Dangerous Temptations(13)

"I'll get it. You sit." He smiled and kissed my cheek. I closed my eyes briefly before nodding.

I kept my eyes low, avoiding Alex's stare. Before I could grab my chair  and sit down, Alex sat up and pulled it out for me. I froze and  reluctantly moved my eyes up to look at him. He stood there with a  shit-eating grin on his face and patiently waited for me to make the  next move.

"Do you plan to eat your dinner standing?"

I hesitated, really considering doing just that. Anything to avoid being  near him. I could barely focus with him in the house and now I was  expected to sit next to him and eat.

"Mac … sit. I won't bite." I raised my brows at him, contemplating if I should trust him or not.

Finally, I inhaled and decided to take the seat. He helped push me in  and patted my shoulders briefly before turning to take his seat next to  me.

"You need to stop doing that," I whispered in a firm voice so William wouldn't hear me.

"Doing what, Mac?" he asked, not keeping his voice down as I had.

I shot him a death look with my eyes, snarling at him in the process. I  was not going to play his stupid games. "Touching me. Standing close to  me. Being inappropriate. All of it. You need to stop it."

"And why's that? Afraid you'll slip and actually do something about it?"

I sighed in frustration, rolling my eyes to the ceiling. I needed to stay calm. I already mistook William for him.         

     



 

"It's inappropriate, Alex," I said, looking him square in the eyes. "I'm marrying your dad. So start getting used to it."

He smirked-the opposite reaction of what I was going for. He was such an asshole.

"What's so funny?"

He huffed once more. "That you're marrying my father … a man twice your  age. A man who hardly gives you any attention. A man who cares more  about his companies than you or me. A man who has no idea how lucky he  truly is … "

I swallowed … unsure of how to respond. I folded my napkin in my lap and cursed William for taking so long with the wine.

"My apologies." He finally walked back in with the bottle of wine. I  ended up getting a call that I had to take." He set it down and I snuck a  glance at Alex, who made a tell-all expression of ‘told ya so.'

"No problem, darling." I smiled up at him just to piss Alex off. I was  used to it and I didn't take offense to it. I knew he worked hard.

I served William his food, making sure to give him a healthy portion of  vegetables. His doctor said he needed to eat more greens, so I mixed it  with asparagus. "You know, sweetheart," he began with a smile, "it'd be  okay to have dessert once in a while."

I set the spoon down and watched as his lips spread into an easy smile.  "Nice try." I flashed a fake smile his way. "You heard the doctor," I  reminded him.

"I did." He placed his napkin in his lap and continued, "And, well, you  only live once. So maybe cake once in a while wouldn't kill me." He  winked, and I knew it was going to be impossible to say no.

"Well, since we have company, I suppose we can make this one exception."  I smirked playfully, scooping the vegetables onto my own plate.

I heard Alex clear his throat next to me, grabbing both of our  attention. "I'm not company. I live here. In fact, I lived here first."  His face was tense and for a moment, I feared he was going to say  something about us.

"Alexander," William warned, but then his tone softened. "Forgive us.  It's been some time since you've been home. We aren't used to anyone  dining with us."

We had dinner with William's colleagues often, but never at our home. It  was always at some fancy restaurant. The apartment was our sanctuary  and for one short moment, I forgot Alex was sitting next to me.

Too bad that moment didn't last.

I sat back and let William and Alex do most of the talking. They still  had a lot to catch up on, and I was quickly learning of their  relationship. William stuck to questions that were work and business  related. I realized he didn't ask many personal questions, so without  thinking, I blurted out, "So were you seeing anyone while you studied in  Europe?"

I quickly shoved a forkful of chicken into my mouth, but it was too late. They'd both heard me.

"Alexander is very goal-oriented. Surely he had no time for  girlfriends." William's curt response felt misplaced, considering he met  Alex's mom, Rose, in college.

"That doesn't mean you can't date, darling. You dated in college," I reminded him.

