Page 18 of Final Temptation
“I’m so confused, you said this is your drink order. I assumed you ordered this all the time.”
“Okay, maybe I was being harsh, it’s not theworst, but it’s not amazing. I’d prefer an Americano any day of the week.”
I blinked rapidly.
“So, let me get this straight… You prefer an Americano, but you told me your go-to drink order is this concoction with about twenty ingredients because…” I waited for her to finish my sentence.
“Because I was hoping to buy myself a few minutes when I was getting ready to leave that day to meet you. And maybe I wanted to be a little hard on you, because I’m a ball buster like that.” Her elbow was propped on the back of the couch, her head resting in her hand. She tilted her head to the side, her chocolate brown eyes dancing in my direction.
“You’re not wrong about that.” Little did she know, she’d been busting my balls for months now.
Sophie was a little flirt, and for a moment, I was so focused on getting my bags inside and setting everything down that I failed to notice the tiny jean shorts she wore and the black tank top that left little to the imagination.
Why did I have the feeling that living with Sophie was going to be pure, horny torture and sexual tension for days?
It’d been one week.
One week had passed since Myles moved in with me, and I had to admit, it wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be. I didn’t really have any expectations with him moving in, since I’d never lived with anyone before. But he was right, we hardly ever saw each other. He was so busy with work, meetings, and going to the gym that I rarely saw him. Maybe only for a few minutes every night while he ate dinner. Then he’d be off to shower and get ready for bed, preparing to do it again the next day.
I had plans to ask him to hang out tonight—hopefully, he wouldn’t find that weird. I just wanted to break the ice with my new roomie. Since it was the weekend, he didn’t have to work, and I didn’t really know what he’d be up to, but I knew that not long ago, he left for the gym.
My stomach dropped when my phone pinged, showing a new message. The only people to utilize my phone number these days were Paige or my dad, but Dad and I hadn’t talked in quite some time. As of lately, you could add Myles to that list now, too. And because of him, I had this weird, excited, yet nervous feeling inside every timemy phone lit up.
Not sure why, but when it wasn’t his name on my screen, I felt a slight pinch of disappointment.
Paige: Mind if I swing by before work to talk about plans for the wedding party?
The disappointment I felt just moments ago quickly shifted back to excitement. When Paige recently announced her engagement to Declan, I was so giddy for all the fun we were going to have. I’ve always loved weddings, parties, and everything that came with it. As the best friend, that made me her Maid of Honor, and along with that title came planning all the fun events.
Paige wanted a summer wedding party. She didn’t want the typical bachelorette party but a combined party. Something small, and most likely just the four of us. Briefly, she mentioned Las Vegas, so if that ended up being the final decision, Chase wouldn’t be able to tag along since he wasn’t twenty-one yet.
Maybe her mind had changed, but mine sure hadn’t. I’d kill to get away to Vegas right about now, but at the end of the day, it was her party, and I’d help her plan whatever she had in mind.
Me: Come on over. Can’t wait to fill you in on everything I have in mind!
“I’m grabbing a glass of wine. Want one?” I holleredfrom the kitchen.
“Soph, you know I have to work later, and your dad would kill me if I came in tipsy.”
“That would make two of us he’d want to kill,” I mumbled under my breath.
Rounding the corner with a glass of red wine, I took a seat next to my gorgeous best friend. She was all done up for her bartending shift, wearing tight blue jeans, a black tank that readPeaksacross her tits, and her long brown hair cascaded over her shoulders in perfect beachy waves.
“How are things going with your dad, anyway?” Paige asked.
“Eh. Taking it day by day. I haven’t talked to him since he basically said he didn’t support me wanting a change in my life. For the life of me, I can’t understand why he wouldn’t be happy about me venturing out on my own.” I rolled my eyes.
“What is it that you think he’s really upset about?”I’ve been rolling this thought through my own mind for a while now.
“I think he’s being selfish. From what I’ve learned over the years, my mom and him bought the bar with all the money they had left to their name. They bought it as an investment, and with it being the only bar in town, it’s obviously taken off. I think he always envisioned passing the torch to his kids one day. Only thing is, since my mom left so many years ago, there wasn’t a chance for more kids. The only opportunity for him to keep it in the family is me.” I swirled the red liquid around in my glass before taking a sip.
The topic of my mother didn’t come up in conversation often. I grew up with my dad and hardly ever thought about Mom. There wasn’t a good memory with her I remembered in the slightest. Dad saved a few pictures of us as a family,and even fewer of just her and me. But I didn’t feel a connection when I looked at her; the person in those photos had always been a stranger to me. We had the same bright blonde hair and big doe eyes, but that’s all she was—someone who resembled me.
When I was just five years old, my mom left us. According to my dad, she got caught up with an out-of-towner who stumbled into the bar all those years ago. From what he said, she chose a life of sex, drugs, and alcohol. The addiction was so overpowering, Dad couldn’t take it anymore—he wanted to protect me from all those things. He had a better life in mind for me, and it didn’t include my mom being around me, higher than a kite.
When I thought about my dad wanting a better life for me, I didn’t think it had to be his way or the highway. I always thought he’d be okay with me choosing what path I wanted to take. But maybe he had an attachment to the bar. Maybe he truly wanted to keep it in the family, or maybe he wanted to get rid of the memories he held with my mother there.
Ugh. This was not how the conversation between Paige and me was supposed to go today. She was supposed to come over to talk about wedding party plans. Switching gears, I shifted the conversation to something lighter and brighter. The reason she came over.
