Page 5 of Sweet Temptation

I wasn’t sure whether to feel relieved by this or not. I’d been feeling sick to my stomach all night at the thought of seeing Noah, but there was still a desire to confront him growing inside me. Another part of me just desperately missed him.

“What happened between you two tonight?” he asked. “Because Noah was like a zombie all evening. You should have seen the way he flinched when I mentioned you. He refused to talk to me at the ball. He said it wasn’t the time, but I know something happened.”

I reached down and plucked the first drink my hand came across out of the ice bucket. I didn’t intend on drinking it. I just wanted a reason to leave. “I’ve got to go. I’m sure you can talk to him about it.”

I turned away, but Luther reached out and lightly grabbed my arm, stopping me. “Noah really likes you, Isobel. I’ve never seen him like this about anyone, or anything. I know it was probably a lot to see Veronica on his arm tonight, but he really wanted to be there with you.”

I spun back to face Luther. “Veronica is the least of our problems,” I replied. “You should talk to your friend.”

His eyes widened with surprise, and he opened his mouth to question me, but then he stopped, a look of confusion and concern crossing his features. Like Veronica, Luther didn’t seem to know Noah had broken up with me. I was also assuming he didn’t yet know about Matthew. Perhaps I had a few more hours to savor before the whole school knew about both.

“Enjoy your party, Luther.” I shook his arm off and walked away.

I briefly considered opening the drink in my hand but then placed it down on the nearest table. I was tired, and the party wasn’t helping to distract me from Noah anymore. Now that I knew he wasn’t here, the small part of me that had considered confronting him was also done with the party. All I wanted was to go to bed, so I hunted down the girls to let them know I was leaving.

They were coming off the dance floor when I found them with Sawyer and Wes following closely behind. I wondered if Cress could sense the pain I’d endured tonight because, as soon as I said I was planning to leave, she wrapped an arm around my shoulder.

“Okay, let’s get you home then,” she said.

I gave her a sad smile and nodded. Anna wrapped her arm around the other side of me, and the boys led the way as we headed back through the crowd and started down the track back to the house.

The twins quickly pulled ahead of us as we followed the lanterns that dimly lit the way. I suspected the guys were giving me some privacy to talk with the girls. As Wes gripped his brother in a playful headlock, I had to wonder where they found the energy after a night on the dance floor. Then again, simply breathing felt like hard work to me right now.

“Do you feel up to telling us what happened tonight?” Cress asked, as the noise of the party turned to a muffled beat. She said it gently, and I knew she’d leave me alone if I didn’t feel ready to talk about it.

I blew out a breath as I considered my friends. My heart actually contracted in pain when I thought about Noah and the things he’d said to me. It seemed silly because I’d only known him a few weeks, but somehow, he’d managed to embed himself deeply into my heart in that short time. His rejection hurt far more than it should have.

As I looked at the two girls, I remembered Cress was Noah’s cousin. What if she rejected me because of who my dad was too? The thought was enough to steal the breath from my chest, and I struggled to get it back.

Cress’s eyes widened, and she rubbed a hand down my back as I started to hyperventilate. I couldn’t lose both Cress and Noah in the same night. And what if I lost Anna as a friend too? There was no way I could survive another day at this school without my friends by my side.

“Isobel, it’s okay,” Cress said.

“Take deep breaths,” Anna added.

They shared a concerned look as I tried to calm myself down. I was freaking out, but I did as Anna suggested and took some deep breaths in and slowly blew them out. I really didn’t think the drinks I’d had were helping the situation. I’d been blissfully numb for a while there, but now every emotion felt darker and so much worse. Tequila was not a good friend. She was all false promises and bailed on you when you needed her the most. Tequila was a bit of a bitch.

“You don’t have to tell us if you don’t want,” Cress said as I started breathing calmly again.

“No, I want to tell you guys.” I knew they’d find out one way or another, and I’d never meant to keep my father’s identity a secret. I exhaled before I began. “Noah broke things off with me tonight.”

The two girls gasped.

“Why on earth would Noah break up with you?” Cress asked. “He’s crazy about you.”

“My father was at the ball tonight. When Noah’s grandfather found out who he was, he demanded Noah break up with me.”

“What?” Anna scoffed. “Why does it matter who your father is?”

“Apparently there’s a feud between our families…”

“Well, that’s just ridiculous,” Anna replied. “What kind of medieval shit is he trying to pull? Who even says feud these days?”

I shrugged. I was as dumbfounded as she was.

Cress had stayed quiet. There was a look of confusion in her eyes, and I could see she was trying to piece it all together.

“You’ve never really spoken about your father,” she finally said. “Never told us who he is.”

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