Page 21 of Dirty Temptation

“Bachelorette party at my house.” Knox answers.

“Sorry I can’t make it to the wedding,” she says. “It’s probably my dad’s last Thanksgiving.”

“I understand.” Knox shakes his head. “Don’t apologize, you’re making the right decision.”

Oh yeah and her dad has been diagnosed with cancer, making me feel like a bit of an asshole some days. But I just don’t love her.

I care.

But she’s not the one.

And since meeting Molly, I’ve been even more sure.

“We’re having the entire family over to ours so it’s going to be crazy,” she says, scratching at the label on the bottle.

I blink for a minute until a couple of dots start to connect.

“Donald Chadwick is married to your cousin isn’t he?” I ask, remembering a conversation over dinner at her place with her dad one weekend.

She nods, sipping her beer.

Jesus.

He’s one of the judges of the CFD Awards.

After a few more minutes she realizes I’m not inviting her to join us—there are only three steaks, and I need to keep strong boundaries up with her—so Harlow makes to leave.

“I’ll walk you out.” I slide the steaks onto the plate and let them breathe. Then glance at the guys. “Two minutes.”

At the elevator she throws her arms around my neck, and I almost change my mind, but this is important to me.

“Hey, Donald is judging the CFD Award? Any chance you could find out what the vibe is before they announce on Monday?”

She bites her lip.

“Maybe.”

I nod, careful not to say anything else.

“If you win can I be your date?” she asks.

“Harl.” I sigh.

Her sad eyes dart away. “I know. But if you don’t have anyone to go with you, it would be fun.”

It would. She’s great company. We always got along and she’s absolutely stunning.

I’m hoping Molly will be my girlfriend. So I can’t promise anything then hurt her again.

I cross my arms and dip my eyes.

“It’s fine. I’ll see what he says.” She touches my arm.

“You know what, don’t worry.” I say, uncrossing my arms, then leaning in to kiss her cheek. “Happy Thanksgiving.”

“You, too,” she says as the elevator doors open. The smile she gives me as the doors close doesn’t meet her eyes. But it’s big and bright and fake.

Goddamn.

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