Page 62 of Resisting the Temptation
Mateo clears his throat, so I look over at him. My eyes automatically dart to Emma, who’s gripping her fork so tightly I swear she’s going to bend the metal. She refuses to meet my gaze, and her cheeks are as red as a tomato.
“Is she worth all the effort?” Mateo asks.
I don’t hesitate to answer, “Absolutely.”
Chapter 29
Emma
“Absolutely,” Ben answered, but he wasn’t looking at Mateo. He was looking atme.
At first, when he said he was seeing someone, my heart rate increased, and rage bubbled in my stomach, souring the delicious meal because I amnotgoing to be a willing accomplice to cheating.
Then he said he met her at a club, and I realized he was talking aboutme.
But the things he was saying… how he described the woman… He couldn’t have been describing me, right? He doesn’tlikeme. Sure, he likes our scenes, and he likes fucking me—otherwise he wouldn’t keep doing it—but he doesn’t like me as a person.
Right?
The conversation shifted after that, even though I could tell everyone had more questions for Ben.
Ihave more questions for Ben. Who’s Janessa? Was he truly talking about me? On the very off chance hewasn’t talking about me, why the fuck is he still fucking me when he has someone he’s clearly so smitten with?
Dread washes over me in a harsh wave. Maybe that’s why he wanted me to come to his house tonight. He wants to get in one last session before he ends things to go be with whatever sunshine woman has captured his heart.
Camila brings out a delectable looking flan topped with a berry medley. I’ve never had flan before, and I’m sure it tastes divine just like the rest of Camila’s cooking, but I can’t taste anything over the bitterness of rejection sitting on my tongue.
Iknewthis would happen. I knew I would get attached to him and he would smash my heart into a million tiny pieces. I tried so hard not to, and yet, I still did.
Stupid, Emma.
I offer to help Camila clean up after we’re finished, but she shoos me away, insisting guests don’t help.
“Mateo, why don’t you take Emma on a tour of the house?” Camila suggests, obviously still set on her match-making scheme.
Mateo looks from his mom to Ben to me then shrugs. “Come on, Emma. I’ll show you my childhood room.” His dark eyebrows bounce twice with innuendo as he holds his arm out for me to take, and I can’t help but giggle.
I like Mateo in a brotherly way. Sure, he’s handsome and charming. Funny and obviously a serial flirt but I don’t feel the tingles in my lower belly like I do with his brother. I don’t wonder what his hands would feel like caressing my body. I don’t have the urge to kiss him.
Ben’s jaw is clenched when I glance at him as I take his brother’s arm. I’m sure I’ll get an earful about it later. Maybe even a few spankings, but he doesn’t get to be upset when I’m only trying to be a polite house guest. Or when there’s the tiniest possibility he’s seeing someone else.
Could this all be fixed with a simple conversation? Sure. But I’m scared of what the conversation will entail, and I’d rather put it off as long as possible.
Ignorance is bliss, after all.
Mateo shows me around the first floor, bypassing the kitchen and dining room, and walks me down a hallway which leads to the primary bedroom and an office. Then, he takes us upstairs, letting me stop to inspect the family pictures hanging on the walls.
Ben isn’t smiling in most of the pictures, instead wearing a scowl like the camera has personally offended him. I stop at one where Cici is a baby, Mateo looks to be about two, and Ben around four or five. Ben’s eyeing Cici warily, like he’s not sure he likes her.
“So, he’s always been grumpy, then?” I ask Mateo, gesturing to the picture.
Mateo laughs. “Yeah. He’s been serious for as long as I can remember. But I think it’s just a façade. I don’t know why; it’s not like our parents were super strict or something super traumatic happened to him. At least, not that I know of. Maybe it’s an oldest sibling trait.”
“Maybe,” I reply noncommittally.
“Are your older siblings not grumpy?”
I think about my dad’s oldest, Henry. He’s twenty years older than me, so we’ve never been close. He’s a bit of a douche, but I don’t think I’d say he’s grumpy.
