Tempted (Tempted #1)

by Heather Doltrice

  “I’m good.”

  “Is Roman around?”

  “He’s went out with West. He left about twenty minutes ago.”

  “Do you know where he went?”

  “I think I heard them say something about the county fair.”

  That brought back so many memories. Roman took me there on our first official date. It was a night of firsts.

  “Thank you.”

  “Emma. Wait, is everything okay? Did Roman do something?”

  “No, everything is fine.”

  I hated lying to her. She didn’t deserve it.

  “Okay, come by soon.”

  “I will.” I promised as I hung up the phone.

  Looking around for my keys, I gave up. So, I walked into Maddie’s room. I needed the keys of her jeep.

  “Maddie, I need your keys. Mine are missing in action.”

  She tossed them to me.

  “Where are you going?”

  “County fair. Roman’s there and I think he’s had enough time to think about this. I need an answer.”

  “You go girl! Send me play by play texts.”

  Walking out into the hall, I moved quickly down the stairs. When I got outside, I spotted Maddie’s jeep. Climbing inside, I started the engine.

  I drove like a mad woman all the way to the fair. I’m pretty sure I was going fifty miles over the speed limit at one point. Seeing the neon Ferris wheel, I slowed down. That brought me back to two years ago on that hot summer night.

  Parking the jeep, I jumped out and ran to the ticket booth. The sight of it made my heart skip a beat. It seemed like just yesterday, we were one of the many couples on it.

  After purchasing my ticket, I entered the fairgrounds. Looking around, I tried to spot him in the ground. But it was no use, the place was packed. Pulling my phone from my coat pocket, I found West’s name in my contacts. He picked up after one ring, who does that? Loser.

  “Emma? I told you I’m not interested. Quit calling me.” West said pretending to be annoyed.

  “Keep dreaming. Where are you?”

  “The fair with Roman and Ethan. Why?”

  “I’m here to talk to Roman and I can’t find you guys.”

  “Em, give him some time. I brought him here to try and talk some sense into him. But I must not be that good at it. It’s not going as well as I originally planned.”

  “You have to sense to do that. I’ve give him enough time. Please tell me where he is.” I begged.

  “You’re lucky I’m a sucker for pretty girls. He’s by the haunted house, you know the little ride through one?” he whispered into the phone.

  “Thank you! Why are you whispering?” I asked him as I drew my brows together.

  “I though it made this more interesting, ya know? I kind of feel like James Bond.”

  “I have to go.” I told him.

  West was nuts. He always tried to lighten up any bad situation with a joke. But a joke couldn’t help this situation. I quietly wondered if anything could.

  “Go get your man! Just don’t tell him I told you where he was. He’s avoiding you like the plague. Also, don’t tell him I told you that. K, thanks. Bye.”

  Ending the call, I placed my phone in my pocket. I had to get to Roman, I had to know if we had any chance of being a family or I was on my own. Was I strong enough to do that? I knew the answer but I was too afraid to admit it to myself.

  Walking past the carousel, I knew the haunted house was around the corner. I could see Roman standing with Ethan and West. They were talking to a group of super slutty girls. My heart sank down into my stomach.

  With my fists balled up, I walked over to the group.

  “Well, this looks cozy.”

  Roman slowly turned around and his eyes got wide in surprise.

  “Emma? What are you doing here?” he asked as he moved in to touch my arm.

  I stepped back like as if he touched me, it would hurt.

  “I came here to talk to you but it looks like you’ve got plenty of people to keep you company.” I told him as I turned to walk away.

  “It’s not at all like you think!” he yelled as he ran after me.

  Yeah, he really did use one of the oldest lines in the book.

  “Really? Did you really just say that to me?” I scoffed.

  I watched as he rubbed his face violently.

  “They walked up to us and we were asking them to leave. That’s it. I swear.”

  I could tell he was telling the truth, I knew he wasn’t like that. Well, at least not anymore.

  “Why are you avoiding me? Why won’t you answer my calls?”

  “I don’t know how to deal with this.” He answered quietly.

  “I don’t either but we can do this together. That is if you give us the chance. I can’t do this without you.”

  “I’m not so sure that we can.”

  How could he say that? It was like he pulled my heart out of my chest with his bare hands.

  “Why would even say that?”

  “Because I’m scared out of my mind, Emma.”

  Was he serious? Did he think he was the only one that was scared?

  “What? You think I’m not scared? You get a choice, you can leave. I can’t!” I yelled at him.

  “I’ve gotta go. I can’t do this, not yet.” He started to walk away.

  “Do what you do best, Roman. Leave! You’re a coward!” I said as I ran toward the entrance.

  Turing around to tell him that I believed in us, he started to walk back toward me. Maybe he really did feel the same.

  “I’m not a coward, never have been. But you can’t just throw this bomb out there and not expect it to explode. It doesn’t work like that. Life isn’t like one of those romance books your read. Everything doesn’t always work out!”

  I watched him walk away. Again. And just like that he showed me he didn’t believe in us at all. Not one little bit.

  Chapter 34

  When I got home Maddie was waiting on the couch. She had a pint of ice cream and a Scott Eastwood movie. My favorites. But they did nothing for my mood.

