Page 78 of A Suite Temptation

Closer. Another inch or two and they would be lips to lips.

He could have wept with joy when his father’s voice slipped into his mind and gently cautioned, “Remember Laguna Beach. If you stuff this up, you will be gone”.The board would ask for his immediate resignation. He would be out in the cold, relegated to running a bed and breakfast in some far flung corner of the world.

And yet closer still. A hair’s breadth was all that stood between their lips brushing together. Just a taste. Nothing more.

Think of all the pain of the breakup, she wrote a revenge song. I am Bitter Babe.

Jordan snapped out of his kiss hungry daze. He took a quick step back. “Please take your time to get to know the sky villa. Don’t hesitate to call me if you need anything.” He moved quickly toward the door. “Good evening, Chloe.”

Once downstairs, Jordan got back into his SUV. As soon as he was out of the resort, he turned the car toward the desert and hit the gas.

* * *

Chloe stood staring at the key pass which Jordan had pressed into her hand as he left the sky villa. She’d been certain he was going to kiss her. And if he had, she would have kissed him back.

At least one of them had an ounce of sanity in their head, and she knew for certain it wasn’t her. The beautiful, romantic moment when he’d bent his head and his lips had drawn close had her hopes rising to a crescendo.Yes. Yes. Oh, god yes.

And then it had all crashed away.

“You’re a silly little girl. He doesn’t want you,” she whispered.

If they had kissed, it would have been the height of stupidity. It would have put everything she was trying to protect at risk. She needed this gig, needed the money. If this deal went south, Jordan had family on which he could rely, whereas she had no one.

It was time to put her heart back on ice and start to think about how she was going to put together a kick ass concert experience for her fans.

CHAPTERFORTY-FIVE

Jordan kept his distance. Each morning, he would arrive bringing anything that Chloe had requested via the iPad the night before, along with a bunch of fresh flowers. He would stay and share a coffee with her before disappearing. Chloe wasn’t entirely sure what Jordan was doing the rest of the time, so she filed it all underJordan’s Other Stuff.

And for the first couple of days, it was rather nice. She ordered print copies of some of the latest rom com books from the VIP ordering service, then lay on the couch snacking while she smashed her way through them. TikTok took up a shameful amount of her time, but she managed to half convince herself that it was all in the cause of fan engagement and research.

As soon as Jordan left each morning, she would slip back into the bedroom and fire up her battery operated little friend and get busy. Chloe hadn’t masturbated this much since puberty had first hit. She’d thought she had got him out of her system with that revenge song, but her waning battery and near empty tube of lube proved otherwise.

By the middle of the third day, Chloe was about ready to climb the walls.Who knew you could reach the end of Tik Tok?Lazing on the couch, she picked up her phone and dialed Jordan’s number.

“Hi, Chloe. What can I do for you?”

Stop being so bloody solicitous and polite would be a good start.

She’d done a lot of thinking about him and what he’d said during their fight in the desert. There were many things left unsaid. There were deeper emotions that she wanted them to work through.

I know this is stupid, but I can’t help myself.

“You said I could ask you for anything. So can you please come up to my suite, now?”

He was silent on the other end for a moment. “Actually, Chloe, I’m out of town. If it’s okay, could I come and see you later today, maybe around six?”

Chloe sat bolt upright on the couch.

He’s dumped me here in Vegas, and then gone home.

“Are you back in New York?” The notion of Jordan treating her like a delivery package hurt more than it should.

“No, I’m at a friend’s house near Red Rock Canyon. It’s about a forty minute drive into the desert from Vegas. If its urgent, I can come back to the resort.”

The words were out of her mouth before she could stop herself. “What friend?”

Stupid. Stupid. Now you sound jealous.

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