Sweet Seduction Read online

  “Does a GPS work like that?” Deena asked.

  Serena shrugged. “It could be a new GPS.”

  “So the GPS takes over and sends her to someplace she wasn’t expecting? That sounds more like a horror novel to me. This is why you can keep your fancy cars. Bessie never talks back and she doesn’t tell me where to go.” Ally was wary of some satellite telling her what the roads were like. She’d driven all the way from small-town Georgia to Dallas without the aid of some robo voice telling her where to go. Of course, she’d also made a wrong turn in Louisiana and was almost certain she’d nearly been murdered by cannibalistic bayou dwellers, but she’d made it out of that, too.

  “I don’t know. I kind of like it,” Deena said, sitting down next to Serena.

  They started talking about plots, but Ally’s head wasn’t in the game. She’d gotten herself into trouble again and there wasn’t a road map out of this one.

  How long could she go without telling Macon the truth? She was in love with the man. One hundred percent, fallen in crazy, no going back love. He was the man for her and she knew deep down that whatever he was hiding about Ronnie’s death couldn’t be so bad. Macon was honorable.

  Of course, he also claimed he was a changed man. He talked about the fact that he’d been different before. She hadn’t known that Macon.

  She glanced down at her watch. They were T-minus forty-five minutes to dinner service. Of course it was family dinner service, as Chef Taggart liked to call it. He was prepping dinner to thank all his friends and family who had come in this week to get Top back into shape for the upcoming weekend. They’d only been forced to close for two weeks thanks to the Herculean efforts of staff and Taggart’s friends. Big Tag had been in most afternoons with a tool kit and at least one baby strapped to his chest. It had been kind of fun. They’d set up playpens and the kids had gnawed on wooden blocks or each other while the adults worked.

  She’d fit in. Ever since that night at the play party, Macon’s relatives had treated her like one of their own. She was closest to Serena, but she was getting to know Grace and Charlotte and Avery. She and Avery were trying to teach Eve McKay how to knit. The gorgeous psychologist knew how to curse, but she was trying to be patient.

  What would they think of her if they knew she was lying?

  “Hello?” A soft feminine voice brought Ally out of her thoughts. She looked up and a stunning blonde stood in the lobby. She was tall and willowy, like she’d stepped out of the pages of a fashion magazine. Dressed in a yellow sundress that had to be designer, she glanced around Top curiously.

  Serena and Deena were deeply engrossed in a discussion of whether or not the GPS could easily be hacked via cell phone, so Ally stood up. “I’m sorry. We’re not actually open to the public until Friday.”

  The woman laughed. “Oh, I’m not here for dinner. I’m sure it’s a fine establishment and all, but no. I’m looking for my husband. I’ve been told he works here.”

  Who among the guys was married? Most of the line chefs were single. “What’s your husband’s name? I’ll go in the back and get him.”

  Somehow, she couldn’t imagine any of the rough-and-tumble guys who worked here being married to the supermodel. She was the graceful type who screamed money and good breeding. She wasn’t the type who married dudes who ended up in the military unless they were officers.

  “Macon Miles,” she said with a smile.

  “Holy shit.” Serena was suddenly at her side. “Are you Elise?”

  Elise Miles. Macon’s ex-wife was standing right here in the middle of Top looking like an angel. Every hair was perfectly placed, her makeup artful but not overdone. She was wearing a pair of five-inch heels that would have caused Ally to break her neck, but naturally Elise Miles walked perfectly in them. She kind of floated across the tile.

  She held out a manicured hand. “Why, yes, I am. I see Macon’s talked about me.”

  “Only using four letter words,” Ally said with a frown.

  Serena elbowed her. “I’ve seen a picture. My husband had a picture from your wedding. I believe Macon sent it to him back before Adam was cut off from the family.”

  “Yes, I’d heard Adam had married. It’s so good that he finally realized he could be normal,” Elise said.

  Jake chose that moment to step out of the men’s room where he’d been fixing a leaky sink. He walked right up to Serena and planted a kiss on her cheek. “I’m going to grab a beer, baby. Tell Adam I’m out back when he gets here with Tristan.”

