Enticing Interlude (Tempest #2) by Michelle Mankin Page A

though. Show her that the huntsman could change and be the prince she deserved. Earn her trust. And for obvious reasons, I was going to have to take things one step at a time with her. Tread slowly, carefully, and cautiously, territory that was completely unfamiliar to me. “How about we try being just friends for a while? See how that goes.”
    “I don’t know.” Her expression remained skeptical.
    “Give me a week, Bridget, as friends, and I promise you I’ll prove that I can be trusted. Then you can decide if we take things any further.” I held my breath watching her while she thought about it. Hoping my expression didn’t reveal how very badly I wanted her to say yes.
    She stared at me, eyes searching mine. I don’t know what she saw, but whatever it was must’ve convinced her to agree. She stuck her hand out as if we were sealing a business deal surprising the high holy hell out of me. “Friends it is.”
     

 

     

     
     
    I was an idiot.
    A sleep deprived one.
    I’d been tossing around the bed all night when I should’ve been taking advantage of my weekend off to catch up on some much needed rest.
    Friends.
    I should’ve told him no. But when I’d looked into his eyes, I’d seen his need and wanted to be the one to fill it. I also wanted so badly to believe the things he had told me were true. Then again that’s where I always got into trouble.
    Truth, I should know by now, didn’t come from taking short cuts. The butler didn’t bring it gift wrapped on a silver platter. It came from hard work and commitment. Not from using an illegal white powder to try to finish a degree plan in three years that took most people four, and most certainly not from a handsome man promising you forever when he just wanted to get off in the here and now.
    Truth in the end would always be proven by its results.
    So when was I finally going to wise up? So Justin was handsome and sweet with Carter. So his gorgeous emerald eyes and his words seemed sincere. So Lace seemed to trust him. So what? I needed to remember what had happened in the past. Guys just said and did things in order to get what they were after.
    I punched the pillow taking out my frustration on the memory foam, and then rolled over onto my other side, hoping to have better luck in a different position. I needed to try to catch at least a couple of restorative minutes of sleep before the morning. I had a ton of stuff to do.
     

     
    “Mommy! Mommy!” Carter’s excited voice brought me from sound sleep to instant awareness. I opened my eyes when he started bouncing on our mattress.
    “What?” My bleary gaze slid from my jumping son to the alarm clock beside the bed.
    Damn.
    It was ten thirty. I’d almost slept the entire morning away. “What’s going on?” I mumbled, surprised to find him already dressed in his favorite Iron Man shirt and jeans, his hair combed neatly on his head.
    “Justin took me to the guitar store.” He yanked on my arm. “Get up. I want you to come see my new guitar. Well, it’s not new. It used to be new, but it’s still super cool.”
    I blinked the sleep from my eyes and tried to focus on what he was saying as he rambled on hyperactive high speed mode just like I did when I was excited. I belted on my robe and followed Carter out to the living room. Justin pushed up from the couch as soon as we entered. He was even better looking than last night, auburn locks swept neatly back from his brow and wearing a crisp white cotton shirt and dark jeans. I shifted self-consciously on my bare feet and tried to finger comb the bed snarls out of my own hair.
    “Good morning.” He gave me a smile. One I hadn’t seen yet, an amused version. A cute dimpled half one. It figured he would have something like that to add to his already devastating arsenal. “Looks like you slept well.” His green eyes sparkled merrily.
    “Yeah, apparently.” I threw my eyes to the ceiling, muttering, “When I was finally able to fall