Page 15 of Tempt Me

“Thank you,” he says. His voice is soft but fervent. Did it always have this many tones? Did I always feel each one like its own pressure inside me?

“I only told the truth,” I say.

“I didn’t realize…” He trails off. “I didn’t know what my leaving would mean.”

“Didn’t you?” I say. Caden blinks. I run my hand through my hair nervously.

And then I see it. His eyes flit to my ring finger then widen in shock. His jaw goes rigid and I can see a muscle twitching in his cheek.

Darkness crawls across Caden’s face like a storm cloud.

“Congratulations,” he says tartly.

“Thank you,” I reply, equally sharp.

The air around us seems to expand and contract as we stare each other down. My fingers ache at his closeness, no longer a memory but present and real. My pulse throbs between my legs. I hate this. I hate him for making me feel this way. I can’t look away from him though. When he swallows, I follow the movement of his Adam’s apple.

“Who’s the lucky man?” he asks. His voice is tight.

“Noah didn’t tell you?”

He shakes his head. My stomach clenches.

“Luke Richards,” I say.

Caden goes entirely still, like he’s carved out of granite. His eyes are like two bits of iron, flat and unfeeling.

Then, without another word, he turns on his heel and stalks out of the bar.

CHAPTER FIVE

CADEN

“How could you not tell me?” I demand as Noah pulls up to the house.

He followed me after I stormed out of the Screw and said he would drive me home. I wanted to punch something. I still do, in fact. “Luke Richards? Luke fucking Richards?”

“It wasn’t my business to tell,” Noah says.

“Don’t get all sanctimonious on me.”

“You left, Caden,” Noah says. He’s not angry, but more resigned. It makes me madder. “There are consequences to that.”

Consequences indeed. Being so close to Isla again was a complete shock to my system. The scent of her still fills my nose—icing sugar and warm bread. The years that have passed only made her more beautiful than I remember. Her thick chestnut hair, the pink curves of her lips, her smooth tanned skin. Her eyes were even greener, like my memory couldn’t do them justice.

My body craved her. Like sense memory. I wanted to wrap her up in my arms, bury my face in her hair, melt at her feet and promise to never leave her side again.

But she’s not mine to make promises to.

I can’t wrap my head around Isla marrying Luke. I remember him as a tool, a classic Way kid who partied his way through school, only graduating thanks to a generous donation from his father. Luke was one of those guys who arrogantly thought he had earned what he got, rather than having been born lucky. He was just going to do whatever his dad told him to.

I want to run again. I want to go back to Catarina Azul where life is simple. Where Sebastian has shown me how sustainable wineries are really run, putting me to work among the vines, making me earn my place there with blood, sweat, and tears. Where the scent of Señora González’s locro calls me home after a long day of hard labor. Where I don’t have to think so damned much or face what I’ve lost.

“I’ll call you later,” I mutter to Noah, getting out of the car and slamming the door harder than necessary.

I head into the house, unsure of where I want to go. I stand in the foyer for a moment, breathing in the familiar smells, allowing my former home to wash over me. I head down the hall and hear voices coming from the kitchen.

Daisy and Von are chatting quietly, Von sitting at the island with her laptop open and Daisy fixing herself a coffee. They both fall silent when I walk in, which makes me assume they were talking about me. I pull the cold mask tighter across my face.

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