  Serena smiled. “Jake, don’t you want to meet Elise?”

  He shrugged. “Sure, who’s Elise?” He turned to the newcomer and his eyes went wide. “Holy shit.”

  “That’s what I said. She’s happy Adam’s finally normal,” Serena said under her breath.

  That brought a snort from Jacob Dean. “Yeah, we’re the most normal threesome here. I’m going to go make a phone call. Nice to meet you. Looking forward to the drama.”

  Jake practically ran into the kitchen.

  “Well, is someone going to get my husband? I need to speak with him.” Elise’s shoe tapped impatiently.

  “Ex.”

  “Excuse me?”

  “You’re divorced. Macon is your ex-husband.” Ally couldn’t stand the way the beauty queen possessively called Macon her husband. “The last he heard, you were busy getting ready to marry his brother.”

  The angel’s eyes turned cold and narrowed as she looked down at Ally. “That was a mistake and absolutely none of your business. Look, I can tell from your sad waitress eyes that you have a thing for my husband, and maybe he’s even given you hope that you can be with him, but I’m telling you to step aside. This isn’t going to go your way. That man has been mine since we weren’t even old enough to drink. I get that I hurt him and he’s been slumming, but I assure you, he’ll go home with me.” She looked up and a glorious smile crossed her lips. “Hey, babe. You look good.”

  Ally turned and there was Macon looking all hot and masculine in his chef’s whites and khaki slacks. He stood in the doorway, a hand on his hip. “You look here. Why are you here, Elise?”

  At least he wasn’t melting at the sight of her. He was frowning, but he looked more confused than angry. He didn’t look at Ally at all. There was no welcoming smile on his lips, nothing at all that would calm her down. He only had eyes for his ex.

  “I need to talk to you.” Elise’s eyes picked up the light and there was no way to miss the shimmer of tears there. “It’s been a long time.”

  Macon kept frowning, but he nodded toward a table in the back. “All right. Come on.”

  Elise’s heels didn’t even clack across the floor. It was like the woman didn’t weigh a thing. No pair of her shoes would ever be so gauche as to thud or squeak when she wasn’t actively trying to make the sound. Oh, no. Not Princess Elise.

  Serena put a hand on her arm. “It’s all right. He’s only going to talk to her.”

  Ally hoped she looked absolutely nothing like she felt. She felt like picking up a chair and bashing it over Princess Elise’s blonde head. Instead, she simply shrugged. “Of course.”

  She noticed Jake and Big Tag walking out of the kitchen. They each had a beer in hand and each man was carrying a tiny infant girl. It looked like Charlotte was still out shopping. They sat at a table across the room from Macon and his former bride, but they didn’t even try to hide their curiosity.

  “Kala, this is what’s called drama. This is what we live for, baby girl.” Ian tipped his beer back. “Way better than TV.”

  Jake frowned and looked down at his identically dressed infant. “How do you know which one is which?”

  “A father always knows,” Big Tag said. “Also, I marked this one with a Sharpie. See, it looks like a tiny mole right behind her ear. That’s Kala.”

  Serena gasped. “Ian Taggart, that’s horrible.”

  He shrugged. “Nah, what’s horrible is I’m trying to figure out a way to make it permanent. Is it illega
l to tattoo a baby?”

  “Yes,” Serena and Ally managed to say at the same time.

  Big Tag shook his head. “It’s nothing. It’s not like I’m putting a skull and crossbones on her. It’s a miniscule dot so neither one of these girls can pull one over on the old man.” He pointed to the baby in Jake’s arms. “Yeah, I’m looking at you, Kenz. I see how you roll over and try to pretend to be Kala. I’m not blind. Daddy sees everything. Including how you look at that Tristan kid. Stay away from him.”

  “Ian, she’s eight weeks old,” Serena pointed out. “Tristan recently turned one. I hardly think they’re planning to date.”

  “Yeah, well, it’s never too early to start. I know what your boy’s going to think. He’s going to think Mom didn’t have to pick, why should I, and then suddenly my sweet baby girls are in some weirdo relationship where they have to worship the boy.”

