Page 55 of Whisper of Temptation (Whisper Lake 4)

CHAPTER 18

“Have you talked to the kids?” Austin asked before taking a bite of his pancakes.

Sara nodded and took a sip of orange juice. “I talked to them this morning.”

She’d only talked to Trev for a second. He was excited to go out and jump on the trampoline that his uncle had in the backyard. Charlotte was more talkative, but her questions had mostly revolved around Austin. She’d wanted to know where he was. What he was doing. If Sara had seen him yet this morning.

The conversation with Shelby had illuminated the fact that Sara might be getting a little too attached to Austin. And remembering her daughter going on and on about him, she realized she wasn’t the only one. And that was not okay.

This mid-life crisis, or whatever she was going through, should not affect her kids. What had she been thinking, letting him spend time with them? How could she have possibly thought this would end well? This was real life. She couldn’t go around letting her kids get attached to random guys they’d most likely never see again.

“Are they okay?” Austin’s face was etched with worry as he reached across the table and covered Sara’s hand.

Pasting on a bright smile, Sara hoped to camouflage the doubts and regrets that were multiplying in her mind like soaking wet Gremlins after midnight. “Yeah, they’re great.”

“Why are you doing that?” His tone turned serious.

She pulled her hand away, suddenly feeling defensive. “Doing what?”

“Smiling like that.” He didn’t seem offended by her abrupt movement, if anything he seemed more concerned. “If something’s wrong, you can tell me.”

“Nothing’s wrong,” Sara maintained.

“Nothing’s wrong?” he repeated skeptically.

“Nope.”

Austin didn’t respond. He just looked at her. Waiting. Letting his silence speak louder than a thousand words.

It was more than Sara could handle. She cracked. Lowering her voice so the entire diner didn’t overhear, she leaned forward. “I’m just worried the kids might be getting too attached to you.”

“The kids?” He raised his left brow.

“Yes. The kids.” She knew what he was implying, but she really was worried about Trev and Charlotte. “Every time Trev looks at you, he has hero worship in his eyes, and all Charlotte wanted to know about this morning was where you were. If she could talk to you. If I was going to see you today.”

“That’s sweet.” Austin grinned.

“Well, it’s not going to be sweet when you’re gone and I’m dealing with the aftermath,” she snapped.

Sara knew logically she was taking out her frustration undeservedly on Austin. He hadn’t done anything wrong. He’d been nothing but amazing, supportive, and honest. He’d said he wanted to spend more time with them, and she’d agreed. He’d given her plenty of heads up about his desire to kiss her, and she’d been more than willing to pucker up. When things had heated up, he’d stopped and asked her if taking things further was what she really wanted, and she’d practically begged.

This was her fault. She had just been so blindsided by the whole situation, she had broken her cardinal rule. She hadn’t thought about the repercussions. Now she was going to have to deal with the fallout of her misstep.

“And where am I going exactly?” Austin asked calmly.

It was in that moment Sara realized he had the patience of a saint. Great. Like he needed one more attribute to add to his list of Superman qualities.

“You know what I mean.” She knew she didn’t need to spell it out for him. He’d gone into this with his eyes just as open as she had.

A smile tilted his full lips. The lips that had given her more pleasure than should be legal. If she closed her eyes, she could still feel those masterful lips dripping kisses down her neck.

No.

She could not get sidetracked by his lips, or his tongue, or his arms, or his…

“Look.” He rested his arms on the table and sighed. “I know your life is complicated and you’re leaving in a few days. And that makes what’s happening between us complicated. But I’ve never felt this way before, Sara. Maybe it’s selfish, but I want to spend every second I can with you. I want to spend time with the kids too, when they come back. And I don’t want to disappear from their lives when you leave. I know this might sound crazy, but maybe we can try—”

“Don’t.” Sara shook her head.

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