Entice - By Ella Frank Page 0,123

she watched through a rapidly swelling eye while her father punched Ben repeatedly in the gut and a few times in the face. Ben pulled himself to his feet and ran from the house, yelling about what a bitch she was and how she had to have Daddy save her.

Her father crouched down in front of her, reaching out to gently cup her cheek.

“What are you doing, baby girl? This is not love.”

Rachel looked up at him, seeing the grim line of his mouth and the same dark hair Mason had inherited, falling forward.

“No man should ever hit you, Rach. Not ever.”

He reached down and pulled her to her feet. Wrapping a solid arm around her waist, he helped her stagger to the sink, wetting a paper towel to dab at the cut on her cheek.

With a quivering lip, Rachel blinked up at him with tears in her eyes.

“Please don’t tell Mase or Mom.”

Her father held her in his arms and softly spoke into her ear. “I won’t as long as you don’t tell them I beat the shit out of him.”

Chuckling a little at that, she kissed his cheek and whispered, “I promise.”

Chapter One

Present…

December

Rachel stood in the far corner of Precious Petals, leaning against the handle of the broom she’d been using only minutes before.

Sighing, she reached up to run a hand through her thick black hair—hair that had been tipped electric blue for the moment.

Lately, memories of her father had become harder and more difficult to bear. She knew it had a lot to do with the fact that her and Mason had recently lost their mom, but the pain of losing both parents before she’d even accomplished…well, anything…was almost too much to take.

Rachel knew that Mason would have killed her if he’d ever heard her talk that way. He would’ve been the first to point out the acclaim she now had as a pastry chef, largely due to her famous and good-looking brother and his restaurant. Oh, sorry, our restaurant.

Not to mention, she had also taken over the flower shop.

During those first few months after their mother had passed, every time Mason had tried to come into Precious Petals, he hadn’t been able to do it. Because of her connection with their mom, Lena had been the next person they had all thought of to take over the shop, but that had been nearly impossible since she was a pediatrician down at University Hospital.

So, the task had fallen to her. While she loved the store, she couldn’t help but feel the loss of her parents more and more every day.

Glancing up at the clock, she noticed she was running late. Shit, she thought, moving over to the bench where Tulip was stretched out on her side, her paw hanging down lazily like a panther in a tree. The lethargic kitty opened her eyes at the sudden movement.

“Oh, don’t you move a single piece of fur, okay? I’ve got this.”

Untying the apron strings from around her waist, she smiled as the cat sat up, offering a huge yawn as though she had been working all day. Placing the apron down beside the watchful feline, Rachel reached out to scratch her furry head.

Tulip had shown up at the back door of the shop every day, just as Rachel had after her mom had passed. She would sit out behind the store and meow, almost like a mournful cry, until one day Rachel had relented and opened the door. From that day on, Rachel had owned a white cat with mottled brown ears named Tulip—or maybe she should say that they owned each other.

Rushing around the counter, Rachel grabbed the Hessian bag she’d thrown down there earlier this morning, and then she made her way out the front door, jingling the bells overhead.

Turning to lock up, she reminded herself of how much her mother had loved this place. Lately, it had felt like the memory was becoming too much to handle, and she wasn’t sure she could continue burning both ends of the candle. She spent days at the store, and then nights at Exquisite. She was tired and starting to feel burnt out.

Recently, she’d been running the scenario through her head to hire some help, but she’d yet to mention it to her brother. He was busy enough these days with the restaurant and his recent marriage. He didn’t need her whining in his ear.

No.This is something I can work out on my own, she thought. She turned and