebrate.”

“He’s leaving,” Meg blurted out. She glanced down at the Gavin menu to hide the tears suddenly pricking her eyes.

“What do you mean?” Jada blinked, confused. “Where’s he going?”

“On to the next job.” Meg laughed, and the sound held no humor. “He’s a nomad, you know? He’s off to the next job.”

“But...” Jada tilted her head. “Why?”

“I just told you.” Meg frowned at her assistant. “He’s done this job. He’s going to the next one. We had a fling, and now it is over.”

“Bullshit. I saw how you two are with each other.” Jada rolled her eyes as Meg looked at her with surprise. “I just witnessed you fighting for what you want, Meg. If you love John, why aren’t you fighting for him, too?”

As the room spun before her eyes, she gripped the counter. Jada was right. She was a woman who fought for what she wanted, and what she wanted was John in her life—one way or the other.

So...what are you going to do about it?

CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

NO MATTER HOW pissed off he was at the world, John couldn’t leave Boston without talking to Theo. He paced the small space of the elevator, and when the doors opened, he nodded to Ava.

“Hey, thanks for everything.” He stopped at her desk. He hadn’t had a chance to order her a gift as planned, so instead, he handed her a business card to Amy’s tattoo parlor.

“What’s this?” She looked at it quizzically.

“I’ve heard you talking about wanting your first tattoo.” He pointed at the card. “That’s Meg—I mean, Jo’s sister. Go there and get what you want. Tell her to bill it to me.”

“Wow. Thank you. Really.” She grinned up at him, clearly delighted. “Now I can get that tattoo of your name on my ass.”

He snorted. “Just make sure you spell it right.”

“Theo’s in his office,” she continued, tucking the card under her keyboard. “And I hate to break it to you, but I think he knows about you and Meg.”

“Yeah.” John winced, then moved down the hall. “Thanks.”

Theo. Meg.

Damn.

How could he walk away from Meg?

How could he not when she’d made it clear that they were done?

Heart in his shoes, he stopped outside Theo’s office. The door was open, but Theo had his head bent over his laptop.

John’s heart squeezed as he looked at his friend. Did this mean the end of them, too?

He thought of that night, just a week ago, at Grapes of Wrath. He’d been on top of the world.

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