Twenty Times Tempted: A Sexy Contemporary Romance Collection

by Petrova, Em

  Her insides knotted hot and tight, made her ill, and the blood drained from her face. “How do you know about Zack?”

  “Doesn’t matter. Answer the question. Were you ever going to tell me?”

  About her failed engagement? A bead of sweat trailed down her back. The mere mention of her ex-fiancé tied her tongue. There were so many things she had to say, but she didn’t know where to begin, especially not here. And not with Logan glaring at her as if she was the lowest of the low. Blindsided by this news, she opened her mouth, but nothing came out. Nothing.

  He started to brush past her. “The look on your face says it all.”

  The humiliation, the pain, shot through her gut like shrapnel. Knees weakening, she wanted to cry out in frustrated despair, but she bit down on her lip to keep from doing so. Turning to follow, tears filling her eyes, she caught up with him. “Wait. Please!” He stopped and faced her. A group of people turned their heads. She didn’t care. “It’s not what you think. Zack and I—”

  He jerked his arm around her back and kissed her with abrupt, punishing passion. She barely had a moment to process what was happening, and when she heard him moan ever so softly, she whimpered, hoping it signaled he’d changed his mind. That his anger toward her had vanished. But when she touched his face, he broke away and stepped back, snarling as if disgusted. “Spare me the details.”

  Her eyes stung at his tone while her chest heaved from the breathlessness.

  Logan sent a quick, vicious glance to the group standing nearby who’d witnessed their scene, and they jerked back to their huddle. His gaze lingered on her, and for a second—a second only—she saw pain and longing in his gaze. But then it was gone, and he walked away without a backward glance.

  Jordana took a step and then froze. Don’t chase him! Hasn’t he embarrassed you enough? She sucked in a breath, lips burning from his kiss. What happened? How had the night fallen to pieces without any warning? Then again, she’d sensed something was wrong the instant they were face-to-face.

  She didn’t see Neil and was desperate to run to him for an explanation.

  Wait. Did he know? Was he the one who told Logan about Zack? He was a lawyer, after all. He could’ve easily found out that information with very little research.

  Had tonight been some twisted setup? Not to reunite her with Logan, but to mortify her? It was farfetched and petty for either man to partake in something like that…but it wasn’t out of the realm of possibility. With her mind reeling, a sudden headache formed.

  I have to get out of here.

  Skirting around the guests, her movements were uncoordinated as the walls closed in.

  Which way is out, she wanted to scream. She couldn’t focus; all she wanted to be was at home and out of this dress.

  She spotted Neil. He broke into a big smile as she approached. Irrational anger took over her good sense, and she grabbed a half-empty martini from a passing server and threw the drink on his chest. The couple he was talking to gasped.

  He stepped back, swiping at his jacket. “Jordana!”

  “If you really brought me here to humiliate me,” she choked out, “congratulations, you did.” Only the hurt could speak. She caught the shock in Neil’s eyes before she dashed for the exit.

  When he called her name, she ignored him.

  Logan wanted nothing to do with her. What else could be done? In fact, by all accounts, he seemed to despise her now. Her heels clicking on the marbled lobby, the automatic doors parted, and the night air enveloped her shaky limbs.

  She’d gone to her last ball.

  ***

  How dare she show up and rock his world?

  Logan wished with all his might he never would’ve sent the flowers with the note. After finding out about her fiancé, he never dreamed she would still have the gall to show up. He’d even canceled the chauffeur, but Jordana had come anyway. Because of Neil.

  Speak of the devil… When he saw Neil cutting a path for him, he pivoted and headed to the bar for another drink.

  “Savant, mind explaining to me why Jordana threw a drink on me before running away in tears?”

  Logan kept his eyes forward. “How dramatic. Well, you were the one who brought her here.”

  “To see you.”

  Logan frowned as he faced his friend. “I want nothing to do with her, got it? She and I are over.”

  “Not that long ago, you were talking about moving heaven and earth to get her back.”

