Page 45 of Cruelest Contract
Something tells me Julian is far from tame between the sheets.
I release the clicker one final time and set the pen down beside my journal. “I’m not being forced into anything. I have a choice. And they won’t hurt me. I’m sure of that. Like I told you, I’ve known the Tempestas since I was a kid.”
Alice sighs on the other end of the line. But I take this as a sign that she and her flamethrower are willing to remain in Arizona for now.
“You like them,” she says. “Don’t you?”
“Not all of them,” I reply, thinking of Getty. The third Tempesta brother is the most unpredictable and he doesn’t seem at all interested in being liked. He’s the only member of the family I try to avoid.
But Tye, for all his irrepressible flirting, is funny and irreverent. I don’t mind his company.
Fort is devoted to the ranch and while he has his moments, he also shows shades of his eldest brother’s intelligence. We get along fine.
As for Julian…
“Tell me more about Julian,” says Alice, the mind reader. “He’s the oldest, right?”
“Yes. For starters, Julian has better manners than his brothers. He’s second only to their father and keeps everyone in line, whether they like it or not. He saved my life once.”
“How hot is he?”
My groan is automatic. “Scorching.”
She laughs. “Pics required.”
“I’ll try.”
Her laughter fades. “I’m worried about you.”
“I know what I’m doing,” I tell her, although I’m unsure if this is completely true.
Cass Tempesta is returning in three days. I’m expected to announce my decision then. I’ve been putting off a serious examination of my options by keeping busy.
The ranch is constantly active and there’s no shortage of things to see and do. Yesterday I got to bottle feed the orphaned twin calves in the big barn. I haven’t been inside the stables yet but I enjoy admiring the horses from a distance.
And the nearby small town of Vigilance is delightful. I think of it as a western version of Lorelei Gilmore’s beloved Stars Hollow. The Tempesta brothers are recognized everywhere we go. Some of the greetings they receive are cautious. Almost apprehensive. Even if their Mafia reputation was unknown, they’d still be men to reckon with.
“I really wish I knew him better,” I say to Alice.
“Hmph,” she replies. A disapproving noise.
Julian Tempesta is too clever to lay all his cards on the table. He allows me to see only what he wants me to see while he constantly calculates my reaction. It’s unnerving. And unfair.
“I feel like I’m out of my depth when I’m with him,” I admit. “Julian pulls all the strings. He has every situation under control.”
“Well,” says Alice with a huff, “then the great and powerful Julian needs to be in a situation hecan’tcontrol. If he wants you, and it sounds like he does, then he’ll play along. Make him jump through a few hoops. It’s the least he can do. What’s that noise?”
“My phone alarm.” I switch off the urgent sound of an old fashioned phone bell. “Dinner is in fifteen minutes and they take the dinner hour seriously around here.”
“Who do they think they are?” Alice grumbles. “Royalty?”
“More like high end cowboy Mafia scions.”
She snorts. “I’ve got a ton of grades to update as we hurtle toward the end of the school year so I’ll be awake late. Call me if you want to talk.”
“I will.”
“And do me a favor.”
