Some Call It Temptation: A Romantic Comedy (Sweet Dreams Book 2) Read online

  “No, not that kind of favor. And tell Jameson I can look after myself, no need to threaten anyone to stay away from me. Can you work on another car for me tomorrow? I double-booked Mason by accident, and I really don’t want to call the client—or tell Mason what I did.”

  “That’s a pretty big favor. Not sure if one little sugar run is enough payment. And it wasn’t Jameson that warned us off.”

  “I’ll get you something from Sweet Dreams every day for two weeks if you help me out. But you can’t tell Mason or the deal is off.”

  “Make it three weeks and you have a deal.”

  The lengths I would go to in order to avoid more of Mason’s wrath were great. So I did the only thing I could and shook Landon’s outstretched hand while holding my top with my other hand. “Deal.” I pulled my hand back and narrowed my eyes at him. “Why are you smiling at me like that? You look like you’ve had a stroke.”

  He shook his head, deranged smile still in place. “You know you might fool everyone else with your act, but I see right through you. Munchkin, I know you’re smart. And you know how I know this? It’s because I’m like the psychic Sylvia Browne. Only I’m male and still alive.”

  “Okay, Sylvia, go and do your psychic thing on the cars. You’ll be busy for the next few days, so a little help from higher powers might come in handy.”

  He saluted at me and went to the door. “Aye, aye, capt’n.”

  I couldn’t stop the smile from spreading over my face. Maybe my day wasn’t going to be so bad after all.

  I had just come back from my donut run and was full of sugar and happy thoughts. My hard-won equilibrium was ruined when Mason barged into my office without knocking and took over the room like only he could. There was something about him that took me completely off guard, and boy was he gorgeous when he was angry. His eyes went all stormy and his muscles tensed under his skintight shirt. His coverall was pulled down to his waist, giving me a great view of his body. And those arms… I needed a moment to admire how good they looked when he was all tensed up like that.

  “Are you fucking listening to me?” His hands were on his hips and the vein in his neck was pulsing. If he started breathing fire, I wouldn’t be surprised.

  And no, I definitely was not listening to a word he just yelled at me. I doubted it was anything important. But since it was obvious there was no use in pretending and I said, “Nope, I clearly wasn’t. Did you have something to tell me that I actually need to know? Or did you just come in here to yell at someone?”

  His face was about an inch from mine—How did I not see him get this close?—and he was breathing loudly. Even his breath smelled nice. Like peppermint. Ugh, isn’t there anything on him that I find disgusting?

  “Why are you staring at me?” he asked.

  I stopped staring and leaned back in my chair. “I’m not staring. Just waiting for you to repeat yourself, so you can leave and I can do my work.”

  He closed his eyes for a few seconds and rubbed his temples. “This must be my penance for a misdeed in a former life. Because nothing I have done in this one warrants such a harsh punishment. I’m a nice guy. People like me. I’m the happy brother. Jameson is the brooder. Even though he has been way less broody and much more happy lately.”

  I raised a brow at him and tapped my hands on the desk. Happy my ass.

  He looked at the ceiling and groaned. “Never mind. Just stay out of the workshop and stop giving Landon any ideas.”

  “What ideas, exactly, am I giving him? How to decorate his home? Or what he should have for lunch?”

  He looked at me and narrowed his eyes. “You know what I mean.”

  “I clearly don’t or I wouldn’t ask.” My voice was clipped.

  “Just stay away from him.”

  “Says who?”

  “Says me.”

  “Or what?”

  “Or I’ll have to give you a written warning.”

  “What does that mean? A warning for what?”

  “For distracting your coworkers.”

  “This is ridiculous. Don’t you think you are taking this whole ‘hate Stella and make her life hell’ mission a little too far?”

  “That’s not what this is. I just don’t want any distractions at work.”

  “And I’m a distraction?”

  He didn’t answer, but he didn’t have to. God, he was such a jerky butt-face. “Fine. I’ll make sure not to distract anyone else again.”

