Page 27 of Sweet Temptation

She shook her head before focusing on me again. “Speaking of talent, have you considered any of the guys on the rebound list I gave you?”

Anna had actually provided me with a full list of names earlier in the week. I hadn’t looked at it because there was no way I was going to kiss a guy just to get over another one.

“A few of those guys are here tonight…” Anna raised her eyebrows and nudged me with her shoulder.

“I might need a few more drinks before I can seriously talk about rebounds.” I hoped that would be enough to end the conversation. I was never going to consider that list. Not anytime soon, at least. I couldn’t even look at other guys right now.

Someone loudly cleared their throat behind me, and I turned to find Noah standing there. When I realized how close he was, my stomach dropped, and the glare in his eyes did nothing to ease my nerves. He’d clearly heard us talking about rebounds, and he wasn’t happy.

It felt like a thunderstorm had just entered the room and I was standing directly in its path. Noah was practically crackling with irritation, and his hands clenched at his sides. It was like he was having to restrain himself from throwing me over his shoulder and stealing me away from the party to stop any more talk of rebounds.

“Oh, hey, Noah,” Anna said. Usually, her playful personality could defuse the tension in any situation, but now her tone was cold as she glared at Noah. He didn’t respond. It was almost like he hadn’t heard her at all.

“So, how many drinks will it take?” he asked. “You know, before you start working your way down Anna’s list.”

My cheeks heated in anger. “That’s not your concern, Noah.”

“Isn’t it?”

“No, it’s not. You made that perfectly clear when you broke up with me.” He had no right to question me. He wouldn’t even answer my questions about what happened between our families. He just made it plain and clear, time and again, that we would never be together—unless, of course, we kept it a secret from the whole world.

I met his glare with one of my own. I wanted nothing more than to be done with this conversation. Be done with him. I swallowed the remainder of my drink and shoved the empty bottle into his chest. “I guess that’s one drink less now,” I said before stalking past him.

Anna quickly rushed after me, her eyes filled with concern as we pushed through people and made our way to the other end of the room—as far from Noah as possible.

“Wow,” she murmured.

“What?”

“I can’t believe that just happened. You are my breakup idol,” she said. “That was badass.”

I shook my head. “It really wasn’t. He just got to me. He keeps getting to me.”

“Yeah, because he’s clearly jealous. He doesn’t want anyone else to have you.”

“Well, that’s not up to him.”

“Totally.” Anna shrugged. “But no one ever said boys were sane.”

“Yeah, well, he’s acting like an ass...”

Anna gave me a sad smile. “I’m sure he’s just upset. Your breakup was hardly normal. It’s not like you stopped liking each other, and it’s never easy to see someone you care about moving on.”

“You’re sounding far too reasonable,” I said. “I prefer to think he’s an ass.”

Anna laughed. “Well, he’s that too, obviously.” Anna’s gaze flicked past me, and she started to frown. “Speaking of... It looks like one of the twins is already making a drunken ass of himself.”

I turned to see one of the boys stumbling into a table. He had his back to us, so it was impossible to tell if it was Wes or Sawyer. It had to be Sawyer though. Wes was always very sensible when it came to alcohol, and messy drinking seemed to be one of Sawyer’s favorite pastimes.

“Sawyer must have gone a little hard on his pregame,” Anna said. She had come to the same conclusion as I had about which twin it was.

“One of us should really go help him.”

“I guess.” Anna didn’t seem the least bit keen to deal with a drunken Sawyer. I didn’t really blame her. He was a handful enough when sober.

“I’ll go,” I quickly offered. I was only too eager for a distraction after my run-in with Noah. “It’s probably the least I can do after he so gallantly offered to be my rebound.”

Anna laughed. “Yeah, he was totally selfless in that offer too.”

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