  “You okay?” Maddie asked as she patted the spot on the couch next to her.

  Sitting beside her, I curled up into a ball.

  “West tell you?”

  “He didn’t have too. It’s all over town.”

  Of course it was.

  “Great. Now everyone knows I’m knocked up and single. You might as well strap a big red A to my chest.”

  “Don’t think like that. He’ll come around. Boys are stupid, you know this.”

  “Well, it’s time for him to stop being a boy and be a man.”

  I know it sounded harsh but I had the right to be a little harsh. He left me for the whole town to see. My phone ringing pulled me from my thoughts. It was my mom. Great.

  “Hi, Mom.”

  “I didn’t want to tell you I was right but…”

  I had to tell myself to take deep breaths. I knew she was right but she didn’t have to rub it in my face right now.

  “I know mom. I’m not feeling that well. Can I call you tomorrow?”

  “Sure. But before you go your dad told me to invite you over for dinner tomorrow tonight.”

  I didn’t know what that was all about and I wasn’t too sure I wanted to know. Hanging up the phone, i got up from the couch.

  “I’m going to go to bed. See you in the morning.”

  I watched as Maddie got up and wrapped her arms around me,

  “Goodnight, Ems. Love you.”

  “Love you, too.”

  Walking into my room, I shut the door behind me. It seemed like when things started to seem okay, something always happened. It was like something kept trying to steal my sunshine.

  The next morning I quickly got ready for work. At least the morning sickness had stopped. But to be completely honest I would pick vomiting over this any day.

  Did we break up? Was it over? I didn’t know, I had no answers. And that’s the
worst feeling in the world.

  After breakfast with Maddie, I drove to work. On the way I passed by the diner and saw a familiar mustang parked by the road. I wanted to pull in and bust through the door. But I didn’t have the strength and my heart was still in a million pieces after last night.

  “You’ve got to try to pep up for these kids.” I told myself.

  Getting out of my car, I watched the parents dropping their kids off. They looked so happy. Why couldn’t Roman let us be happy? We could do it, I knew we could. He just had to give us a chance. He would come around. Wouldn’t he?

  Walking through the door, I saw Grace Emerson. She was a senior in high school but she volunteered here. She also wanted to work with children. So, I told her she could help me out with my group of kids. Today was her first day. She was a bit of party girl, so we would have to see how it worked out.

  ”Good Morning, Grace.”

  “Good Morning. How are you feeling?” she asked as he looked at me with pity.

  “You heard about it, too? Huh?”

  “Yeah, I’m sorry.”

  “Don’t be. You didn’t do anything.” I assured her.

  We walked into the room together and greeted the kids.

  “Hey, Guys!” I said as I walked into the room filled with kids. “This is Grace. She’s going to be helping me. Everybody say hello to Grace.”

  “Hello, Grace.”

  “Hi, everyone.” She said.

  “Don’t let me them fool you. I know they look like angels but they are all evil.”

  She laughed and rolled her eyes.

  “They can’t be that bad.”

  By the end of the day Graces usually perfect hair was a mess. She looked so tired.

  “You were right. They are so bad. I’ll see you tomorrow, Emma.” She said as she walked out of the door.

  Locking up the room, I quickly walked to my car. I had to get home and change so I wouldn’t be late for my dinner with my parents.

  I got ready in record time and ran out of the door. Shooting Maddie a quick text to let her know I was gone, I started the engine and drove to my parents’ house.

  Parking, I got out of the car and slowly walked to the door. I was nervous but I couldn’t put my finger on why.

  Hearing laughter coming from inside, I knocked on the door. My mother answered and she seemed even more nervous than me.

  “Come in.” She said as she moved out of the doorway.

  Walking through the door, I saw my father talking to someone. My mom didn’t say anything about a guest. Something was up.

  “Emma, come sit down.” My father called.

  The closer I got I more I recognized who the mystery guest was. It was Preston.

  “What is he doing here?” I asked not trying to hide my disgust.

  Shaking my head in disbelief, I turned to leave. But my father stopped me.

  “Emma, he’s here to help you.”

  For a minute I actually thought my father was going to be different but he fooled. He was good at that.

  “How can he help me? How could he possibly do that?”

  “I heard what happened.” Preston said as he looked at me.

  “Join the club. I’m still confused as to how you could possibly help me. Care to clear that up?”

  He got up from his seat on the couch and walked toward me.

  “I want to marry you. We can be a family.” He said as he placed his hand on my stomach. “We can have the life we were always supposed to have.”

  That’s where he was wrong, the life I was always supposed to have involved Roman Charles. It involved cheesy night picnics, winning stuffed animals at the fair, plaid shirts, and being crazy stupid in love. That’s the life I wanted. Not stuffy dinners and fancy parties.

  “Are you crazy? What would make you think I would want to marry you? I can’t stand you!”

  “Emma, we can make this work. We could be great together, if you let us.”

  “I want Roman. I love Roman. You’re always going to be second best.”

  “Let’s talk about this over dinner.” My mother said as she quickly made her way into the dining room.

  I couldn’t marry Preston. Roman would come around and everything would be fine. Right?

