Page 32 of Sweet Temptation

“Ugh, I wish. Angus I could stomach.”

I shook my head. “Who did you kiss then?”

“Please don’t make me repeat their name. It only makes it more real.” She scrunched up her face in disgust.

“Okay. We won’t talk about the mystery kisser from last night.” I didn’t particularly want to talk about my night either. I’d practically fled the boathouse party after Noah confronted me about the rebound list, and then Wes had actually offered to be my rebound. Last night was certainly best forgotten.

“The mystery kisser. Ugh, now he has a villain nickname too.” Anna shook her head. “But enough about him. Do you have your keys?”

I nodded and went to grab them off my desk. A nervous flutter took flight in my stomach as I grasped them in my hand. Was I really ready to get behind the wheel of a car again? Probably not. The fact I was allowing a seventeen-year-old to guide me wasn’t helping the nerves. Was this really a good idea? I didn’t have a chance to answer the question. Anna grabbed my arm and dragged me from the room.

“Don’t look so nervous,” she said. “You’ll be a racecar driver by the afternoon.”

She sounded confident, but I didn’t share her faith. I had a feeling I was destined to be more of a slow, steady, and super-cautious driver rather than one who tested the speed limits.

When we got to the parking lot, Anna looked at me in expectation. “So...” she prompted. “Which baby’s yours?”

I pointed my keys at the vehicle, and it lit up when I hit the unlock button.

“Nice,” Anna gushed as she started toward my new car. “You have good taste.”

“Thanks, but I didn’t choose it. My dad did.”

“Well, he did really well. I’ve always wanted to drive a G-Class.” She was still admiring it and nodding her approval.

I spent some time considering the car—if you could call it that. It wasn’t what I'd been expecting at all when I’d first come to the parking lot to take a look at it. Unlike the other vehicles in the parking lot, it wasn’t sleek and sporty. It was more like a Jeep or a truck that looked like it could seat about eight people. It had beefy tires, including a spare hanging off the back, and a huge shiny grill on the front that looked a little like bared teeth. It was made more for trips off-road rather than urban driving, which was kind of perfect for the hidden tracks that led to remote beaches back home in Rapid Bay. However, it still looked expensive with a smooth matte black finish and, of course, the Mercedes logo sparkling proudly on the hood. It was most definitely far too excessive for me, but I couldn’t deny I liked it.

“What are you girls doing?”

I glanced over my shoulder as Sawyer jogged toward us. He was dressed casually in jeans and a large sweatshirt. I bet he looked a sight better than his brother this morning.

“Giving Isobel a driving lesson,” Anna said. “Her dad just bought her a new car, but she doesn’t think she can drive it. I’m going to help her make sure she doesn’t let her poor, beautiful G-Class sit all lonely in the parking lot this year.”

“You can’t drive?” Sawyer gave me a questioning look.

“I can, but historically it doesn’t end well.”

“Huh.” Sawyer looked intrigued “Sounds fun. Can I come?”

“No,” I groaned, but Anna quickly replied with an exuberant “Of course!”

I scowled in her direction. “I really don’t think I need an audience for this.”

Sawyer waved away my concern. “I’m hardly an audience. Think of me as an extra dose of driving wisdom.”

“If you’re my driving wisdom, then I’m screwed.”

Sawyer laughed and shrugged. “So, is this your ride?” Before I could respond, he had already stepped forward and opened one of the back doors.

“This is a bad idea,” I murmured to Anna.

She didn’t seem the least bit concerned. “It’ll be fine. Sawyer loves cars almost as much as I do. He’ll be a great addition.”

“Will you girls stop chatting and get driving?” Sawyer called out from where he now sat inside the car. “I need to get to town to pick up breakfast burgers to fix my brother’s hangover.”

“Guess I can’t put this off any longer then,” I murmured.

“Nope. You really can’t.” Anna grinned and walked around the car to get into the passenger seat while I slowly made my way toward the driver’s side door. There was no way this ended well; I felt sure of it.

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