Page 11 of Sweet Temptation (Love & Legacy #1)

LEXIE

I no longer have time in my life for things that don’t fuel my soul.

If it doesn’t bring me peace, I’m not interested.

—Lexie’s Secret Thoughts

“ D ude, it’s two nights at the beach house. Not nine months in France. What the hell do you have in this thing?”

I stare at my brother as he carries my suitcase downstairs.

It’s not that heavy.

Linc drops it on the floor in the foyer, and I cringe.

In my defense, it’s my little suitcase.

“A girl needs options, Lincoln. Don’t be a baby.” I grab my purse and my pink Kings baseball hat and follow him downstairs. “I ordered food to be delivered in two hours. The girls and I should be there by then. What time are you guys getting there?”

He shrugs.

I swear men suck at planning.

At least the ones in my life do.

“I’m not sure. Lucky texted that he had to meet Sam for breakfast this morning, so we’ll probably head down after that. Ryker and Jamie are coming too. Last weekend of freedom before the grind of the season. I think everyone wants a little downtime.”

We both smile because once Lochlan is there, it will be the first time all three of us will be together at the same time in over a year, and I doubt any of us can wait.

A car horn beeps as Brea walks into the house. “Get that cute ass moving, Sinclair. The beach is calling our names.”

I look between Linc and myself. “Which one of us are you talking to?”

She grabs the handle of my suitcase and grimaces. “I’m talking to you. Your ass is better than Linc’s. But I’m going to need him to carry this for us. What the hell did you pack?”

“Everything,” Linc answers as he carries my suitcase like it doesn’t have wheels.

Big. Baby.

“ H ave I ever told you how much I love that your family has a compound at the beach, Lex?” Saylor looks at me through the rearview mirror, her blonde hair pulled back in a scarf and her Ray-Bans glowing gold in the sun.

“Your family owns an island in the Caribbean. Like the entire island . Pretty sure that beats our compound.” She’s not wrong though.

Our family does own a compound. It started with my uncle’s parents’ house and grew from there.

Basically, all my aunts and uncles own houses along this private strip of beach, and when Mom and Dad bought the house next to Grandpa’s a few years ago, it basically solidified it.

It made for great summer breaks. So much fun.

So many stories. And maybe a little tiny bit of trouble, not that we ever got caught.

Well, not that I did. Linc and Lochlan were a different story.

“And it’s not like a few members of your family don’t have places down here too. ”

“I know, but it’s not the same,” she argues as we drive over the little bridge that leads to my favorite island on the Jersey shore.

Tucked away between two bigger, family-friendly towns, this one is left alone for the most part.

You can’t rent for weeks at a time. It’s full summers or owners only, so it’s not as crowded.

Less people.

Less noise.

Less stress.

It’s my favorite place in the world.

The smell of the salty ocean air hits as we round the corner, and all my worries fade away. At least for a few days. I don’t stress about another week without work. Or worry about how my body is going to handle it once I do start.

I ignore the niggling cough that’s been tickling my chest for a few days and take a deep breath of fresh ocean air and just smile.

“Brea, babe,” Aurora calls back from the front seat. “I’m not rooming with you if you’re fucking Linc this weekend.”

Okay. I was relaxed.

“I seriously don’t want to know.” I pull my hat down further and close my eyes.

Nothing is going to ruin my Zen.

“We haven’t done it yet ,” she admits quietly, and all eyes swing to hers. “Eyes on the road, Saylor.”

“It was just a glance,” Saylor yells. “And can you blame me? What do you mean you haven’t done it yet? You went home from the bar with him the other night, didn’t you?”

“Or what about when you two disappeared inside last weekend? You don’t seriously expect us to believe?—”

Brea cuts Aurora off with a shake of her head. “I do expect you to believe it because I’m telling you nothing has happened. We haven’t even kissed. Not since I got home.”

I feel like the cute little elf from Prep and Landing chanting “ Nothing will go wrong. Nothing will go wrong.” But I’m basically full of shit.

“Please tell me you’re not planning on changing that this weekend,” I ask—or maybe kind of beg—my bestie.

My bestie, who basically just shrugs. Again . “I don’t know what’s going on between us. We might actually be over this time.”

At the very next red light, Aurora turns on her knees in her seat, a wicked glint in her eye. “I think we’re going to need more tequila.”

“You know what they say about Don Julio and bad decisions, right?” Saylor asks, and Brea smiles as the light turns green.

All three sets of eyes are on me in the next minute as the car behind us beeps for us to move.

“Fine. Bring on the bad decisions.” So much for the little elf. I think I might have just turned into a bad cliché from a Girls Gone Wild video.

Lucky

Rome

Dude. What the hell happened with you and Dad?

Lucky

Nothing. What did you hear?

Rome

I was at the house when he came home and was bitching to Mom.