  “Good. Then also make sure that you wear appropriate clothes.” He looked me up and down. “Because this isn’t working for me.”

  I could feel my face heat up. This was simply not happening. I had been told what to wear all my life and was not willing to put up with it anymore. The jeans and T-shirt I was wearing were appropriate wear for a garage. “Are you serious?”

  “It’s too tight. Now get back to work.” He stalked toward the door, and I shot up from my chair.

  “This conversation was more disappointing than an unsalted pretzel,” I yelled at his back. He didn’t respond and walked through the door without turning around. And just in time because I was two seconds away from throwing myself at him. And not in a romantic I’m-going-to-ravage-you way, either. It was going to be more like a knee-to-his-balls situation.

  The next day I was shutting down my computer when Maisie came barreling into the office. She was my other best friend and had gone to college with Willa and me. “Stella, you have to hide me. Now.”

  There wasn’t much else to do but to usher her under my desk and put the chair back in place. Because that’s what good friends did.

  “I’ll explain later,” she promised from her hiding spot.

  The huge desk was enclosed on three sides, which made it a pretty good place to hide. I was still standing in front of the desk, unsure what to do next, when a guy in a perfectly tailored suit strolled in. I didn’t know if I should look at his artfully mussed dark hair, his gorgeous face, or his piercing blue eyes. I wondered if he was lost, and if I should offer to show him the way back to the highway.

  “Sorry, we’re closed,” I said. I was most likely giving off some major creeper vibes with the way I was staring at him. But come on! When do you ever get the chance to look at a GQ model in real life?

  He was leaner than Mason and his hair was shorter. And maybe his arms weren’t as nice, but it was hard to tell through the suit jacket. And why the hell am I comparing him to butt-face?

  “Where is Maisie?”

  “I don’t know. Have you tried the bakery three streets over?”

  He raised a brow, most likely his version of an eye roll. “I saw her run in here.”

  Well damn, I didn’t have anything to reply to that. Maybe I could pretend to be blind. But it was probably too late for that since he had to have noticed me blatantly ogling him.

  I would never admit to anyone that I was even thinking it, but I was relieved when Mason stepped through the door with a scowl on his face. I even considered making him coffee. The feeling thankfully passed after a few short seconds.

  “Can I help you?” he asked the new guy.

  “Hi, I’m Oliver Thorpe,” new guy answered and held out his hand. “I’m looking for Maisie.”

  “As in Thorpe Holdings?” Mason asked. There was something akin to awe in his voice.

  “The very one.”

  Mason moved to stand in front of me and shook Oliver’s hand.

  “Nice to meet you. If you want to book your car, Stella is happy to do that for you,” Mason said.

  “No, she’s not. Stella needs to close the office and go home,” I answered. Mason really was nice to everyone but me.

  “Thanks, but I don’t need any work done on my car. Only bought it a few weeks ago,” Oliver said. “I really need to talk to Maisie though.”

  Mason pointed at me. “Her name is Stella.”

  Oliver nodded. “Nice to meet you, Stella. Now can I talk to Maisie?”

  Mason looked from me to Oliver. I pursed m
y lips, pretending to think. “Not sure when I’ve seen her last, sorry.”

  “Look, I saw her run in here. I know she’s hiding, so she won’t have to talk to me,” Oliver said.

  Well, things just got interesting. I’d never heard of Oliver, and Maisie was an over-sharer. She told us everything. From what she had for lunch to how many times she had gone to the toilet that day. Her not telling me and Willa something set off all the alarm bells in my head.

  He held out a handbag to me. “Can you make sure she gets this?”

  I pushed past Mason, who refused to move to the side, and took the bag. “Sure. No problem.”

  “Thanks. And tell her I’ll see her at my sister’s birthday party.”

  He left without a backward glance. As soon as he started his car, I whirled around and dropped to my knees behind my desk. “Who the hell was that?”

  Maisie was biting her lip and shuffled out from under the desk. She sat down in front of me and shrugged. “Just some guy.”

