Page 7 of Sweet Temptation (Love & Legacy #1)

“Nope. Not yet. But I just applied at that new winery right on the border of town. They’re opening up a banquet facility and they’re looking for an executive chef.” She sips her margarita and looks at us all. “I mean, I doubt I’ll get it, but I might as well try, right?”

“They’d be crazy not to hire you.” I pop what’s left of my bread in my mouth and hum. “Seriously, this is fantastic.”

“Right?” Saylor agrees as she drags hers through the spinach dip. “The Busy Bee is always looking for help. But I think it might be a little below your experience level.”

“Babe, I love The Busy Bee, but I want to work with more than diner food. Not that there’s anything wrong with diner food, it’s just not my fave.

I think if I tried to fancy the Bee up, the old-timers who come in every day would revolt.

” Brea isn’t wrong. The Busy Bee is a Kroydon Hills staple.

One that Saylor’s family owns, and one I’m pretty sure hasn’t changed in my lifetime or maybe even my parents’ lifetimes.

“When did you say you start at Sweet Temptations, Lexie?” Aurora licks the icing off her fingers as she peels the wrapper from a cupcake. “Amelia’s redoing the shop first, right?”

Visions of Lucky licking that same icing off my finger warm me from the inside out, and a flush creeps up my cheeks. “I’ve got two weeks before I start. Who wants to keep me company before I’m bored out of my mind?”

“Sold,” Brea announces as the girls all agree. “Are we doing anything for Labor Day?”

“Actually... Lochlan just told us he’ll be home for the weekend, and the guys said we’re all going to the beach.

They said we’re partying, so you all need to come so I’m not stuck with my brothers and Lucky all weekend.

” I sip my iced tea, hoping it helps cool me down, but judging by the looks I’m getting from the women spread around the room, I fail. Miserably .

“Uhh, Lex...” Dillan points her empty margarita glass at me. “What’s with the blush?”

All eyes zero in on the red creeping up my chest and face, and I want to bury myself behind a pillow.

“What aren’t you telling us, Lex?” Aurora leans forward, inching closer to the edge of the couch. “And is it about a boy? Because you are super red, even for you.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” I try to play off her questioning, but the brat just laughs.

“Like you don’t know you’re almost as bad a blusher as Elodie,” Saylor adds, and I’m kind of glad Elodie isn’t here right now because she’d be all over this and my deflection.

“Alexis Chloe Sinclair... spill it.” Leave it to Brea to full-name me. Little brat.

“Fine.” I fidget on the couch as I tuck a leg underneath myself, stalling. “I was icing the cupcakes tonight, and something... I don’t know, something weird happened.”

“Weird like you fucked up the buttercream or weird like you didn’t feel good?” Saylor asks.

“Or weird like you accidentally fucked Lucky?” Brea adds, and we all stop and stare. “What? I can’t honestly be the only one thinking it.”

Dillan taps her glass to Brea’s. “Yeah. Not what I was thinking. But I wouldn’t be disappointed if that’s what happened.”

“There was no sex, you little ho-bags. But he did kind of... sort of... maybe... suck icing off the tip of my finger.” I cringe and sink into the couch, kinda, sorta wanting to vanish and kinda, sorta wanting to scream.

“He what?” Aurora gasps, then does a little happy dance in her seat. “Oh, this is going to be so good.”

“Wait...” Dillan stands and grabs my empty glass. “You sure you don’t want something stronger than iced tea, Lex? You know, before you tell us every little dirty detail. Including exactly how long Lucky Beneventi was sucking on your?—”

“Finger, Dillan,” I cut her off before she goes where I know she’s going.

“It was my finger. Now get your head out of the gutter. Come on...” I stand and follow her into the kitchen as the girls yell behind me.

Dillan picks up the pitcher of margaritas, but I shake my head, and she goes for the iced tea instead.

“I shouldn’t have said anything.” I sigh.

“Uhh... yes, you should.” My cousin smiles and hands me my glass before she fills hers with more margarita.

“Lucky Beneventi is hot, Lex. If you ever tell a soul I said this, I will deny, deny, deny, but he may be hotter than both his brothers. He’s just too damn young for me.

But for you... For you, he’s perfect, little cousin. ”

“You know you’re an awful influence, right?” I sigh and tap my glass to hers before I sip. “Of course he’s hot. He’s also sampled every cupcake in Kroydon Hills. Mine wouldn’t be anything special.”

Dillan glares as she takes my glass from me and grabs both my shoulders. “Listen to me, Lexie. Your cupcake is special because it’s yours. Do you need me to?—”

“Oh my God. Stop.” My chest shakes from laughter. “I love you, but I seriously don’t need that talk again. Pretty sure you gave it to me when I was fourteen.”

“I did,” she snickers. “And you didn’t let any unworthy boys touch your cupcake, if I remember correctly.”

“Eww, Dillan. Seriously, stop. That’s gross.” I crinkle my nose, not wanting to associate cupcakes with whatever the hell she’s trying to make them a stand-in for.

She drops her hands and crosses her arms over her chest. “Fine. But can you honestly say that little Lucky grew up to be one fine Beneventi boy?”

A grumble slips past my lips as I shake my head.

“There’s this tension between us now. It’s different than it used to be.

He used to tease me, and fine, I swear he’d flaunt whatever floozy he was hooking up with in front of my face, like he knew it bugged me and somehow got off on it.

But here’s the thing... I don’t know why it bugged me. ”

“His teasing or his slutty ways?” she asks as she slices up more limes.

“Either.” I shrug. “Both... I don’t know. It all bugged me though. It was like one day we were friends. Then summer before we started high school, a switch flipped, and we weren’t.”

“What happened?” Dillan drops down onto one of her stools, fascinated by my non-answer.

Brea heads toward us from the other room. “Girls with boobs happened. They started paying attention.” She takes the pitcher from Dillan and fills her glass. “Don’t you remember? By ninth grade, Lucky looked eighteen. All the girls in school were chasing after him.”

“But I wasn’t that kind of girl, and we weren’t that kind of friends,” I argue, even as I remember a time or two he looked pissed as hell when he saw me with one of the boys from the football team. Not that they were ever boyfriends. Just boys who took me to dances or parties.

“Whatever, girl. No man sucks food off your finger if they’re not interested, so I’d stop worrying about what happened then, and start worrying about what’s happening now.” Brea sits next to Dillan, and I suddenly feel like I’m being interrogated. “So... what’s happening?”

“Nothing,” I mutter.

Nothing is happening.

Nothing is going to happen.

It can’t. I won’t let it.

Why should I when it’s always going to end the same way...?