"Yes, and it made me lose focus on the task at hand. He's smarter than  that," he said not making eye contact with either of us. Something in  the air shifted. I looked from William to Alex and back to William.  Their body language was tense, stiff. Something was off.

"Alex can answer for himself, too," Alex cut in, speaking in the third  person that grabbed my attention as well as William's. I felt bad for  asking the question, wishing I could just take it back.

"Sorry, it wasn't my place to ask. Just forget it," I almost begged.

"No, it's fine," he insisted with a smile. Asshole. "Yes, I did date some. Nothing serious."

I nodded, pursing my lips together. The thought brought my stomach up to  my throat with absolutely no reasoning. Alex was young like  me-twenty-four or twenty-five. Of course, he dated. I can't believe I  let it slip from my mouth.

We finished dinner with light conversation and as soon as William's  plate was clear, he stood up and excused himself. "Let me know when  dessert is ready. I'll be in my office."         

     



 

"Sure, darling." I had nothing prepared for dessert. Or ingredients for a cake.

He walked off as I started bringing dishes into the kitchen. I began  rinsing the plates when I saw Alex walk in with the rest of the dishes.  He shot me a look of anger but didn't say anything. I'm not sure what's  going on between them, but I wasn't about to bring it up now.

"Thanks," I said softly, not bringing my eyes up to meet his. I was too  ashamed. William usually helped me with clean up, but tonight he'd just  walked away leaving me with it. "He's not usually like that," I blurted.

"Maybe not to you," he spat back instantly. I swallowed, not wanting him  to clarify what he meant by that. William had been nothing but sweet  and kind to me, and I didn't want anything changing my view of him.

I was at the sink when he stood next to me and started drying the dishes  I had just washed. We stood next to each other in silence, neither of  us having anything worth saying. The tension between us was so  painful-it was almost killing me. There was so much to say, yet nothing  to say at all. I couldn't help it. The urge to be next to him was  stronger than I liked.

As he dried the last dish, and I wiped down the counter, he finally  spoke. "You know there's a very expensive dishwasher that works just as  good. Probably better, actually."

My lips turned up in a smile. "I know. It's just routine, I suppose."

I threw the wet towel down on the counter and leaned up against it as I  contemplated how I was going to make a cake. Dessert wasn't something we  typically did unless we were out to dinner, so I had no idea what to  do.

"You look lost," Alex said, gaining my attention back toward him. Oddly,  he was standing directly in front of me and I hadn't even noticed. Once  my eyes took attention, my body did, too.

I squirmed, taking a step back to put space between us. "Just thinking  how I'm going to have time to bake a cake before he goes to bed."

He thought for a short moment before speaking, "C'mon, I know a great  place." He began walking toward me and grabbed my hand as we left the  kitchen together.





Chapter Eight



"What are we doing?" I gasped as he rushed us through the lobby.

"We have to hurry if we're going to make it before closing." He sped the  pace up, lacing his fingers with mine as we made our way out of the  apartment building. I watched as he waved his hand for a cab and as soon  as one pulled over, he pushed me in the back and got in next to me. He  rambled off the street and off we went.

"Where are we going?" I asked, curiosity eating at me. I couldn't help but smile at how excited he looked.

"The best fucking bakery in town!" He smiled wide. "Seriously, though. It's so hidden, only locals know it exists."

We pulled up ten minutes later to the cutest little hole-in-the-wall  bakery. It had the words Sugar's Sweets written in red, half-painted  letters. How was this place even up and running in a city like this?

"Let's go. Sugar will be leaving soon."

"Huh?" Sugar was a name? After paying the driver, he grabbed my hand and  pulled me out behind him. We hurried inside and I immediately inhaled  the sweet, delicious smell of sugar and sweets. The name definitely fit.

"I can't believe I didn't know this was here¸" I said in amazement. It  wasn't that far from the apartment or work, and yet, I never noticed it.