  “Liar. I want to know what the hell is going on.”

  “Nothing is going on. He thinks he has some sort of claim on me. But he doesn’t. Now, can we forget this embarrassing scene ever happened?”

  I grinned at her and pointed toward Mason. “If you can convince him to keep quiet you might have a shot.”

  “What are you doing in the office? Don’t you have your mechanic thing to do?”

  Mason raised an eyebrow at her. “It’s my garage and I can be wherever I want to be. And right now I want to be in the office because seems to me like Stella forgot she works here. Not sure why you are here though.”

  Maisie wasn’t easily intimidated and pulled herself up to her full height. She still had to look up to talk to Mason, but there was no more hesitation. “I’m visiting Stella to make sure you haven’t made her quit yet.”

  “Still working on it.”

  “Lucky I need the money,” I grumbled, getting up as well.

  “Has Mommy finally cut you off?” Mason asked.

  I clenched my teeth and balled my fists, my nails cutting into my palms. “Why don’t you get back to whatever it was you were doing before you came in here?”

  “Gladly,” he drawled and left. As soon as the door closed behind him with a loud bang, my shoulders slumped forward and I exhaled loudly.

  “Seems like I’m not the only one keeping secrets,” Maisie said.

  “Ha, so you admit to keeping Mr. GQ a secret. I knew it.”

  Maisie grinned at me and took my hand. “Come on, seems like we have a lot of catching up to do.”

  Crying to her about the butt-wipe that was Mason Drake was just what I needed.

  “Should we head to The Grill?” I asked.

  “What kind of question is that?” she answered and grinned.

  I laughed and squeezed her hand. “I missed you these last few weeks. No more overseas internships.”

  “I missed you too, Estrella, and there are no more trips in my future. Europe is overrated anyway. Now I hope you have your car here because Lincoln dropped me off.”

  Lincoln was one of her four roommates and a computer nerd who worshipped Maisie.

  “Lincoln, huh?” I teased her on our way out.

  She groaned. “Don’t start.”

  We got in my car and I sank into the leather seat, the familiar scent and feel calming my frayed nerves. Whenever Mason was close, my body decided to start going from cold to hot, tense to boneless. It was infuriating.

  “How did you manage to keep your car?” Maisie asked and sat in the passenger seat.

  “It was in my name, so my mother couldn’t really take it from me. She tried, of course she would, but there was nothing she could do. I’ll have to sell it, though, if I don’t get a job soon.”

  “Honey, you’ve got a job.”

  I waved her off and started the car. “You know what I mean. A job that won’t end in a few weeks.”

  “Are you still staying at Willa’s?”

  I nodded and pulled out of the garage parking lot. “She’s at Jameson’s most of the time, so she’s happy she doesn’t have to pay full rent. But I have to find something soon. She lives in a one-bedroom apartment—and the couch is getting old.” The arrangement worked because Willa was on holidays for a few weeks with Jameson, finally travelling like she had always dreamed of.

  We pulled up to The Grill and made our way inside. We used to go to the Donut Hole, but since Willa no longer worked there the place wasn’t what it used to be. Mainly we didn’t get a 20 percent discount anymore.

  Today definitely called for something like a burger and chips. Or pizza. But then again, every day should be a pizza day.

  We chose a booth at the back, hoping to go unnoticed. Humptulips was a small town, and most people knew us, especially since my mother decided to run for mayor this year. I really hoped she wouldn’t win, but money made the world go round, and she had enough of it to never need to get off the carousel.

  “Tell me what’s going on with Oliver,” I said, opening the menu I knew back to front.

  “What the hell happened with Mason?” she asked at the same time.

  Maisie had her “don’t mess with me face” on so I didn’t even try to pretend I didn’t hear her question. “Fine. I’ll go first. Not that there’s much to explain. It’s simple really. Mason hates me. I hate Mason. We make each other’s lives miserable whenever we run into each other. He thinks I’m a spoiled brat, and I think he has a chip on his shoulder the size of the Rocky Mountains. We only have to put up with each other while I work at the garage, so hopefully there won’t be any casualties.”

