Page 43 of Provocation (Temptation 3)

“No. Thank you.”

“Of course.” With a smile, she turned, making her way out of my office.

Once we were alone, I pinned Naomi with a glare. “Try to refrain from letting the entire office know about my personal life.” I lowered my voice. “No one can know about Lachlan right now.”

“But I thought you guys were together.”

I smoothed a hand down my dress. “And we are.”

“Then what’s the problem?”

“He’s not someone I can just…be with. Not with who he is. I have to consider Imogene. And the way the media will respond to news of baseball’s most eligible bachelor not only being in a relationship, but with an older woman who has a daughter.”

“It’s not like he’s Jason Momoa. Or Brad Pitt. It might be news for a day before being pushed out of everyone’s mind. If it makes headlines at all.”

I closed my eyes, drawing in a deep breath, not wanting to admit she was right. Lachlan wasn’t like Jason Momoa or Brad Pitt. Or even Tom Brady. While he was certainly a legend in baseball circles, especially in Atlanta, if you weren’t a fan, most people probably wouldn’t recognize him or had even heard of him.

“Unless there’s another reason.” She arched a brow. “Unless your reluctance isn’t about the world learning of your relationship, but one person in particular.”

I squared my shoulders. “I have to be careful.”

“So it is because of Nick.”

“I—”

“Julia,” she interjected, sitting forward in the chair, “he’s in prison. He can’t get to you anymore.”

“I know that.”

But just because he was in prison didn’t mean he couldn’t get to me anymore. Not after recent events.

Recent events I hadn’t shared with Naomi.

“Then why are you still letting him control you?”

“I’m not,” I argued. “I’m in a relationship again.”

She pushed out a disbelieving laugh. “I don’t think you are.”

“What makes you say that?”

“What do you and Lachlan do together?”

I parted my lips, but before I could respond, she interrupted.

“Things that don’t involve sex.”

I snapped my mouth shut. While we’ve done some things outside of the bedroom, like lounged by his gorgeous pool or relaxed in his theater room, it all eventually led to sex.

“Listen, Jules,” she began, voice soothing, “I get I’m the last person you should take relationship advice from, considering I don’t have a great track record. But when I was with someone, I was with them. Not just in secret. Not just on a superficial level.

“If you’re going to be with Lachlan, you need to be with him in every aspect of your life. You need to let him in to every aspect of your life. He may be understanding right now, since it’s still new and there are complications here most relationships don’t have to deal with. But at some point, you’re going to have to finally jump. Because, right now, it appears as if your feet are in the same place they’ve always been. Allowing Nick to manipulate you, even from behind bars.”

“Naomi…,” I sighed, searching my brain for the words to explain why this was best for all involved. At least for now.

Maybe if she knew the truth, that there was a very strong possibility Nick was connected to over a dozen recent murders masked as suicide, including Lachlan’s own sister, she’d understand why I needed to keep this quiet. I hated the idea of Lachlan becoming a target because of me. And that was precisely what would happen.

“There’s something I—”