Page 69 of Tempt Me

Maxgaveher an appraisinglook.“I justputthecoffeeon,butIwantyouto havesome more waterfirst.”

Sheresisted the urgetoroll her eyesand did asheasked. Shedranktwomoreglassesofwater then tackled thecoffeepot. Slumping downontoachair atthekitchen bench,sheannounced,“I’m neverdrinking tequila again.”

Helaughed ather. “Ithinkthat’sa good idea. How’syour stomach?Thinkyoucan handlesome food?”

Shedidn’tthinkputting anything elsein her bodyother than coffeewasa good thing,butthe idea ofbaconwastooalluring. “Aslong asit’sgreasy,I thinkI’ll beall right.”

Henodded and gotbusyputting stripsof baconon thegriddle. “How do you likeyoureggs?”

“Scrambled,please. I don’tthinkI could handleeven thesightof runnyyolksthismorning.”

Hegave her abrief smileand cracked a coupleof eggsintoa bowl,then startedwhisking. Gigi’s eyes werefixedon theway his musclesbunched and relaxed in hisexposed shoulders,herthoughts turning sexual. Sheclearedher throat,ignored themoisturepooling between herthighs,and got Erin outofthehigh chair when shestartedtofidget. Sheplaced thelittlegirlon thefloor toplay then tooka seaton thecouch.

“Wheredo youwanttoeat?”Maxasked fromthekitchen.

“Whereveryouwant.”

Hebroughtoverherplate,theflatwarebalancingon theside,and placed hercoffeecupon the table. Heretreatedtothekitchen togethisbreakfast,butinsteadof sitting besideher,heperched on theedgeofthecoffeetablebesideher cup. Gigi had anotheroneofthemissingpiecesflash intoherhead;hehad doneexactlythesamething lastnight.

“Can I juststartbysaying I’msorry,”hesaid,hisbourbon eyesfixedon herface.“I knowitall looksreallybad,butit’scomplicated.”

Shehad decided shehad tohearhimout. NowthatChelseawasn’tthere,itmadeiteasier. She nodded toencouragehimtocontinue.

“A littleoverthree monthsago,I returned homefromworkatthenightclub tofind Chelsea gone. She’d clearedout herwardrobeand leftErinsleeping in her crib.”

Sheplaced herforkback down.“Shejustleft?”

Henodded slightly,pushing his eggsaround hisplate.“I had noideawhereshe’dgone. Itried calling her,butshe’d turned her phoneoff.EventuallyI gave up completely. Honestly,ourmarriage had been ontherocksbeforethat. Coming hometofind her gonewasn’texactlya shock,butfinding thatErin had been leftalonewas.”

“Didyouever getanexplanation from her?”

“YesterdaymorningwasthefirsttimeI’d seen her sinceshe abandoned Erin.”

“Did shetell youwhy?”

“Yeah,”hereplied,settinghisplateon thetable.“Shesaid shedidn’twantto bea mom anymore,thatshewantedher old lifeback—thelifewhereshecould hang outwith hersocialite friendsand havechampagnebreakfastsand goshopping all day.”

Gigi madea small noiseinthebackof herthroat.

“What?”

Shelookedathim,showinghimthatwhatshewasabouttosayhad nothing todowith spite; rather itwasjustanobservation.“Shedoesn’tsound likethekindof womanyou’d beinterested in.”

Hesighed,hisattention fixed onErin whowasplayingwith someblocks.“LikeI said,it’s complicated.”Helooked at her. “ButI wantyoutoknowitall. Thatway,you haveall thefactsand if youwanttowalkawayfromwhatwehave,then I’d completelyunderstand.”

“Okay.”

Hischestroseand fellwitha deep breath. “Chelseaand I havebeen together sincehigh school. I wasthe quarterbackevery girl wantedtobewith. Chelsea wasthe head cheerleaderevery guy wanted tohave.”He gave her ameaningful look.

“So you ended uptogether,”shefinished for him. “Ofcourse.”

Henodded.“I datedher becauseshewasunobtainabletoeveryotherguy. Weweren’t compatiblethough. Chelsea wasanonlychild. Shewasspoiled byherparentsand given everything shecould everwant. Thatsenseof entitlement becameherwayof life. Iwasjusta prizeshecould claim.Westayed togetherbecausethatwasjustthewayitwas. I simplyignored her bad behavior and putup with hernarcissism.

“Theend ofhigh schoolwasrolling around,and I couldn’twaitto befreeof her.Shehad noplans togotocollege. Shethoughtherparentswould continueto bankroll herever-growing extravagant lifestyle. I,on the other hand,had a football scholarship all lined up…”

Maxlookedwistful for amoment,histhoughtsobviously onwhatcould havebeen. Gigi leaned forwardand grabbed her coffeeand tooka sip.

“I wassupposed tostartatWashington Stateinthefall. Aboutsixweeksbeforeschoolfinished,I found outthatChelseahad screwed around onme. Shetold meitwasonlyonetime,buttherumors around school said she’d been cheating onmefor a while. Atthetime,Iwasangry,butIwasalso relieved;she’d just givenmea legitimatereason tobreakup with her,and I did. Amonth later,Chelseacamearound to myhouseintears. Shetold meshewaspregnantand shedidn’tknow whothefather wassinceshe’d sleptwith thisother guyaswell asmewithin days ofeachother.”

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