Page 40 of Tempt

He smells like heaven, and I hate how much I want to stay.

Even after he gave me shit for no good reason.

Which is exactly why I’m going. To remind myself that this stupid attraction is a bad idea.

Daniel reaches toward my face. I think he’s going to touch me, but he only straightens my headband.

“I’ll wait up.”

It sounds like an apology.

I counter with an easy smile.

“Don’t.”

12

DANIEL

Kat is avoiding me.

She said she was going to campus.

A party no doubt.

Wearing an outfit that left little to the imagination.

I’m concerned. The guy at my door wanted her—her attention, her help, maybe more. And instead of telling me about it, she called me out on being a shitty father.

“How’s that working out?”

It pissed me off. I seethed and denied it.

But when my kid came down, I told him a story.

After getting Andy settled in bed, I head out to pace the back sunroom.

I can’t sleep. I pace the wooden floors, the boards creaking under my feet. I open the front door and stare out. My attention lands on the mailbox, the flag I still haven’t fixed.

Eventually, I hit a contact on my phone.

“You’re calling late,” my best friend answers dryly.

“Just put Andy to bed.”

“The nanny keeping you up?”

“She’s out.”

The low sound might be Sawyer’s chuckle. “That a yes or a no?”

“I need to go to Rona. Can you keep an eye on Andy for an hour?”

Ten minutes later, Sawyer’s installed in my living room and I’m pulling out of the driveway.

On the way to the hardware store, I take a detour.

Greek Row is big old houses and manicured lawns. Tonight, it’s alive with students crawling from one place to another.

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