Fresh Temptation by Reeni Austin

covered Patty’s gray and made her look ten years younger, by Cara’s estimation.
    “Go keep your son occupied while I finish up in here, okay? I’ve had to fight him away from the fridge all afternoon since he saw me put the cake in there.”
    Cara groaned. “What the heck, Mom? I’m not leaving until you tell me what’s going on.”
    Patty let the whisk drop to the bowl. “Fine.” She looked in her daughter’s eyes. “Your boss is joining us for dinner.”
    “What?” Cara gasped. “No! You can’t!”
    Patty gave her a lighthearted grin. “Too late now. He’ll be here in…” She glanced at the clock on the wall. “About an hour. Said he had a late business meeting then he’d be on his way over.”
    Cara was too stunned to speak for a moment. She had barely seen Victor since their lunch on Monday because he had been visiting clients or having closed-door meetings in his office. She had determined by now that Victor merely hired her to get back at Alexis Whitt. “Mom, this is a bad idea for so many reasons. You shouldn’t have called him.”
    “I didn’t. He called here. Said he wanted to make sure Isaac was okay. Then we started talking.” Her eyes lit up. “He practically invited himself over.”
    “Why would he do that? He could ask me about Isaac anytime.”
    “Because he likes you! That’s why.”
    “He doesn’t like me, Mom. He’s trying to make a point to his ex. That’s why he hired me.”
    Patty shrugged. “Whatever. Doesn’t matter the reason. If he wants to give you some attention, you should let him.”
    Cara threw her hands in the air. “Who knows? Maybe you’re right. I hadn’t thought about it that way.”
    “Yes. See? You should listen to your mother more often.”
    Cara grumbled to herself and left the kitchen.
    An hour later, the doorbell rang, rustling the butterflies in Cara’s stomach. She had changed into a pair of black pants and a loose-fitting light blue blouse. Her long hair hung in soft curls down her back.
    As Patty went for the door, Cara gave Isaac another inspection to make sure he wasn’t sticky or dirty.
    “Mommy,” he said, “cake?”
    Cara winced. She could tell from his whiny tone that they might be in for one of his rare tantrums. She knelt down to look in his eyes. “If you be good you can have cake after dinner, okay?”
    He pouted. “Cake now.”
    She kissed his forehead. “Not now. After dinner with everyone else.” She stood and took Isaac’s hand, leading him to the front door when she heard Victor speaking with Patty. Please be good, Isaac , she silently pleaded.
    Victor’s mesmerizing eyes met hers immediately when she and Isaac entered the dining room. He held her gaze for a long moment then said, “Hi, Cara. Hope it’s okay that I came by for dinner.”
    The nerves in her stomach tightened, but she tried to appear calm. She noticed he was wearing a long-sleeved white dress shirt with cufflinks, like he’d left his jacket and tie in the car. The shirt was fitted perfectly, as if it were molded just for his athletic, muscular body. “Yes, it’s fine.”
    Victor held up a gift bag. “I brought something for Isaac.” He looked down in Isaac’s direction, smiling. “Hello?”
    Cara felt a sharp tug on the back of her pants. Isaac had grabbed a handful of the fabric as he hid behind her leg. She patted the top of his head and looked at Victor. “Sorry, he’s shy around new people lately.”
    “It’s just a phase.” Patty touched Victor’s arm. “I need to go to the kitchen. Make yourself at home.”
    Victor nodded and turned his attention to Isaac. “Hi there. We spoke on the phone.”
    Isaac hugged Cara’s leg with all his might and looked down at the floor.
    Cara’s voice was gentle. “Do you remember talking on the phone?”
    Isaac shook his head.
    “Come on,” she said. “Sure you do. It’s Victor.”
    Isaac paused, then loudly whispered, “Bictow.”
    Victor chuckled and picked up a gift bag he had set down