Page 13 of One Night Seduction

Pocketing my phone, I grab my backpack filled with my essentials for the week and walk up the grand deck. Of course, my mother would never dare be caught dead in anything less than a mansion. She’s lucky the market has picked up lately. Iwasn’t sure how she was going to maintain her high-end lifestyle when Logan left her. She got way too used to being a millionaire’s wife. Considering her last serious relationship was with my father, a deadbeat mechanic who couldn’t leave the state fast enough when he found out she was pregnant, Logan was certainly a step up. Until she fucked everything up.

Shaking my head at my mother’s “extracurriculars,” I look up at the two-story lake house before me. It’s huge, with crisp white paint with black trim. It looks so out of place in such a heavily wooded area. It belongs at the end of a long winding cul-de-sac with an HOA fee equivalent to most people’s mortgage. Still, I have a lot of memories here, and I haven’t seen my aunt, uncle, and cousins in a while, which is the only reason I said yes.

Pushing the front door open, I find my aunt Marissa and Uncle Tom unpacking the groceries while my younger cousins Brady and Melanie sit on the couch watching a show.

“Hi guys!” I greet.

The twin fourteen year olds turn to look at me over their shoulders, giving me ‘too cool to be excited’ head bobs before focusing back on the TV. It’s hard for me to remember that they aren’t the same hyperactive kids I’ve grown up with.

“Hi, sweetheart!” my aunt smiles. “Was the drive okay?”

“It was fine. Tons of traffic, of course.”

“We live in Western Washington. You couldn’t escape traffic if you tried,” my uncle says gruffly.

I laugh at that, shrugging my shoulders in agreement.

Quick footsteps echo down the stairs as my mom pops her head around the wall, looking around the room frantically.

“Is he here yet? I haven’t finished my hair!”

My aunt rolls her eyes in annoyance.

“No, Kel. He’s not here yet.”

The tone of my aunt’s voice is a clear indicator that this ismy mom’s fifth time asking, minimum. She gets just as fed up with my mom’s shit as I do. Hence why she’s my favorite. I didn’t ask for her as a mother, just like she didn’t ask for her as a big sister. We bond over our mutual irritation like any normal family does.

“Who isn’t here yet?” I ask as a heavy knock sounds at the door.

“Shit!” she hisses, rushing back upstairs to presumably finish her hair.

I scoff and roll my eyes.

Hi, Mom. Nice to see you. Yes, it has been three months since I last saw you. Oh, yeah, school is doing great. I missed you too.

I have to have these conversations with her in my head because if I don’t, we’d never have them.

Wow, that sounded just as pathetic as it feels. It’s bad enough to grow up without a dad. I really had to drive home the childhood trauma with a shallow, complacent mother.

Crossing the living room, I make my way to the door, allowing in whatever new infatuation she’s brought along for this family vacation. It’s like she doesn’t know how to be alone. She has to constantly have someone smothering her with attention, or she will combust. Poor bastard doesn’t know what he’s in for.

Pulling open the door, my attempt at a warm and welcoming smile drops as my entire body tenses.

What. The. Fuck.

Deep brown eyes are staring straight at me. Eyes I’ve been trying to permanently scrub from my mind…along with other parts of him. What the fuck is he doing here? He hasn’t been around my family since the divorce. I’d say myself included in that, but…you know.

“Arianna,” he says, his tone not exactly stiff but not warm either. More like careful.

I don’t respond. I’m still trying to decide what the best course of action is. A door slammed in his face, a kick to his balls. Something.

“Ari, let Logan in.” My aunt laughs.

I stay in place for several more seconds, and Logan lifts an eyebrow like he’s wordlessly checking to see what my next move will be. His calculating gaze unnerves me, and I step to the side, allowing him and his black duffel bag inside.

“Why are you being so rude?” my aunt scolds, shaking her head as she wraps her arms around Logan. “It’s been forever. How are you doing?”

Logan hugs her back before she pulls away.

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