Sweet (Landry Family 6)

“Fuck.” I groan as I face the sink. I grip the counter and bow my head.

The sun is going down, the day coming to a close. The distractions from work—the late delivery of produce, my failure to order straws again, and a water leak in one of the apartments above The Gold Room—kept me busy. It kept my mind occupied.

It kept me from thinking about Paige.

Now that the world has settled and my tasks have either been completed or delayed until tomorrow, I have nothing else to think about. There’s nothing else to focus on. Just this one thing—a frustratingly gorgeous vixen who gets under my skin like no other.

Her moxie is magnetic. She has one of the best senses of humor that I’ve ever known in a woman. Something about her intrigues me because she never gives enough to satisfy my curiosity. She never thoroughly scratches my itch.

Also, there’s that ass.

“I have to get a handle on this,” I mumble to myself.

I make myself a glass of sweet tea. I take a drink and watch Ryder run past the doorway in a full-speed effort to get back to his show.

“I can do this,” I say. “I can handle having her here. I have to. What choice do I have now?”

None.

I take another drink. The cool liquid slides down my throat. It helps me get outside of my head.

Even though it’ll be a challenge to keep things chill between us, it was the right choice to let her stay. She’s not just an employee; she’s a good friend. I couldn’t leave her to the streets.

I blow out a breath.

“You did the right thing,” I tell myself.

It’s interesting that she asked me for a place to stay, though. And the way she keeps playing it? With all of that Daddy shit? It’s a front. One of the few things I know about her for certain is that she hides behind her personality.

Paige doesn’t really want me.

Which is fine because I can’t really want her either.

Ryder’s laughter rings through the house. It makes me pause. And smile.

If I’ve done one thing in life right—one thing that I wouldn’t change given the chance—it’s that little boy in the other room. He’s the best fucking thing that ever happened to me. Ryder is the thread that holds my life together. He’s my son, my blood, my best friend. I’d do anything for that little boy.

If that means holding myself back from the woman who draws me in like a siren, I will. Because if I ever bring another woman into his life, it has to be for keeps.

“I have to be fair to him above all,” I say.

I finish my tea and set the cup in the sink.

This is gonna suck. I know it.

FOUR

PAIGE

I glance at the clock. I have thirty minutes until midnight.

Frustration washes through me over the choices I made this evening. What should I have done? I should’ve gone to Nate’s after meeting Hollis or, at the very least, while the sun was still up. It would’ve been the right thing to do. Which is probably why I didn’t do it.

I sit back in the driver’s seat and release a long, tired sigh.

Why do I make bad decisions? Repeatedly.

I bite a fingernail, pulling off some of the red paint from my manicure last week. The jagged edge will drive me crazy. At this point, what’s one more thing to deal with?

Nate’s house sits in front of me, lit by two solar lights shining up at it. The railings need a new coat of black paint, and the front door could use a nice wreath or welcome sign like the one my mom has hanging at her house. But the porch light is on, probably for me, and that helps soothe the acid bubbling in my gut.

This whole idea felt a whole hell of a lot better when we were at The Gold Room. Sure, things between us are always flirty, but they’re always flirty there. In public. In places where it can’t be anything more. In places where my actual attraction for the man has nowhere to go.

But now, when I’m about to walk into his house, it feels a little different.

“It’s going to be fine,” I say, practicing talking to myself like I would my best friend. It’s a tactic my mom has reminded me to use four million times in my life and one I struggle to remember most days. “It’s Nate. My friend. What’s the worst that can happen?”

I watch the house for movement. The worst thing would be for him to already be in bed, and I miss seeing him tonight.

I take a long, deep breath and grab my purse. Then I climb out of the car and lock it behind me.

The night air is chilly, and the sky is dark. Only a spattering of silvery stars peeking out from behind the fast-moving clouds provide any sort of light from above.