Page 21 of Temptation at His Door

Oh, that wasn’t good.

Keely scooted to the edge of her seat and placed her elbows on her knees. “I’m actually heading to Florida for a month to work with a special needs school down there, so I was leaving for a while anyway. But you’d have to move out, Joa.”

Dammit. She rather liked her massive four-poster bed, doing yoga in the ballroom, sitting in Iz’s library amongst her books.

Joa looked at Dare. “Do I have to? Can’t I stay there and keep out of the way?”

Dare shook his head. “They’ve been promised an empty house and that’s what you’ll have to give them.”

Joa quietly cursed. “When do I have to leave?”

“Mid next week,” Dare said, spreading his hands in an apologetic gesture. He stood up and looked down at them from his great height. “So, are you agreeing to let the house?”

Joa raised her eyebrows. “Do we have a choice?”

“You always have a choice,” Dare replied.

“I suppose we have to honor Isabel’s arrangement with him. Where will you go, Joa?” Keely asked her, looking worried.

Joa had a healthy bank account and she could afford to hire an apartment or move into a hotel for a few months. “I’ll be fine, Keels. And I agree, I think we should abide by the contract Iz signed, as inconvenient as it is.”

“Okay, then. But I’m not happy,” Keely muttered.

Joa smiled. “Yep, I’m getting that vibe.”

Dare glanced at his watch and pulled a face. “Let’s go, Killer, I’m tired. I want a drink and some food.”

“And to join your hot date,” Keely added, her tone dark.

“Exactly so,” Dare agreed, his tone genial.

Confusion and annoyance flashed across Keely’s face. Joa suspected that Keely might not like Dare Seymour but she didn’t like the idea of him dating anyone else, either.

Now wasn’t that interesting...

But as much as Joa would like to focus on the weird vibe between Keely and their sexy lawyer—really, between the Murphy brothers and Dare Seymour, Boston was looking pretty fine these days—Joa needed to think about where she was going to live for the next three months.

She heard a thump coming from the hall and frowned. Jumping to her feet, she rushed across the room but Dare’s long stride beat her to the hall and she was grateful for his large presence. Had she locked the front door behind Dare and Keely? Who was in the house?

She had two young boys upstairs, and she had to get to them...

Joa darted around Dare to get to the staircase and skidded to a stop when she saw Ronan standing by the hall table, dropping his keys into the flat, ceramic dish on the hall table.

She blinked, shook her head and blinked again. He was only due back sometime in the morning...

Joa put her hand on her heart and sucked in the sight of him. He wore dark black chinos and a mulberry-colored sweater under a thigh-length leather coat, and he looked hot.

If Dare was Thor then Ronan could easily play a not-quite-so-perfect Superman...

Come on, Joa, you can’t keep staring at him, acting like he’s a salted caramel ice cream you can’t wait to taste. Say something, dammit.

“Um...hi? You’re home early.”

“Yeah. Some lots were withdrawn from the sale so the auction finished earlier than I expected.”

Ronan’s eyes darted from her to Keely to Dare, obviously curious as to why they were in his house this late. After hanging up his leather coat, he pushed the sleeves of his sweater up his arms, shook Dare’s hand and dropped a kiss on Keely’s cheek.

Joa rocked on her feet and wondered if he’d kiss her, too. She wanted him to but also didn’t. Mostly because a casual kiss just might turn combustible...

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