Page 5 of Forbidden Temptations

He couldn’t quite keep the pride from his voice. So many kids would burst into a fit of tears whenever they fell over and refuse to move until their parents picked them up, but Alex never stopped. Even in tears, he would push himself up and keep crawling to where he wanted to go.

“And you and Alice are coping well?” she asked, cocking her head to the side.

A curl of locks fell out of place, but Scarlet didn’t brush it aside, her eyes searching his.

“I doubt it could have been easy starting a family so soon after losing your job. Your career taking such a huge step back and having to pack up your lives to move here. Not many marriages could weather the storm so well. Maybe you two should write one of those self-help books. Money woes and job lows - A couple’s survival guide.”

She chuckled, the sound dry and mocking.

Forcing a small smile, Richard resisted the impulse to give her the finger.I prefer Don’t Let the Tarts Get You Down.

“We’re Fine.” Of course, it was a half-truth. They fought, sometimes like cats and dogs, over nothing at all, and other times they fought to avoid the very real issues looming over them.

There had been many of those recently, but he wasn’t about to discuss that with Scarlet.

“I see.” With that, she pushed away from the table and fingered the stray lock of hair back behind her ear. “Tell me, Dick, would you consider it cheating to kiss me under the mistletoe?”

She said it casually, as if it was as every day as asking about the weather.

Already on edge and walking on eggshells, the broadside caught Richard completely by surprise and had him almost doubling over in a fit of dry, heaving coughs so violent it was a marvel he didn’t choke.

“Ex-ex-excuse me?” he stammered, certain he must have misheard her.

Smiling teasingly, she stepped closer so that as she looked up; they were almost nose-to-nose.

“It was a perfectly simple question.” A hand tipped by baby blue nails reached out, taking the cup from his grasp and placing it on the refreshment table before tracing her finger up along the lapel of his jacket and along the line of his jaw. “Would you consider kissing another woman under the mistletoe as being unfaithful to your wife?”

Her eyes flickered to the ceiling overhead and, pressing firmly on his chin, she tilted his head back.

Too stunned to resist, he followed her gaze skyward to where three leaves of mistletoe were hanging off a scrap of crimson silk dangling above their heads.

Richard’s chest constricted. “I…I…”

“Cat got your tongue?”

Richard wheeled, the pit falling out of his stomach as the all too familiar voice asked and brought a frosty blast of reality. Alice Serena Martin stood not three steps away with her arms crossed and glaring at her husband.

“Am I interrupting something?” she asked icily.

“Darling,” Richard tried to make the greeting sound reassuring, but the rush of fear and arousal the sight of her provoked in him at that moment made it hard to do anything. Even after all the years they’d been married, the sight of her could still leave him speechless.

Pale as milk and utterly gorgeous, she wore only the smallest amount of makeup and a sultry, backless evening gown of black satin that moulded perfectly to her hourglass figure. A slit from thigh to hem flashed a glimpse of smooth, flawlessly toned legs that seemed to go forever as she walked.

Though shorter than most, her tiny stature barely scraping five feet when propped up by the stilettos she’d worn for the party, his wife was a downright knockout with her sharp, pronounced bone structure, hair that ran down her back in a long wash of silken mahogany, and intense grey-blue eyes.

Yet now her beauty had been contorted into a twisted mask that gave her the hard face of a hawk. Eyes that had stared up at him with such love and devotion, now piercing with accusation. That look cut deeper than steel.

He wanted to say something to reassure her, but, somehow, a line like ‘it’s not what it looks like’ just didn’t seem it.

“Ahh, Alice!” Scarlet stepped around Richard, into the older woman’s sights. She beamed, her eyes alight with wicked delight. “There you are. We were just talking about you.”

Alice’s cool gaze shifted to the blonde, her lips pursing into a fine line “Indeed.”

“In fact,Dickwas just telling me about your son. He’s such a handsome little boy, you must be very proud.

“Yes.”

Scarlet gave Richard a slow, appraising look, then smiled knowingly. “He’s the spitting image of his father. Good luck keeping the girls away. You’ll have to beat them off with a big pole.”

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