Playing With Temptation. Reese Ryan

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СКАЧАТЬ brown-skin Adonis. Handsome and fit as ever. There was no way she’d admit that to his brother or to anyone.

      “Despite what Nate thinks, he needs my help. Besides, I owe him.” She couldn’t erase the pain she’d caused when she’d walked away seven years ago, but she could make things right for him. Allow him to end his career on his terms.

      Marcus squeezed her arm. “You don’t owe either of us anything, but I’m glad you’re on board.”

      “This isn’t a done deal. I meant what I said. I’m willing to work through Nate resenting my help, but I won’t do this if he’s resistant. If he won’t listen to me, this doesn’t work.”

      “Then you’ve got some convincing to do.” Marcus winked, tipped the valet and drove off.

      Great. Kendra drew in a deep breath, then strutted back into the restaurant, spine straight and tall. You’ve got this, girl.

      Nate didn’t bother standing when she returned. He stared as if he couldn’t believe she had the nerve to sashay her tail back into the private dining room. As if he’d expected her to turn and run.

      “You need convincing, so let’s talk. Ask me anything you want. We can discuss the ideas I have so far or the crisis management work I’ve done for high-profile corporate clients.”

      The server set their meals on the table. When she left, Nate took a swig of his beer, then set the glass on the table with a thud. “Fine. Let’s talk about what happened between us.”

      “Nate...” Her voice wavered for a moment. She cleared her throat and lengthened her spine, holding his gaze. “We’ve talked about this.”

      “‘I’m so sorry, Nate, I just can’t do this’ isn’t a discussion, Kendra.” The veins in his neck corded as he repeated her words that night verbatim. “You’ve shut me down anytime I’ve tried to have a real conversation about that night. If you want me to trust you, start by being honest about what happened between us.”

      “This isn’t productive.” She shivered beneath his cold stare. “Discussing my proposed PR plan is.”

      “If Marcus says you can do the job, I trust his judgment. What I need is to know I can trust you. So for once, be honest with me about why you walked out. Why you waited until I asked you to marry me and you were pregnant with my son to decide I wasn’t the right man for you.”

      Her heart clenched at the bitterness that laced his words. It took her back to that night. The night she’d made the biggest mistake of her life.

      “I underestimated how difficult it was to be the wife of a pro athlete.”

      “I’d been with the Marauders for a year by then. How would your life have been any different?”

      “There’s a huge difference between being the live-in girlfriend and being the wife and mother of your children.”

      “A marriage license is just a piece of paper, Kendra. Other than having it and my last name, nothing would’ve changed.”

      She tipped her chin, determined to keep her emotions in check. “It isn’t a meaningless piece of paper. It’s a lifelong commitment. That means something to me.”

      Nate snorted. “If it means so much to you, why’d you turn it down when I offered it?”

      “I couldn’t be one of those football wives who doesn’t have a life of her own and pretends not to know what happens on the road.”

      His expression morphed from anger to hurt again. “So it was about that girl who let herself into my room in Cleveland. I told you, I didn’t know her, and nothing happened between us. When I discovered her in my room, I called security and they sent her ass packing. End of story. I called you right away and told you about it. I wasn’t trying to hide anything.”

      “The sports channels picked up the story. I would’ve heard about it.”

      Nate ran a hand through his close-cropped curls and heaved a sigh. “So that’s what you think of me? That the minute I’m out of sight I can’t keep it in my pants? News flash, Kendra, if I’d wanted to be with someone else, I would’ve been. Football groupies have been throwing themselves at me since high school. I didn’t want them. I wanted you. I loved you. You obviously didn’t feel the same.”

      “That isn’t true.” The accusation hit her like a bullet to the chest, piercing her heart and severing arteries. Nate was the only man she’d ever loved. She loved him still, but their time was past, and it was all her fault. “I’m a realist. You’re only human. A man can only take so much temptation.”

      “If you felt that way, you should’ve come to me. We could’ve worked things out.”

      “How, Nate? You weren’t going to leave the team, and I’d never ask you to give up your dream.” She hadn’t meant to stress the word.

      Nate shifted in his seat, lowering his gaze. He hadn’t missed the implication. She’d supported his dream, but he hadn’t supported hers. He took another sip of his beer. “I never gave you any reason to doubt me.”

      “It was my issue, not yours. I fully own that.”

      “Just to be clear, you blew up our relationship, our family, because you thought I might eventually cheat on you?”

      “It isn’t as simple as that.” She poked at the flounder she no longer had an appetite for. “My fears are very real, and I have them for good reason. That’s my problem, not yours.”

      Nate laughed bitterly. “It sure as hell felt like my problem when you turned down my proposal in a roomful of our family and friends.”

      She cringed, remembering the moment he dropped to one knee and presented her with a beautiful, custom diamond engagement ring. The memory of that moment was as vivid now as it was then. Euphoric joy immediately followed by debilitating fear and a panic attack that stole her breath.

      Chest heaving and the room spinning, she had only one clear thought—she couldn’t marry Nate.

      Until that moment, she’d anticipated the day he’d propose and dreamed of an intimate wedding ceremony on the beach. Then Nate asked her to marry him and the room went black.

      Visions of ruthless groupies who’d do anything to get with a ballplayer filled her head. Her own father hadn’t been faithful to her mother. How could she expect Nate to do so with so much temptation?

      She’d broken it off, packed her things and made the long drive back to Pleasure Cove. Weeks later, she discovered she was pregnant with Kai.

      “You didn’t deserve that. I should’ve told you how I’d been feeling, but—”

      “You didn’t trust me enough to have an honest discussion then. Give me one reason I should trust you now.” The ache reflected in his dark eyes penetrated her skin more than the bone-chilling air outside had.

      Kendra choked back the thickness in her throat. “Because I’m the same girl who cheered you on at every game from peewee to the pros. The one who wouldn’t let you give up on your dream when you weren’t drafted.”

      Nate’s СКАЧАТЬ