Page 75 of Temptation (Temptation 1)

I forced a smile but didn’t look directly at her. “We walk away.”

“And if he doesn’t want you to walk away?”

I barked out a laugh. “I’m forty years old. I guarantee he’s more than aware this isn’t the makings of anything long-term. He said he wasn’t in a good place for a relationship anyway.”

I didn’t tell her what he’d really said. That the more I learned about him, the more I’d regret the day we met.

What happened in his past to make him think that?

Would I ever find out?

And why did I want to so desperately?

“But what if he changes his mind?”

“He won’t. We agreed.”

Then again, we’d agreed to a lot of other things we seemed to throw out the window last night.

“So… What? You’re going to enjoy a week of amazing sex, then just…walk away?”

I narrowed my gaze on her. “You know I don’t have a choice.”

“There’s always a choice. You’re just using Nick as an excuse.”

I parted my lips to argue, but she held up her hand, stopping me.

“He’s not a reason to deny yourself happiness anymore, Jules. You know what they say, don’t you? That the best revenge is living well? Maybe this is your chance. I just…” She exhaled a deep breath. “I don’t want you to walk away from something incredible because you think you have to. Lord knows you’ve been forced to do enough of that. I want you to walk away because you want to. Because it’s a choice you made. Not because of something or someone else. And if you walk away because of Nick, that’s precisely what it will be. Because of someone else.”

I looked past her, my unfocused gaze staring at the flat-screen television hanging on the wall broadcasting the morning talk show I was about to appear on to do yet another baking segment to promote the opening of the new location of my bakery. I hadn’t thought about it that way. But am I ready for something real? And at what cost?

“Have you been following that?” the stylist asked as she cleaned her brushes.

“Sorry… What’s that?”

She nodded at the screen I’d been staring at, even though I wasn’t really watching. “About Lachlan Hale’s sister.”

I shook my head, squinting. “Who?”

“The pitcher for Atlanta,” she responded, sounding shocked, as if the name were as recognizable as George Washington. “Since you’re from there, I figured you’d have heard of him.”

“I don’t follow baseball,” I offered with a smile.

“Either did I until I saw him in a uniform.” She winked. “They say female attendance at games skyrockets when he’s scheduled to pitch.”

Curious, I stole a glance at the screen, expecting to be met with yet another tall, muscular, bearded man who did nothing for me.

Nothing could have been further from the truth.

My heart plummeted to the pit of my stomach when a pair of blue eyes stared back at me.

The same blue eyes that peered into mine as my body experienced immense pleasure all night long.

“Jules…,” Naomi breathed, clutching my hand as we both gaped at the familiar man on the screen.

“They’ve been covering this, like, nonstop,” Margo-Mary continued, completely oblivious to the utter shock rendering me mute, erasing my thoughts, stealing my breath. “Lachlan is a bit of a local legend here on the island.”

I should have told her I didn’t care. That I had absolutely zero interest in some young, attractive baseball player. But I couldn’t find the words.

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