Lucky

He pissed me off. I handled it.

Rome

Aww. Our baby boy is becoming a man. I’m so proud.

Lucky

Fuck off.

Rome

I plan on it tonight. You gonna be around?

Lucky

Nah. Linc and I are at the beach this weekend.

Rome

Tell your boyfriend not to pressure you into anything you don’t want to do. No means no.

Lucky

You’re a fucking dick.

Rome

But they’re words to live by.

I shove my phone in the pocket of my board shorts and drop my bag off in one of the spare bedrooms. One that doesn’t already have suitcases on the bed. Saylor’s little convertible is parked in the driveway, but that and the suitcases are the only signs of the girls.

“There’s food and beer in the fridge,” Linc hollers, and I smile.

Of course there is.

Lexie is a planner.

“Did someone say food?” Lochlan walks into the kitchen and drops his duffle to the floor.

“Long time, brother.” Linc throws an arm around him and claps his back, and I do the same.

“Good to see you in one piece, man.” I look him over like the asshole I am. “Looking a little skinny.”

“Lean is different from skinny, dickface.” He grins my way. “You want to see who wins in a fight?”

“Nah, man. I don’t feel like telling your sister I kicked your ass before she even saw you.” I laugh.

“Keep dreaming. We going to the beach?” Lochlan looks between us.

“Yeah.” Linc holds up a sticky note in Lexie’s loopy handwriting. “Looks like the girls beat us to it.”

“Beach it is then,” Lochlan agrees as he grabs his bag. “Is my room open?”

“No clue. Lex has the girls with her. I didn’t check where everyone’s stuff was.” Linc fills a cooler with beer and water as Loch drops his shit upstairs.

Bring on the last weekend of summer.

T he girls are lined up in their beach chairs, their toes in the sand as the ocean waves lap at their feet. Lexie shields her eyes as we plant our surf boards behind them in the sand, casting a shadow and blocking their precious sun.

“Hey,” the group of them bitch, before they all see Lochlan, and Lexie jumps to her feet.

She squeals, and he picks her up and squeezes her to him. “Oh my God, you’re actually here.”

“Told you I would be, little sister.” Lochlan puts her feet back on the sand, and her smile... goddamn, that smile is everything it shouldn’t be.

A pink bandana holds back her long blonde hair, and a pink, green, and white plaid bikini does absolutely nothing to hide every perfect curve of her body.

I’ve managed to ignore this woman for years, but that was before she moved in with us and turned into a walking red flag, swinging in front of me like I’m the fucking bull.

A football flies at my head, but I catch it and glare at Ryker, who’s jogging down toward us.

“Oh, it’s like that?” I sign and say before throwing the ball at Jamie next to him. “Go deep.”

“Boys and their balls,” Brea giggles. “Now... did you say yes to the date?”

That gets my attention, especially when Lexie slides her sunglasses up into her hair and sits forward. “I did. I haven’t been on a date in over a year. I figured what can it hurt?”

What the fuck?

“Ohh. The guy from West End? He was hot.” Saylor closes her book and licks her lips. “When are you going? Where is he taking you?”

“He’s picking me up tonight at eight and taking me to dinner in Cape May.”

She’s got a fucking date? With the dude in the pink polo shirt from the bar?

The football hits me square on the chest. “Eyes on the prize, Beneventi,” Linc laughs, and I groan.

“You going out with a stranger, Lex?” I ask, and the row of sun-worshipping women all glare at me.

“That’s how a date works, Lucky. You meet a stranger you like. He asks you out. You go. You eat. You kiss. You come home and decide whether he’s worthy of a second date,” Aurora lectures me like I’m fucking stupid.

And maybe I am.

Theoretically, I know Lexie hasn’t lived like a nun for the past ten years. But she never really showed a ton of interest in dating either. She was never hurting for a date for a dance or a party, but in all the years we’ve known each other, she’s never dated anyone long-term.

Not that I have either.

“Look, Lex. You stunned him stupid,” Brea mocks, and Linc throws her over his shoulder and runs with her into the ocean, with Aurora and Saylor jumping to their friend’s defense and following them in.

When Lexie gets up, I sidestep and block her. “You know anything about him, Lex?”

“Why, Lucky?” She plants her hands on her hips and glares daggers my way. “Are you going to run a background check or something?”

Why the hell am I asking? “Just making sure you’re not doing anything stupid.”

“Says the manwhore. Yeah, I’ve got it. Thanks.” She steps around me, but I grab her arms, stopping her, and the contact sears my fucking soul.

“You ever wonder why I dated so many girls, Lex?”

She yanks her arm away with confusion dancing in her eyes. “Nope.”

I watch as she walks away.

“If he hurts her, I might need help burying the body,” Lochlan jokes.

“If he hurts her, I’ll kill him myself.”