Page 61 of Sweet Temptation

“What? He is.”

I shook my head and did my best to ignore her. I did not want to think about whether my father was good-looking, let alone discuss it with my friends.

“Enjoy the sushi,” I called out as I jogged down the steps. “I’ll let you know when I’m on my way back.”

When I reached the car, Matthew was waiting by an open door, and he stood back to let me in. I gave my friends a brief wave before he closed the door behind me. The driver in the front seat nodded at me in the rearview mirror.

Matthew slid into the seat beside me, and once his seat belt was fastened, the car pulled away from the curb. My fingers fidgeted at the hem of my sweater as I considered launching into one of the many questions I had for my father. I wasn’t sure the car was the right place to ask him, especially with his driver in the front seat, but it was hard to wait when it was all I could think about. I’d been wanting answers for weeks.

“I’m sorry to hear you’ve been unwell. Are you truly feeling better?” Matthew asked.

He sounded so concerned, and I found myself holding back a smile. Noah was convinced my father was a terrible person, and maybe I would have agreed when I’d first met the man. He hadn’t given me the best first impression. But the more I got to know him, the harder I found it to believe that was possible. Maybe I was being naïve. Maybe when I finally got a chance to question him, I wouldn’t like what I discovered.

“I’m still a bit queasy,” I replied. “But I’m not going to be sick or anything.”

“Do you feel up to having dinner with me? I can drop you back if you’d rather rest.”

“No!” I protested the idea a little too forcefully. “No, I’m okay. I promise.”

He slowly nodded. “But if you start to take a turn for the worse, just let me know.”

“I will.” I highly doubted I would. At least, not before I’d had a chance to talk with him properly.

The traffic was bad as we drove to Matthew’s place, and the constant sound of horns and the flashes of brake lights surrounded us. We moved at such a crawling pace I wondered if it might be quicker to walk. I couldn’t imagine Matthew walking anywhere though, especially not in the expensive suit and strikingly shiny shoes he wore.

His place wasn’t far from Cress’s though, and despite the traffic, the car pulled over not long after we’d set out.

“Here we are,” Matthew said as the driver got out of the car and came to open my door. I stepped from the car and craned my neck back to look at the building that reached impossibly high into the sky above us. Matthew lived here? I shouldn’t have been surprised considering the gorgeous home he’d purchased in Weybridge and the skyscraper that housed the headquarters for his business.

I followed him in through the revolving doors at the front of the building and gasped as I got my first look at the foyer of Matthew’s New York home. The place was incredibly lavish with white marble coating almost every surface and shiny gold finishings on all the doors and light fittings. It was opulent but also light and bright—surprisingly so, considering we were on the ground floor of a high-rise building.

“Good evening, Mr. LaFleur, Miss Grace.” An older man in a deep-green suit smiled at us from behind a desk as we entered the foyer. He came around to greet us as we approached.

“Good evening, Edward,” Matthew replied. “Have you had a good day?”

“It was very good, thank you, sir. And yourself?”

“Hectic,” Matthew admitted with a chagrinned smile.

“I would expect nothing less,” Edward replied, smiling back. He walked beside us to the elevator as he spoke.

“Did you catch the game this afternoon?” Matthew asked.

Edward blanched. “Oh yes, it was terrible.”

Matthew’s eyes widened a fraction with surprise. “Worse than last week?”

“Much worse.”

“So I shouldn’t bother watching the highlights?”

“I’m afraid I wouldn’t recommend it, sir.”

“Okay.” My father laughed and shook his head. “Thanks for the warning.”

When we reached the elevator, Edward pressed the button for us. The doors spread wide immediately, and he held them open as he gestured for us to walk inside.

“Will you be needing anything this evening, sir?” he asked.

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