  Jake flipped him off but smiled down at Kenzie. “Don’t listen to your father. Tristan’s going to be a gentleman. Ooo, what do you think she said?”

  Macon’s hands were in fists on the table, his back ramrod straight.

  Finally he was showing a little anger. She could deal with anger.

  “It’s all right,” Serena said, giving her a half hug as they watched the table. “He’s going to tell her to go any minute now and then everything will be right back to normal.”

  “I have to be reasonable.” Ally said the words as though saying them would calm her. They didn’t really.

  “Oh, what’s the fun in that?” Big Tag asked.

  “Ignore him. He lives for this kind of thing,” Serena said, glaring at the big guy. “There’s absolutely no reason to get upset. He didn’t invite her here.”

  “But he knew she was probably on her way,” Jake said.

  “What?” That was completely news to her.

  Jake winced, like he knew he’d screwed up. “Sorry. Uhm, Adam told him on Sunday that it was a distinct possibility, but I don’t think Macon really gave a damn.”

  He’d known for days that his ex-wife might show up and he hadn’t mentioned it? Was he happy to see her? Was the whole angry thing only for show? Maybe he wanted to have the upper hand. Elise was right. They had been together for most of their adult life, though Macon had been in combat for a good portion of their marriage. Did he want to give it another shot?

  “He certainly doesn’t care about her anymore,” Jake said quickly. “I’m sure of that.”

  “Well, it sure looks like she cares about him,” Big Tag said. He bounced his daughter gently as she gurgled up at him and tugged on his shirt. “That, baby girl, is what we guys call manipulation. You see when a woman wants a man to do something, sometimes she strokes his hand like she’s stroking another part of his anatomy he really wants stroked. She often doesn’t really go through with this, but some guys are dumbasses.”

  Sure enough, Elise had a hand on Macon’s arms, stroking from his elbow down to the wrist. She held his hand in hers and the free hand kept stroking as she spoke. Even from where Ally stood she could see the crocodile tears clinging beautifully to Elise’s high cheekbones.

  “Still, reason and rationality will win the day,” Serena said.

  Her hands were shaking with anger. What right did that woman have to come in here and try to take her man? Macon was hers. He damn straight better be because she was the one he humped like fifteen times a day. She’d been worried she was going to walk funny after his crazy “try it” play session the night before. Had Elise been the one who let him play with a butt plug? Nope. That had been her. Had Elise let him tie her up and torture her with his tongue for what had to be an hour? Definitely not.

  But Serena was right. She had to be calm. “I will talk to him about it after she leaves. Then we can sit down and have a good chat about why she came here.”

  “Oh, I think she came here to try to sleep with your man, Jones,” Big Tag said.

  “Stop,” Jake nagged.

  “Come on. Tell me you don’t want to see what happens when her inner redneck makes an appearance. Ain’t no redneck like a Georgia redneck. Her accent’s already gotten deeper. Look at the way her hands have that slight shake to them. She’s thinking about killing Miss New York,” Taggart explained. “I’m going to lay a hundred on Georgia there.”

  Jake shook his head. “I’d be stupid to take that bet. Ally could take that plastic Barbie doll down in a heartbeat.”

  “She’s not going to because she doesn’t have to,” Serena insisted. “She’s the lady in this scenario and she’s very secure in her relationship.”

  Nope. She really wasn’t. Macon was gorgeous and well educated and he’d come from money. Oh, he might not have a lot of it now, but a man like Macon wouldn’t be down for too long. Wouldn’t he want a sophisticated wife like Elise by his side?

  Elise moved her chair to be closer to him. It didn’t take a lip reader to see she was telling him she was sorry and she thought she deserved a second chance. No. They deserved a second chance. That was the way a woman like Elise would play it.

  Elise reached up and brushed back his hair.

  And Ally was done.

  “Thank god. Go for it, Georgia,” Big Tag said as she strode back over to the table.

  She wasn’t going for anything, but she deserved some respect. “Hi, I’m assuming Macon hasn’t explained things, but I would really appreciate it if you would not touch my boyfriend in such an intimate way.”

  There. That was polite. That wasn’t slamming a fist in her face. It was good. She was a Southern Belle. Not a crazed redneck.

