Page 93 of Unlawful Seduction

“What if he wants to be in Brady’s life?”

“Then you hire an attorney. There’s not a judge in the fucking country who will allow that man to have any visitation rights after what he did.”

Sighing, I knew she was right. Yet a part of my brain, the part that still had feelings for him even after all the years, wasn’t happy with the idea. Beckett had reasons for leaving.

And for returning.

Maybe he’d missed me so much he couldn’t stand the thought of living without me for the rest of his life. A tiny thrill coursed through me. A second chance at forever.

My pussy clenched more than once and my entire body was suddenly overheated. Jesus. Had I fucked everything up with the way I’d acted?

A sudden anxious feeling outweighed the touch of excitement. He wasn’t the kind of man to take surprises easily. He’d been stunned just like I’d been. Shit. Where was he living? Or maybe he was at a local hotel or bed and breakfast. A part of me was eager to talk to him.

My more intelligent, rational side was chastising the thought. Nothing good would come from pretending what had occurred hadn’t.

“Well, I think I know what he’s doing here.” Marjorie entered the room, immediately heading for her glass of wine.

Jenny glanced at me quickly, acting nonchalant, but I noticed. “O-kay. Why?”

“He’s here to finally sell the cabin in the mountains. He’s using the real estate agent I’m friends with. You know, Becky Turner.”

She had a sheepish look on her face.

“What else?” My tone was demanding, another lump forming in my throat.

I could tell my bestie was going to try to dance around the news.

“Talk!” I huffed.

“First of all, she was forced to sign an NDA by some bigshot New York attorney so I had to figure out the clues she’d dropped. Second, I think she’s nervous about working with Beckett. It’s not what she said, but how she acted. Becky did say the attorney made certain she was aware that ‘the buyer’ was only in town to get the place on the market and he wanted no one to know he was here.”

“Fuck,” Jenny breathed.

The rush of excitement gave way to something much darker. “Oh.” That’s all I could manage to say at this point. He was still being cautious. That meant he wasn’t certain the threat no longer existed.

But the news hit me hard, so much so I rose to my feet. While my legs were shaking, I needed some air. Lots of fucking air. I moved to the door leading to the back deck, doing what I could to keep from losing it. Once outside, I slammed my hands on the railing. How fucking dare he act as if he could return to town without seeing me? Did he really think selling and escaping was the best thing to do?

I was fuming, the anger increasing with every breath I took. Why would he do something like that? The answer was so easy, so fucking easy.

Because he’d never cared about me in the first place. How could he? We hadn’t really known each other. Other than from our intimacy.

What we’d shared had been a farce, a blip in time because we’d been snowed in. As soon as he’d been able to run away, he had. Just like always. At least according to the man himself, the worthless fuck.

I stomped my boot onto the deck, hating myself for being such a fucking fool. I’d actually believed in some crazy fantasy that one day he might return and sweep me off my feet. What was I? Eleven? No man cared about anything but himself.

Especially a man like Beckett.

Or whatever the fuck his real name was.

As if I should give a damn.

“Are you okay?”

Marjorie’s voice and words were tentative.

“Peachy keen.”

“I’m sorry, honey. But you deserved to know.” She flanked my side, folding her arms and leaning over the railing.

---