  “Is that the reason you did this? Because you thought I was pining for her?”

  “Yeah, because you were doing exactly that. I’m sick of your bad mood, and so is everyone else within a five-mile radius. We all knew it was because you’d lost her. So I talked her into giving you another chance.”

  “Are you kidding me? Well, you can all breathe a sigh of relief because I’m doing everything except pining for Jordana.”

  Neil snapped his fingers. “Overnight, your feelings just flipped? That doesn’t make any sense. Don’t tell me your pride got in the way.”

  “It has nothing to do with my pride. She’s a manipulator, Caenon, and she played me for the biggest fool of the year.”

  “Meaning?”

  He should’ve told Neil about the pictures the day he got them. Damn it. Was there anything he could keep to himself? “A fiancé,” he bit out. “She’s got a damn fiancé.”

  Neil jerked in surprise. “What? I didn’t get the memo. How the hell did you find that out?”

  “My mother, believe it or not, brought this revelation to my attention. With pictures to prove it. She hired a private eye to follow Jordana.” He flinched at Neil’s lightly accusatory look. “I had nothing to do with it. Instead of trying to get to know Jordana like a rational human being, she had her followed. Then she proceeded to bring me a dozen glossy photos of Jordana and her fiancé making out on her balcony.”

  Neil huffed. “Now, I need a drink. Why the hell didn’t you tell me?”

  “I just found out a few days ago,” he mumbled, signaling the bartender for another.

  Neil cast his gaze away and leaned against the bar. “I’ll be damned. Where are the pictures now?”

  “In my shredder.”

  “If all this is true, why would Jordana want to come here tonight?”

  Of course Neil would seek out answers Logan couldn’t give. “I don’t know and I don’t care. It is true because I saw it with my own eyes.” Logan grabbed his drink, left a tip, and sighed with irritation. “Maybe she likes the attention of more than one man at a time. Maybe she got cold feet. Maybe her fiancé found out she’d been cheating on him and he dumped her. Who knows, who cares?”

  “What did she say when you told her you knew?”

  “I didn’t want to hear it.” He took a sip of his drink and turned away.

  Neil put a hand on his shoulder. “You didn’t even listen to her, Savant? No wonder she’s upset. Look, obviously there’s some explanation. I can’t believe she’d intentionally deceive you, especially with something as serious as a fiancé.”

  He didn’t want to believe it either, but he had no choice. Anger gurgled inside him, even though he should’ve been used to the idea by now. Seeing her tonight had thrown him into a deeper well of regret and despair. A burn traveled from his gut to his throat. Shit. He couldn’t wait to get out of the country. “Is she your friend or am I? All of a sudden you’re on her side because you spent five minutes alone with her.”

  Neil shrugged. “All I’m saying is you should’ve heard her out. Now she thinks I brought her here so you could shut her down.”

  “She can think whatever she wants.”

  “I can’t believe you just let her leave without allowing her to explain her side. That’s not like you, Savant.”

  Logan’s brows shot down. “Are you drunk? What’s there to explain? You should’ve seen the ‘Uh-oh, I got caught’ look when I mentioned her fiancé. Face it, Neil. She’s no better than the rest of them, no better than Rebecca. No b
etter than any other woman who thinks she can manipulate me to her liking. I’m done.” He started to stride off, but then halted. “Since when did you start interfering in my personal life? Fuck, Neil. I wish you hadn’t.”

  “Beginning to wish I hadn’t either,” his friend mumbled. “On the other hand, I still think you should’ve gotten the whole story from her before throwing her out of your life. You know your mother has a way of twisting things. Do your own research before you make a huge mistake.”

  Logan tossed back a swallow of his drink and ventured back into the crowd. “Thanks for the advice, but getting involved with Jordana was the huge mistake.”

  Chapter Twenty-One

  “I don’t get it,” declared Lucee.