  Macon had turned and one brow arched over his face. “I did mention you, baby. You need to stay calm. You have nothing to be jealous over.”

  Elise rolled her eyes. “You should leave and let me and Macon work this out.” She turned back to Macon, her hand right back over his. “Macon, I forgive you for leading that waitress person on. I understand.”

  “That’s very mature of you,” Macon replied, dragging his hand back. “You should probably stop now.”

  “I blame myself. I was so upset over what happened to you overseas. You lost your leg, Macon. Do you know how hard that was on me?” She reached down and touched his leg and then pulled back, distaste evident.

  “Yeah, that’s the one,” Macon drawled.

  She moved her hand to the whole leg. “I think we should give it another shot.”

  “I am going to shoot you if you don’t get your hand off his leg. Both of them. Don’t you ever touch his stump again, lady. That is mine and I will lose my shit if you put a hand on it.” All of her life she’d been told she had her daddy’s temper. Well, she was going to try really hard not to kill anyone, but she might be fighting a losing a battle.

  Macon turned slightly, his eyes finding hers. “Baby, I really can handle this. Why don’t you go and finish up the Napoleons? They need a glaze. You know how to do that.”

  He’d been teaching her, patiently going over every step and letting her mess up entire batches so she could learn. She was about to nod and go and finish up. When Macon used that tone, he liked to be obeyed. He didn’t use it very often. For the most part, he was incredibly indulgent. He never said a word when she yelled at him to hurry up or moaned about the fact that he left his towels all over the floor. He simply picked them up and apologized and kissed her. So he wasn’t the crazed-Alpha, you-must-obey-me-at-all-costs Dom. And she could be the reasonable, trusting girlfriend.

  She managed to get a few steps toward the kitchen when she turned to look at Macon one last time. She trusted him. She believed in him. If he said he could handle this, then he would.

  That was when Elise smirked her way. “Yes, why don’t you go and finish up in the kitchen while my husband handles me. He handles me quite well.”

  Macon opened his mouth to say something, and that was when Elise leaned over and planted her lips on his.

  “Take it.” Serena pushed an umbrella her way. It had been sitting near the coat rack in the
lobby, so Ally knew her friend had walked back to get it. “Time for reason is over. Kill the bitch.”

  Macon managed to move out of Elise’s arms, but Ally had had enough. It was time to stake her claim and let the Elises of the world understand what happened when she tried to take a Georgia girl’s man.

  Ally held the umbrella like a baseball bat and managed to see Elise through a haze of red mist that seemed to have filtered into the room. “I told you to get your hands off him.”

  Elise finally seemed to give a damn. She jumped back. “Macon, tell your crazy girlfriend to lay off.”

  Macon stood up and sighed. “Yeah, I think we’re past that now. Don’t kill her, baby. Taggart, I’ll take one of those beers. If she can flame out on my ex-wife, I can have a single beer.”

  “Feel free.” Macon could have a six-pack and not scare her. They had moved past that particular trigger. He was probably a very affectionate drunk. “I will take care of this situation.” She focused all her attention on the woman who’d had a hand on her man. “Get out now and don’t you dare come back.”

  Elise took a step toward the lobby. “Macon, you need to protect me.”

  Macon was sitting down with Big Tag and had that long overdue beer in his hand. “I already gave a leg for my country, Elise. I’m all out of protection for anyone I’m not actively fucking. Unfortunately, you’re up against the crazy lady I am screwing on a regular basis, so you’re on your own. Ally, you know we’re going to have a long talk after this is done, right?”

  He was going to require a short period of complete obedience and she would give it to him. She brought the umbrella down on the table right in front of Elise, glorying in the way she jumped.

  “The next time that’s going to be your head,” Ally vowed.

  “You pathetic piece of trash. You can’t keep him,” Elise said with a snarl. She held her handbag up like it was protection. “When he wakes up he’s going to realize he needs a woman with some class, someone he can be proud of.”

  The words cut, but she wasn’t about to let that show to Elise Miles. God, she was jealous. She hated the fact that the woman still had his name. How could he have married this cold woman? Except that Elise was right and he needed someone well bred, someone who could move through society properly.