Page 48 of The Temptation

My phone buzzes in my pocket, and I slip it out, already irritated, because I know from the distinct chime it’s a notification from my camera app. I was expecting this, if I’m being honest.

“For fuck’s sake,” I mumble under my breath when I glance down at the screen and see my mother and her loser boyfriend lurking around the front gate at my place.

I know what she’s doing; she’s looking for her car. She’s wasting her time because it’s not there.

“Everything okay?” Lucia asks, glancing up from her Kindle.

She’s barely had it out of her hand since I gave it to her yesterday. That damn smile she’s been sporting ever since has me quickly realising there isn’t much I wouldn’t do to make this woman happy.

That’s why I’m trying really hard not to let the genre ofbooks she reads bother me. Is it filling her head with unreal fairy-tale expectations? More than likely, but she’s been looking at me like I hung the stars and the moon again, so there’s that.

There’s been no mention of those three little words she murmured, either. I’m still unsure if she was speaking from the heart or was just overwhelmed in the moment. Was it a confession of love, or merely anI love you for buying this for me?

Deep down, a part of me hopes she meant what she said. That knowledge would complicate everything, but I can’t deny that the possibility of being loved by someone for the first time in my life makes me feel like I’m standing on the edge of a wildfire I don’t know how to survive. That if I reach for it, I’ll get burned so badly that I may never recover.

I push those thoughts out of my mind as my gaze flickers from my phone to Lucia. “My mother and her cocksucker boyfriend are at my house.”

Lucia’s eyes widen. “Are they trying to break in?”

“Not yet, but I wouldn’t put it past them. I’m presuming they’re looking for her car.”

“Is the car there?”

“No. I had it towed to a friend’s house for this very reason. I had a feeling she’d do something like this,” I answer, pocketing my phone and pushing back my chair so I can stand.

“Where are you going?”

“To the house to sort this shit out once and for all.”

“Are you going to whack them?”

I chuckle at the enthusiasm I hear in her voice. “I’ll try not to.”

She puts down her Kindle and scrambles to her feet. “Let me get my shoes.”

I reach for her elbow as she goes to rush past me. “No offence, Luc, but I think it’s better if I handle this on my own.”

“I’m coming with you, Romeo,” she growls. “I can help.”

“Help?”

She shrugs. “I can be your lookout … your wing woman. Hold your mother back while you beat the shit out of that cocksucker.”

A smile tugs at the corners of my lips. “I appreciate your offer, but this isn’t my first rodeo. I’m more than capable of handling this on my own.”

Her lips thin into a straight line, and I already know she’s not going to let me leave here without her.

“We are in this together; you’re not facing them alone.”

We?

When did we become awe?

The unwavering support this woman shows me is humbling. I don’t deserve it, but I’m not stupid enough to push her away.

“You can come on one condition.”

“I already have pants on,” she deadpans, making me laugh.