  Pulling out one of the wooden chairs, I took my seat.

  “Emma, Preston is right. This is what’s best for your baby. He can give you everything. Don’t you want the best for your baby?” My mom asked.

  I knew exactly what she was doing.

  “I don’t want to be in a loveless marriage. I’ve had a taste of love and I don’t want to ever give that up.”

  “But he give up on you. When you needed him the most, he just walked away. You know why?” Preston asked as he fiddled with his bowtie.

  “I have a feeling you’re going to tell me anyway.”

  “Because that’s what trash does, they run.”

  I could see nothing but red. He was a lot of things but Roman Charles was not trash.

  “He has a lot more class than you.” I fired back.

  “Then why isn’t he here? With the mother of his baby, huh? Why did he run when things got tough? I wouldn’t do that to you, Emma.”

  I watched his face and it was the first time I saw actual emotion on his face.

  “Why would you do that? Why would you want to help me?”

  “Because I’ve always wanted to marry you. It was always the plan.”

  That was the worst possible answer he could have given me.

  After dinner was finished, I got up to leave. Just as I reached the door Preston called my name.

  “Just think about it.”

  I didn’t answer because I didn’t know what to say. Too many emotion were running through my head. Opening the door, I walked to my car. The whole way home I thought about Preston’s offer. I couldn’t accept it, could I?

  Chapter 35

  After work, Grace asked me if I wanted to grab some dinner. But I tonight I felt like staying in. I didn’t want to seem rude, so instead I asked her to hang out at the apartment. We decided to order take out and watch sappy movies.

  When we got to the apartment Maddie was arriving at the exact same time.

  “Hey, guys.” Maddie said and she looked exhausted.

  “Hey. I thought we could have a girl’s night in and I invited Grace to join. Is that okay?”

  “Yeah, sure thing. Order whatever kind of food you want. I’m going to take a quick shower.” she said as she excused herself.

  We decided on pizza. A lot of it. Maddie joined us just the food was delivered. I needed a girl’s night.

  Last night I talked to Maddie about Preston. She wasn’t a fan. But what if Roman never comes back to me? I couldn’t raise my baby on my own. I needed someone to help and I wanted my baby to have a father.

  “Earth to Emma.” Grace said breaking me from my thoughts.

  “I’m sorry, I spaced out. Did you say something?”

  “The Notebook or A Walk to Remember?”

  I really wasn’t in the mood for either. Usually chick flicks are my go to movies but I wasn’t doing so well in the romance department. I didn’t want to see people fall in love.

  “Let’s do a horror movie instead.”

  Maddie looked at me like rainbows had just shot from my ears.

  “What?” I asked.

  “You hate horror movies.”

  “Well, I changed my mind. I don’t want to see people happy, I want them running for their lives.” I said as I folded my arms like a two year old.

  “Okay. Horror movie it is. Which one?” Grace asked as she went through Netflix.

  “Oh, how about I Know What You Did Last Summer? Or Halloween?” Maddie said excitedly.

  Horror movies were more of her thing and for once I let her pick the movie. I tried to focus on the movie but Preston’s words kept replaying in my head. I knew Roman loved me but I needed to do what was best for the baby.

  What if I waited around for
Roman and he never came back to me? Preston was a sure shot, I knew that. But was I willing to risk once in a lifetime love for that?

  After the movie Grace left and Maddie had a million questions.

  “I can see that crazy look in your eyes. Please tell me you’re not considering marrying Preston.”

  “I don’t know, Mads. Maybe it’s right thing to do. My baby needs a father.”

  “Roman is the baby’s father, not Preston. The baby needs it’s actual father, not some wannabe.”

  “You think I don’t know that? I wish I wasn’t going through this.”

  “I know. I’m sorry, I just want you to be happy. And I know Roman makes you happy. He makes you happier than I have ever seen you.”

  Her words brought me to tears because I knew she was right.

  “I’m so tired of crying, Mads. So tired.”

  “I know. I’m tired of watching you cry. Let’s get you to bed.”

  Walking into my room, Maddie pulled my blanket down. Grabbing my sleep shirt, I slipped it on.

  “Goodnight.” Maddie told me as she hugged me and then left the room.

  Grabbing my phone, I scrolled through my contacts until I saw Roman’s number. Maybe if I called him and told him about Preston he would tell me he was on his way over and that we were going to live happily ever after. But then I realized how stupid I sounded. Roman was right, life wasn’t like the endless collection of romance novels on my kindle. But I wished it was.

  After thinking about everything Preston said and thinking about everything I knew Roman and I could have, I fell asleep.

  The next morning, I called in sick to work. I had a big decision to make. Did I listen to my head and take Preston up on his ridiculous offer? Or did I listen to my heart and wait for Roman?

  As the hours ticked by the internal war of my head and heart finally came to an end. I called Preston and told him to come over so we could talk.

  Maddie walked out of her room and applied her lip gloss in the mirror.

  “Where are you headed?”

  “Going to the movies with my parents. They said we haven’t had enough bonding time lately” she said rolling her eyes.

  “I finally made my decision.”

  “Well, what did you decide?” She asked just as someone knocked on the door.