  Maisie started laughing and I scowled at her. “Hey, stop that. I wasn’t finished. I had a lot more to complain about.”

  Her laughter turned into a chuckle and she shook her head. “Oh, Estrella, there is no way that guy hates you. And besides, he’s one of the nicest guys I’ve ever met. No way would he be mean to you. You sure you’re not overreacting?”

  I put my hand up. “Don’t even go there. This is not a case of pulling someone’s pigtails because you like them. He is making my life miserable. And I’m beginning to think he has a point when he calls me princess. I did grow up in a mansion and never wanted for anything.”

  Except affection and love. But anything money could buy I had which was starting to make me feel like the spoiled brat Mason thought I was.

  Maisie put her hand up. “Stop. I know you. You are a good person and you work hard. You don’t expect handouts. It doesn’t matter where you come from. What matters is what you do with your life.”

  I still couldn’t look at her, so I chose to study the ceiling instead. The paint was peeling, and it looked like there was a leak. “I know. It’s just hard not to feel like a failure. Especially when the only thing I own are my clothes and a car.”

  “So, you’re just like a lot of other college grads out there. Don’t put yourself down like that.”

  “Thanks, Maisie.” I finally looked at her. “You know I love you, right?”

  “Of course you do. Why wouldn’t you? I’m pretty awesome. Now let’s order some food because I’m starving, and I already waved Leslie off twice when she tried to take our order. If I do it a third time, she won’t come back.”

  We didn’t end up talking about Oliver but spent the whole time arguing about the ending of How I Met Your Mother.

  “I’m not touching that,” I said and backed up a few steps and then a few more just in case.

  “He’s really nice and soft. And he loves cuddles,” Landon said, boyish grin in place.

  “That sounds like a case of famous last words. And I don’t care how cuddly he is, I’m not touching a spider.”

  “Fine, just hurt his feelings, why don’t you?” Landon turned to the furry ball that was sitting in the palm of his hand. “Don’t listen to her Ralph, you’re beautiful just the way you are.”

  I took a deep breath when I watched Landon put his furry friend back into the terrarium
that was set up next to Mason’s workstation. Why they chose a spider as their mascot was anyone’s guess.

  Impending spider attack averted, I went back to the reason why I came out into the workshop in the first place.

  “Has anyone seen a container of baby formula?” I asked the guys.

  “What’s it look like?” Landon asked.

  “Like a container with the word formula written on it,” I said.

  Today was busy, and the last thing I wanted to do was search for the missing formula. I promised Nora I’d bring some with me when I went over tonight, so I bought it on my way to work that morning and left it in the staff kitchen.

  Landon avoided looking at me and whispered something to Clay. Never a good sign, but I’d give him the benefit of the doubt. After all, what would he want with baby formula?

  Landon went behind his car and I hoped he wasn’t getting Ralph out of his terrarium again. “Is this what you’re looking for?” he asked, holding out a silver tin that I recognized immediately.

  “That’s the formula. But why do you have it out here?”

  “We ran out of creamer.”

  “O-kay…but that doesn’t explain the formula.”

  “We thought it was just like milk. So we used it in our coffee.”

  I burst out laughing. “How did it taste?”

  He shrugged and handed the half-empty container to me. How much coffee had they been drinking?

  “Tasted great. I didn’t know it was yours. We thought you’d put it there to use. Sorry about that.”

  “You thought I put a container of baby formula out instead of creamer? Don’t you think I would have picked up creamer or milk if I’d known we were out?” I asked, incredulous.

  “Who knows how your mind works. You’re still working here after three days, almost four. Nobody sane would last that long.” Landon shrugged.

  “Willa has worked here for a lot longer than that,” I pointed out.

  He grinned at me, his dimples popping out. “Just proves my point. She is the loopiest of them all. Has to be when dating Jameson.”