Chasing Temptation by Payton Lane Page B

with flour, eggs and sugar. We'll see how far we can get before we have to do that again.”
    “If I didn't know my own background, I'd be worried at how pragmatic you are.”
    “That's what I've been telling you, buddy. You don’t know me. Enough talk. Let's bake.”
     

CHAPTER TWELVE

    Jeremy hung up the phone and snuggled against Sylvia. “Our bosses have been spotted making have-sex-with-me eyes at each other.”
    She hushed him, not wanting this moment to end. He'd made her pasta instead of pressuring her to go out again. When she had started to feel drowsy, he took her to his bed and cuddled.
    Jeremy lived on the very outskirts of town. No nosy neighbors to note his every move. She could spend the night without worry. His home seemed to be the only place where she felt vulnerable and that was just fine.
    “Thought-provoking conversation ruins a good pasta afterglow.”
    “The proper comeback should have been: 'Talking about another woman after pasta is bad for my ego.’ You've got so much to learn, Grasshopper.”
    What he’d said finally sank in. She lifted her head from his chest. “Wait. What?”
    “Your boss has the hots for my boss. And my boss is failing horribly at not showing her attraction.”
    She raised a brow in disbelief. “Who's your source? And are you sure he's talking about Nathan Craine?”
    “I protect my sources, but it's a she. Trust me it's him. She said the guy who always looks like he's dressed for a corporate takeover. They were spotted at the grocery store. Wagers are coming in. Some are risky, saying they'll do the deed tonight. I give it another three weeks before Lynne breaks. She's shown some incredible restraint so far. Normally that woman doesn't know the word patience when it comes to her sex life.”
    “Nathan could write a book on proper business etiquette. Something else must be going on. I'm know he finds her attractive, but this is Nathan we're talking about.”
    Jeremy snorted. “Nate and Lynne sitting in the tree. K-I-S-S-I-N-G.”
    “So immature.” Sylvia laughed as she placed her head back on his chest. “Interesting, but there's nothing to the rumors.”
    Jeremy fell silent for a moment. “Why is that interesting?”
    She squinted. “My boss is...I can't find the word. Businesslike is an understatement.”
    Jeremy tensed under her hands, and not in a good way. “Good thing or bad thing for my boss?”
    “I don't know yet, but if it's true—and that's a big if...” she trailed off, thinking of their own relationship, or lack of one because of the circumstances. She shook her head. There wasn't any point to getting her hopes up. No matter what, Nathan would see this relationship as a betrayal.
    “I don't like the sound of that.”
    He shouldn't. The last time Nathan had tangled himself over a woman it didn't end well. If Nathan thought for one moment Lynne knew about the relationship between Jeremy and herself, he'd lose his mind. From what she’d witnessed, closing this deal meant everything to him. Nothing and no one, not even his own feelings, would stand in the way.
    “Let's talk about something else. This is making my brain hurt.”
    Jeremy chuckled. “I was thinking of going fishing. Do you want to go?”
    There it was—the elephant in the room. Her heart twisted. He wanted more, and it was something they both couldn't have.
    Sylvia lifted her head and kissed him, knowing it would distract him. She could hate herself later, but for now, she still had Jeremy.
     

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

    Lynne made direct eye contact with Jeremy for the fifth time, and he looked away as if not wanting to get caught. She had on him callback duty, putting clothes back on the rack where they should go. She sighed. Of course the downside to living in a small town was getting caught.
    They—Nate and she—had been spotted. Their presence together had been reported. She wondered if small towns had been the true inspiration for the Internet. The hotline had to be on fire.