Page 3 of Final Temptation (Alpine Peak #2)

“Who in their right mind would agree to bring their long-term partner to an island so they can be tempted by other insanely good-looking men and women?” I shouted at my television screen.

I couldn’t tell you why I tortured myself by watching these dating shows.

All it did was remind me how very single and lonely I was.

You know what Paige was probably doing right now?

Fucking her hot fiancé in their big, beautiful house in Cherry Creek.

But me? I was shaking up my third dirty martini of the night and watching people destroy their relationships on television so that I could feel the slightest bit better about my situation.

I was living a pretty chill life until about two months ago, when my dad fired me from Peaks , the family bar I’ve worked at since the moment it was legal.

When I told my dad I wanted to give going to school a shot and figure out what direction I wanted to go with my life, he got pissed and cut me off from having a steady income.

Most parents wanted you to go to school and be successful—or so I thought.

My dad, though? He’s always wanted me to take over the family business, even if I’ve never seen working at a bar as a long-term path for me.

I lived by myself in a two-bedroom apartment, and the money in my savings account was dwindling faster than I hoped.

The truth was, I needed a roommate to help me out with the bills.

Unfortunately for me, I kept to myself a lot.

Paige was the only person in my life these days, besides a handful of acquaintances and old coworkers.

I couldn’t think of a single person on my radar who would move in and help me out.

I let out a big sigh, sipping on my vodka martini, and pulled my favorite fluffy blanket up to my chest. My attention returned to the television when the host began speaking to one of the couples.

“Sarah, you gave Tony the ultimatum to come here today. What is it that you’re looking to get out of this experience?”

Sarah turned toward her boyfriend, Tony, and said, “Well, we have been together for five years now. There’s been no mention of marriage or moving forward, and he’s been unfaithful in the past. If he can stay honest with me during this process, it will show me that he’s changed his ways and is in it for the long haul.

Hopefully, we can work on building a future for us. If not, then I’m prepared to move on.”

“Oh, come on, Sarah! This tool bag is totally here for a hall pass.” I scoffed under my breath.

Granted, I shouldn’t be the one throwing out advice—seeing as how these people couldn’t hear me through the TV—but also, I’d never been in a serious relationship before.

So, who was I to talk? There had been guys I’ve fallen for, but it never went beyond the surface.

Men never seemed to look at me as the girl they’d be in a relationship with.

They assumed because I was blonde and bubbly, I was just a ditz—the perfect hook-up.

Jokes on them, though, because I was confident enough to know there was more to me than my appearance—I ran deeper than my looks.

Sadly, over time, that confidence and light started to dim as more people gave up on me.

Shows like this were equally addicting as they were frustrating.

One minute, you couldn’t take your eyes away from the screen, and the next, you were reminded that the dating scene sucked hard.

Especially in a small town. Now that I wasn’t working at Peaks anymore and I attended business school online, it was impossible to meet new people.

The only option seemed to be these stupid dating apps.

The downside to dating apps: most men just wanted to hit it and quit it.

The conversations never started in a way that kept me interested.

These types of men were straight to the point with what they wanted—which never seemed to match what I craved.

Trust me, I loved the opportunity to go to pound town with a gorgeous man, but I wanted more than that.

Needed more. Forehead kisses, flowers, holding hands while we walked around downtown—the cute shit that made you want to barf just thinking about it.

My mind wandered to the last time I entertained one of those apps on my phone.

Girls’ night.

My head fell back on the soft cushion as I thought back to that night. Myles Cooper.

You’d think living in a small town of six thousand people, we would run into each other left and right. Especially because my best friend and his brother were now engaged. Luckily for me, that wasn’t the case.

From what Paige told me, Myles hadn’t stepped foot inside the bar since November.

She would know since I hired her last year when she returned to Alpine Peak, just after her father passed.

Paige was pissed when my dad let me go, but I told her not to let it affect her.

We would still always be best friends, even if we didn’t work together anymore.

Myles had always struggled with alcohol, but last year, shit really hit the fan, and living in a town like Alpine Peak, you couldn’t ignore the gossip.

He’d been staying away from the things that tempted him to make bad decisions.

As far as when I’d hung out with Paige, usually I’d force her to come over to my place.

Every now and then, she asked me to come over to her house, but I’d play it off in a way that made it seem like I wanted her alone—without her fiancé around.

I refused to chance a run-in with Myles like the last time I was over there.

I told my best friend everything…besides the fact that I had a hot and heavy make-out session with her soon-to-be brother-in-law. There was no point in spilling the tea when there was no way in hell it would ever happen again.

I’ve done everything in my power to distract myself from thinking of that night. So why were these memories floating through my head more than I’d care for tonight?

My lips grazed the cold rim of my martini glass. Tipping it back, I swallowed the rest of the vodka and olive juice mixture. Fuck, I loved a good martini—the dirtier the better.

Drinking alone was never a good choice. It was a completely different experience from drinking with friends. I was drunk, now what was I supposed to do by myself?

My eyes drifted toward my phone, that damn dating app coming back to my mind.

I can’t believe I’m considering this.

My finger hovered over the yellow and black square on my screen.

I knew if I opened it, I wouldn’t be able to hold back from messaging Myles.

It had been six months since the moment between us rocked my fucking world.

I haven’t kissed anyone since that night, so I didn’t have any other kisses to think back on.

That moment between me and Myles lingered over my head, and every time I was horny or lonely, my mind drifted back to him.

I pulled up the app and searched through my recent connections. Since I hadn’t been on this app in months, there were no recent changes in who I was matched with. Hesitantly, I tapped on Myles’s photo, which brought me to his profile.

The last time Paige and I had swiped through it, he had a couple selfies and some very basic information listed. Although it appeared that he’d been active recently, his profile was a bit different from how I remembered it.

His main photo was a mirror selfie that looked like it had been taken in a gym.

A picture like this was supposed to come off douchey and annoying, so why did I find it so hot?

He wore black joggers hugging his thick thighs, a white T-shirt with a gym clothing brand name written across the front, stretching across his strong chest, and a black trucker hat on backward.

His hand was tucked in his pocket, and I couldn’t tear my eyes away from the hot as hell vein that popped from his forearm.

Just when I didn’t think Myles Cooper could get any hotter, I noticed his facial hair had grown in since the last time we saw each other.

When we kissed, I didn’t get the opportunity to feel that scruff rub against me, and now I wondered how it would have felt.

Ugh…how can just one fully clothed picture make me feel so…in need of him?

I tried my best to scroll down, away from the devastatingly sexy photo of him, to read the information he listed in his bio.

Myles, 22, Cherry Creek, Colorado —everything I already knew.

If you were a cheat day, you’d be the one I’d never regret.

Was he serious? Did he really think a gym pick-up line was going to work? I rolled my eyes, the urge washing over me to give him shit for such a douchey bio, as I clicked on the message tab.

This app was the type where the girl had to be the first to message. Since I’d held strong on not talking to him since our little one-night kiss, there hadn’t been any messages between us.

I couldn’t believe I was saying this, but that was about to change tonight.

I considered what I wanted our first message exchange to be. Did I want to be flirty? Sweet? Play hard to get?

I shook my head.

What was I even thinking? You couldn’t play hard to get if the guy didn’t want you in the first place.

Fuck it. I started typing, and before I could think twice, I hit send and flipped my phone over so I wouldn’t obsess over it.

Now I’d just wait…