  Jordana sighed at her sister’s statement. It’d been over a week since the night she ran out of the museum, and although she finally got through one day without crying, she was not over the heartache. Her sister had invited her to come see Adam’s play that night, but Jordana turned her down, promising to go the following weekend. Lucee came straight over when Jordana told her what happened with Logan.

  But apparently, her sister didn’t get it.

  “I mean,” Lucee added, kicking off her heels, “you and Zack have been split for months and months. Didn’t you give Logan the lowdown on that whole story?”

  Lounging on her love seat, Jordana rested her head in her hand as she leaned on the arm. “I never actually told him what happened between me and Zack. I was waiting for the right time, when I knew how things stood between us, before I put my past out there. I wasn’t exactly proud to say I couldn’t make my fiancé happy enough to stay in the same country as me.”

  “Oh, whatever! I feel like there’s more to this situation. What’s missing here?”

  She’d asked herself that a thousand times. “I don’t know. Regardless, he wouldn’t let me explain. He just…” She trailed off, recalling his biting words and cold gaze. “…stormed off.”

  Her sister twisted her lips in thought. “What a dick. Although, it must’ve really hurt him to act like that. Isn’t he usually Mr. Cool? He must’ve really fallen for you to be so ticked off, sis.”

  The words rang true. And she hadn’t thought of Logan’s pain, only her own, but Lucee had a point. If the roles had been reversed—if she’d been told he was engaged while they’d been together—she couldn’t imagine how devastated and resentful she’d be. Probably more so than he was.

  She’d been concentrating on how his words had inflicted confusion and shame on her, not really regarding what he could be feeling. He had every right to think as though she played him, even though that was nowhere near the truth. If only he’d listened.

  “Are you going to try to talk to him again? Clear the air and stuff?” Lucee asked.

  All week, she thought about reaching out to him, but she couldn’t stomach the thought of another confrontation. “I’ve had enough drama for a while. Besides, if he truly thinks I’m the kind of girl who would two-time my fiancé, then he doesn’t really know me.” She shrugged, throat closing.

  Her sister made a pouty face, studying Jordana for a long minute. “C’est la vie, then.” She bent over the coffee table, sorting through the magazines. “Did you get the new Vanity Fair yet?”

  Jordana wished she could be as blasé about Logan as her sister was, still basking in her newlywed glow. “It’s somewhere in that pile.” Pushing up from her seat, she went to the kitchen to make tea.

  “When was the last time you sorted through all this mail?”

  “A while. Do it for me if you’re feeling so cluttered.” She took out her kettle. It was nice to have her sister there. She needed the company. Tomorrow, Casey was taking her out for brunch with his latest love interest, something she didn’t yearn to do, but she knew it’d be good for her to get out of the apartment.

  “Hey, sis,” Lucee called. “Is this letter from Triton Press important?”

  Jordana froze, setting down the kettle and striding back to the living room.

  Lucee handed the envelope to her and then resumed digging through the magazine subscriptions. She had no idea how Jordana’s pulse had quickened.

  Her last attempt at getting her children’s book published. The envelope was thin, and she’d received many just like it.

  All rejection letters.

  Dare she open it and receive more crushing news?

  She placed the letter on the mantle and went back to the kitchen. Methodically, she set the kettle on the stove and then carefully considered which mug to use. The snowman that melted once the cup was hot? Or her smiley face mug? That one. Opening her tin box of tea bags, she debated on orange ginger or mint. “Oh, who am I kidding?”

  Racing around the corner, she snatched the envelope and shuffled to the hallway for privacy. Better to get it over with than draw out the suspense. Slicing open the envelope, she read the letter:

  Dear Ms. Shaw,

  Thank you so much for giving Triton Press the opportunity to review your children’s book submission, “Betsy’s Key to History.” I would like to offer my congratulations, as we want to extend an offer of a contract for books one through three of this series…

  Jordana blinked. Did she read that right? No. She read it too fast. Read it again. Better read it again. This time, she did so out loud, her heart hammering wildly. She raised her wide-eyed gaze. It ended saying a contract would be coming later in a separate letter, along with a phone call from the acquiring editor. Swiveling on her heel, stunned, her mind was a complete freeze. “Lucee!”

