Page 9 of Temptation at His Door

Especially since Ronan Murphy was exactly the type of guy she was drawn to...

Oh, hell, why was she even attempting to lie to herself? Her other two single bosses were nice men, reasonably attractive, but Ronan had blown her socks off. The man made her tingle, made the moisture disappear from her mouth. She wanted to know how it felt to have his hands on her bare skin, taste his smile, feel those broad shoulders, that wide chest, that hard stomach.

He was hot and sexy and, worst of all, a single dad. If she went to work for him, she gave herself a day before she started fantasizing about becoming his significant other, stepmom to his supposedly adorable boys.

She wouldn’t be able to help herself; it was what shedid.

Not this time.

And not with that man.

Because Joa suspected that if she went to work for Ronan Murphy and once again fell for her single-dad boss, she’d, yet again, end up lost and alone and rejected.

And she didn’t know if she’d be able to pick herself up and start again...

When she spoke, her words were soft but laced with emotion. “I can’t do it, Keely. Not again.”

Keely, because she was perceptive as well as pushy, frowned. “Did something happen at your last job that I should know about?”

Sure, I keep creating a fantasy that never comes true.

“I’d like to do something different, Keels, that’s all.”

She needed different.

Keely pulled a face. “There’s something you’re not telling me,” she complained, picking up the kettle and pouring hot water into the mugs. She picked up the mugs and walked over to Joa, placing a cup on the built-in table in the corner of the window seat.

There was an enormous amount that Joa wasn’t telling Keely. She never discussed her childhood before coming to live with Isabel and Keely, couldn’t talk about the isolation and the neglect. She’d been one of the lucky ones. She hadn’t been sexually or physically abused, but others, she knew, weren’t that fortunate.

But as she’d transitioned from child to teenager, her unusual looks garnered attention not only from lascivious foster fathers but also from her older foster brothers. When her foster father started looking at her in a non-fatherly way, Joa knew she was in trouble. Unable to face another strange house filled with strange people, she’d taken her chances on the streets. She’d lasted three days before landing at Isabel’s shelter and, from there, into this wonderful house with Isabel and her great niece, Keely.

Joa had been so lucky. So many girls who chose the streets didn’t end up safe. And none of them, of this she was certain, inherited an equal share of one of the largest fortunes in the country. Isabel had given Joa a safe place to stay, an education and, by writing her into her will, lifelong financial security. She’d loved Iz intensely, but Isabel had flown in and out of this house and their lives and was never the fully engaged “mom” Joa needed.

Iz had loved being on her own. She’d never needed a husband to make her feel complete. Maybe Iz was onto something. Maybe it was time for Joa to be more like the woman who’d rescued her half a lifetime ago—emotionally independent, sensible and strong.

Isabel had never looked to a man to make her happy and maybe Joa should honor her foster mother by following in her independent footsteps.

Keely cleared her throat and Joa turned her attention back to the present. “It’s unlike you to be so intransigent, Ju. Or to refuse to help someone who so obviously needs your help.”

She was just trying to protect herself. She was so done with feeling heartsore and miserable, feeling rejected when she walked away from another temporary family.

She couldn’t keep hurting herself, borrowing other people’s people. She needed to protect herself because, God knew, nobody else would do it for her.

“I’m sorry you’re disappointed in me,” Joa replied. Shewassorry, but she wouldn’t change her mind about working for Ronan.

Keely covered Joa’s hand with hers and released an audible huff of frustration. “I’m not disappointed in you, I’m just confused. And because you are the most private person in the world, I don’t understand why you’re being stubborn about helping Ronan. You know me inside out, Ju, but even after so many years together, in some ways you’re as much a mystery to me as when we first met.”

Joa wished, she genuinely did, that she was more open. It wasn’t that she didn’t trust Keely, she absolutely did, but Joa was naturally reserved and a little shy. And, for most of her life, she’d lived in an environment where it wasn’t always healthy to draw attention to oneself.

It was a hard habit to break.

Seeing the flash of hurt in Keely’s eyes tightened Joa’s throat. The words weren’t easy to say, but she’d push them out; she owed her sister that much. “I’m sorry, Keels, opening up isn’t easy for me. But I do love you. You know that, right?”

Keely’s eyes lightened and the corners of her wide mouth tipped up. “Of course I know you love me, you goose. I just wish you’d let me inside that head of yours.”

Joa wished she could, too. She could offer to try, but she hated making promises she wasn’t sure she could keep.

Thinking that it was past time to change the subject, Joa sipped her tea and looked at Keely over the rim of her mug. “So I looked at the list of Iz’s possessions to be auctioned off by Murphy International in their spring sale. Is that the final list?”

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