Page 7 of Single Mom’s Secret Diary (The Forbidden Reverse Harem Collection)

Ryder

T he moment I hear of the beauty that comes through our doors, I have to investigate. Already, there are whispers about this classic sophistication and mysterious gaze, and every little detail I hear about her only makes me more curious.

I miss the opportunity to see her taste test one of our signature truffles, but the effects trickle through the staff until they reach me in my office. Phone calls bog me down most of the morning.

The look on Ezra’s face when he pauses in my office tells me an entirely new story. “You know her, don’t you?”

He frowns at me, crossing his arms over his chest. “Whatever you’re thinking, don’t.”

“I’m not thinking anything other than getting to see what everyone’s in a titter over.” I give him my best innocent face, but he knows a lie when he sees it.

“In a titter over…” He repeats my words with the obvious skepticism they deserve.

I shrug at him and stand. “Know where our new employee is?”

Ezra’s frown deepens. “In her office.”

I grin, and my best friend rubs his forehead. “What? I promise to behave myself. You know, for me.”

“It’s the for you part of that disclaimer that worries me.” His arms drop as I near, and he grabs my arm. “Seriously. Don’t scare her off.”

“Oh ye of little faith.” But I see it in his eyes. He does know her. Biblically. There’s only one woman who leaves that haunted look on his face. “Wait a damn minute.”

He points his finger at my expression. “Whatever that is, don’t.”

It takes a supreme amount of control to suppress my smile. I don’t mean to taunt him. I just can’t help it. “My best behavior.”

I hold my hands up and sidestep him out of my office. Ezra whispers something under his breath as we part, and I’m fucking giddy over seeing whether my prediction is true.

Her door is slightly ajar, and my knock reveals Wyatt propped in the chair in front of her desk. I’ve never seen that look on his face before—gobsmacked. Absolutely without control and desperately flailing to regain it.

I’ve overheard their last few back and forths, and I try to hold it back, but the words slip out of my mouth unbidden. “But indulgence is part of our game, Miss Caruso.”

When I step in, her hazel eyes glide to me, and I understand completely why Wyatt is sitting there dumbstruck. Why Ezra had that haunted look in his eyes back in my office. Being the center of her attention is arresting.

I swear my heart is stuttering to a stop.

And I recognize her. That long, straight, chestnut hair, the purse of her wide mouth, the lift to her chin. She’s the girl from Cancún.

I only spent an afternoon with her and Ezra, doing a couples date with Francesca. We rode out to some ruins, ate lunch, and were carted back. They clung to each other nearly the entire time. It was sickeningly sweet.

But like I told him then, after she disappeared on him, there’s magic in the Spring Break fling that fades when real life hits. It’s better to let it go.

Only now, she’s here again. Ten years later.

This is going to be the best kind of disaster.

I hold my hand out to her. “Ryder.”

“Avery.” She stands and takes my hand, and after the two pumps, I lift her hand to kiss her knuckles, but she pulls free of my grip before I can.

I grin at her and the small frown forming between Wyatt’s brows. “Nice to see you again.”

She blinks once, twice, and settles her judgment on me like a gavel banging the bench. Avery doesn’t give away that she recognizes me, but she barely looked at me the entire trip. “Were you the one sleeping with my cousin?”

I laugh. “No, love. That was Franklin. I was the one with the fiancée.”

She makes a pointed look at my left hand and the lack of a ring. At least she has the decency to not ask what happened. Because, no, we never did get married. The wedding we planned for after graduation fell apart shortly after the moment we tossed our caps into the sky and received our diplomas.

My chest aches at the memory. Seven years is a long time, but Francesca still has a small spot in my heart that gets picked at every time I think it’s completely healed over.

I point to the half-eaten chocolate on her desk. “Are you going to finish that?”

“No.” Her arms cross. The defensive stance delivers some parts of her past with it. Avery isn’t so sure she wants to be here.

I pop it in my mouth and smile as I chew through it. The little hints of heat play nicely with the semi-sweet chocolate. My wink has her rolling her eyes.

God, why does it breathe fire into me?

“I was hired for a reason. Wasn’t I? Shall we begin? I’d like to go taste your base ingredients.” Those hands fall to her hips, a power stance that accentuates the curviness of her lower half in that skin-tight jumpsuit. I bet her ass looks fantastic in it.

The glare she sends me only redoubles my natural instinct to flirt.

Or maybe she’s remembering how much of her I’ve already seen. Cancún isn’t a place known for covering up. And that tiny bikini she wore drew my attention even when Francesca dug her knuckle into my ribs.

Wyatt stands beside me, leading us out of her office. It’s almost crowded with the three of us in there at once. A sudden image of having her pressed between us flashes through me, and I gesture for her to proceed me out to the hallway.

Her stride draws my eye as I follow, closing her office door behind me.

I sidle up close behind her. “So, what brings you back into our lives?”

My words are low and close to her ear. It makes her sidestep me and glare. Something about the way she doesn’t warm to me immediately turns up the dial on my flirting.

“It’s because you missed me, isn’t it?”

Her exasperated sigh has me chuckling.

“No, I know who you missed. It’ll only take me a quick second to grab him, and then you can have all three of us at your disposal.” I lean in again. “For as long as you want.”

“You should just stop. You are not as smooth as you think you are.” Her hair whips against my chest as she takes a sharp corner to descend the stairs.

I press my hand there, feigning pain from an actual blow. “You wound me, Avery. So deeply. I am only trying to be accommodating.”

“Mmm.” She pauses mid-step, halfway down the stairs, and wobbles a little. Her hand lands on Wyatt’s arm, and his entire body seems to tense.

“Sorry,” she murmurs before she’s stomping down those stairs again. Avery walks toward the lab like she owns the place.

We both chase after her.

Having her here is going to make things interesting. I rub my hands together at the thought and slip into the lab to see Laurel waiting for Wyatt’s return.

The sour turn of her mouth when she spots Avery and then me cranks up my grin.

Laurel clutches her clipboard tighter, already stomping into the store rooms after the two of them like she can’t stand the thought of her space being invaded. Like she doesn’t want Avery to touch anything that’s hers.

If only Wyatt recognized that he is a part of what she considers hers. He’s too clueless to see the way she fawns over him. But she has certainly observed the way he’s fascinated with Avery by the way she responds.

Oh, yes. Having Avery here is certainly going to be fun.