  “What?”

  Sweeping into the living room, she held up the letter. “I did it. I got it. I got a contract for the children’s book. For three of my books!”

  Lucee jerked as if hit in the face with a pie. Her blue eyes rounded and she dropped her magazine on the table. “Get out! Are you serious? Are you freakin’ serious?”

  Nodding furiously, Jordana read the letter out loud while the paper shook in her trembling hands. When she reached the last line, her sister sprung up from her seat, jumping up and down, clapping like a wild child.

  Squealing, Lucee came over and grabbed Jordana for a long hug. “I can’t even tell you how excited I am for you!” She pulled back with a dramatic gasp. “We have to celebrate. Like, right now. Get dressed, sis, we are going out!”

  A dream was coming true. Her stories were going to be in print by a major publisher she thought she had little chance with.

  Logan.

  Other than her sister, he was the first person she wanted to share this with. Tears burned behind her eyes. No matter how much she ached to tell him, she couldn’t.

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Oftentimes, Logan negotiated his best deals when other areas of his life were failing. After a week in Hong Kong, work was the only thing he could do right.

  One of the best things about these clients was that he didn’t have to put on a jovial air as he often had to with others; his stoic reserve was expected and respected.

  His exchange with Jordana at the charity replayed in his mind over and over. When he attempted to catch a few hours of precious sleep, all he saw were her hazel eyes, looking up at him, bewildered, wounded. When he sat up in bed this morning, his chest was sore, as though a rock had sat on it all night.

  After a long day, which included an extensive dinner meeting, he walked back to his hotel room, but he wasn’t even tired.

  Neil’s words kept ringing in his head about listening to Jordana’s side of the story.

  Guess she had gotten to him, too. Hard to fathom Neil had gone out of his way to reunite them. His friend had never done anything like that in the past. Did Logan really project such misery others had to intervene? Apparently, yes.

  Either way, Neil couldn’t be labeled the bad guy.

  All his friend’s questions revolved in his mind without end. Why the deception? What was her agenda?

  Logan had emphasized he didn’t care, but truth was, he cared a great deal.
Maybe it was still his weakness for her, but he couldn’t shake off this tickling at the back of his mind that something wasn’t right.

  He’d been so desperate to separate himself from Jordana, he hadn’t demanded any explanations. Now, he had to have them. Or never sleep through the night again.

  Getting the answers straight from Jordana? Out of the question. Her mere presence rattled his rationale, and he didn’t trust himself to remain objective, let alone trust her word. No, better to start from the beginning and reevaluate.

  The worst thing that could happen? He’d get confirmation of what he already knew.

  The best thing? Also the worst. Finding out Jordana hadn’t deceived him so grievously. That there was an explanation he could understand. Something he could forgive. Though he had no idea what she could say for him to do that.

  He sauntered to the window overlooking the city. Where should he start?

  I need another look at those photos.

  His mother told him whom she’d hired. Bart Stiner. Years ago, she’d enlisted his services to see if her husband was unfaithful. Dad had proven to be what everyone knew he was: a workaholic. Even though Stiner had done a very thorough job, Logan’s father was cleared of that accusation. He could be called many other things but an adulterer was not one of them.

  It was five a.m. at home right now, but Logan didn’t care. After tracking down Stiner’s number, he left him a voice mail to return his call.

  An hour later, the private eye called him back.

  “Whatcha need, son?”

  “The pictures you took of Jordana Shaw. I want the copies.”

  “Er…I, uh, don’t keep ’em once the job is done.”

  “Bullshit. You have backups. I’ll transfer a good chunk of change to an account right now if you email the photos in less than an hour.”

  Silence on the other end. A man like Stiner was only loyal to money, no matter how good a client Logan’s mother might have been.

  “Done,” the private eye replied. “I’ll text you my account number. The pics are on a thumb drive. Over three hundred of ’em. It’ll take me less than five minutes.”