Tempt Me

She was grateful to see he was still dressed and she wore her sweats and a tee shirt. She still desired him too much, wanted him too badly to have any kind of temptation adding to this situation.

He headed downstairs and she tossed herself back against the pillows. “What are you doing?” she asked herself.

She was letting him take care of her… and enjoying knowing that he cared. She was torturing herself with what she couldn’t have. While he was gone, she went into his bathroom, a nice-sized room with a Jacuzzi tub, a shower with extra spray jets, and a neutral-colored décor. It suited him.

She took care of business and washed her face, brushing her teeth with toothpaste and her finger before rinsing. She felt cleaner, at least, and marginally better. Heading back to bed, she settled in to wait.

He returned a short time later with toast and jelly along with a cup of tea, placing both on the nightstand.

“Thank you.” She picked up the cup and took a sip, finding the tea sugared, just the way she liked it.

Her heart warmed at the fact that he noticed. Why was he such a contradiction? A man who didn’t want commitment on one hand, taking such good care of her and even noticing things no one else in her life had ever paid attention to before?

“So how did things go with Kayla?” she asked, refusing to dwell on what she couldn’t change.

“It went just as I intended. She won’t be an issue for me or Bailey anymore.” But despite the good news, his smile held a hint of sadness as did his tone.

“What’s wrong?”

“I’ll tell you if you eat.” He gestured to the toast on the nightstand.

She couldn’t help but smile at his insistence. “Fine.” She picked up a piece of toast and took a bite. The sweetness from the jelly satisfied a craving she hadn’t known she had. But Austin clearly had.

“Well?” She tipped her head, indicating it was his turn to talk.

He breathed out a long breath. “When all was said and done, I was thrilled I got what I wanted and Kayla won’t be trying to take my daughter from me anymore.”

“But?” Because something was obviously on his mind.

His lips lifted at her obviously correct conclusion. “But I couldn’t help but feel bad when the cops took her away. I don’t like her but this is my kid’s mother. I’ll have to explain things to Bailey when she’s older and it’s going to hurt her.”

Mia placed the toast back on the plate. “Hey. You tried your best to make the marriage work. You didn’t tell her not to be a caring parent.” She didn’t use the word abusive, although that’s what her actions had been. “You only pushed when you had no other choice to protect your daughter.” She wanted him to see the facts and not feel guilty that he’d acted against Bailey’s mom.

“You’re right.” He ran a hand through his hair. “It doesn’t make me feel any better, but thank you. I did need the reminder.”

“Because you’re a good man.”

His lips curled in a warm smile. Then he tipped his head again. “Now keep eating.”

She rolled her eyes, picked up the toast, and finished both pieces, feeling much better once she followed that up with the warm tea.

Chapter Ten

The day of the party at Austin’s boss’s house dawned bright and chilly. Mia was still queasy but she was living with it, knowing that eventually the virus would pass. Except it had been almost five days and she was starting to get nervous. Stomach viruses typically lasted a short time. Food poisoning wasn’t possible. So there wasn’t much of a reason for the nausea to persist except for the one she didn’t want to think about.

So she didn’t. Not yet. She would still hope for possibility that this was temporary and not life altering.

If she looked ahead, thank goodness things were getting closer to wrapping up with her ex-boss. On Wednesday she would to go to the city and go through trial preparation against Parker, and the thought didn’t help her stomach issues, that was for certain.

She had no problem telling what she’d seen, what she’d taped, or what she’d heard and reported to the police. She just dreaded the cross-examination. It was brutal and ugly and she hated the whole process. But she knew the district attorney would go over the usual suggestions: give short answers, only answer what they ask, don’t go off on tangents, and tell the truth. Right. While Parker glared daggers at her across the room.

She placed a hand over her stomach and breathed in deep. It was time to get dressed. When asked, Austin had insisted she should be casual for Dan’s party, but Mia was meeting Summer Michelle, a woman she’d admired from afar since her days on Star Power. Her voice, her talent, and how she’d risen above a viral video that could have derailed her career but somehow only made it stronger, all were things to respect. Plus, she was famous. It was a cool thing and Mia wanted to look good.