Temptation on Ocean Drive - Jennifer Probst Page 0,18
the way. But Avery let out a loud laugh and shook her head. “I love it. You think Gabe’s dangerous.”
Bella sighed with impatience. “You know what I mean! I’m trying to be truthful here.”
“I wonder if you are,” she murmured under her breath, pacing the room. “Listen, babe, I understand you’re nervous about getting Zoe the care she needs while taking on a last-minute critical wedding. But now that I know you’re comfortable working with Gabe, I think you need to do this for yourself, and the company.”
“You’ll be better at it,” she said. “Why don’t you take my place?”
“Because Adele specifically asked for you and Gabe. Your work on the Royal wedding is what closed the deal. Bella, don’t you realize how talented you are? This business wouldn’t be half as successful without you. I think it’s time you grab this opportunity to be creative and think big and show how really fabulous you are. I know it will be hard, but I promise we’ll be there for you and Zoe.”
Bella took a deep breath, considering her sister’s words. She was needed. And wanted. How could she say no to something that was this important to Avery? She’d be able to bring in a financial buffer for the business, and maybe prove to herself she could do this job just as well as her sisters. Wasn’t it time to challenge herself and step out of her usual safe boundaries? Yes, the question that spilled from Gabe’s sensual lips still haunted her, but she’d just be her usual focused self, and soon they’d both forget about the incident.
Avery narrowed her gaze, suddenly intent. “And as for Gabe, I think you’re wrong. But I’m not about to try and argue with you or change your opinion. That will have to come from you.”
The words had a strange foreboding, and a shiver raced down her spine. “This is important to you?” she asked softly.
Avery smiled, crossing the room and squeezing her hands. “I think it’s important for all of us. Will you do it?”
Bella knew in that moment she had no choice. “Yes.”
“Then let’s get Gabe in here so you can get to work.”
Chapter Five
“Mama, can I stay up a bit longer?”
Bella took in her daughter’s big puppy-dog eyes and tried not to laugh. Zoe was snuggled under the blankets on the couch, watching TV.
“Nope. You have a spelling test tomorrow and need all your brain cells sharp. Why? What’s on?”
Zoe sighed with deep mourning. “Scooby-Doo on Zombie Island.”
“Oh, that’s my favorite! But it’s spooky. Have you seen it before?”
“No, but my friend Zane said it’s really scary and that I’d love it. He wants to be a zombie for Halloween. What should I be?”
“Well, we have a while before we need to decide. Tell you what—how about we record it and watch it together this weekend?”
“Yes!”
Bella set up the recording and Zoe scrambled out of her blanket fort.
“Go brush your teeth and I’ll come tuck you in.”
“Mama, can we get a dog? You said when it’s something important to both of us, we can discuss it, and I don’t think it’s fair you just say no all the time.”
A mix of humor and tiredness washed over her. Zoe loved to ask a million questions and delve into deep subjects right before bed.
She began straightening up, folding blankets and throwing away the leftover cups her daughter left behind in a constant trail. “No, we can’t get a dog, because it’s too much responsibility for me right now, but yes, we can discuss big things together.”
“I’m big now. I can take care of it.” She heard the water running in the background. “It can sleep with me.”
“You’re forgetting all the hard stuff I’ll be stuck with. Like walking the dog at five thirty in the morning, or late at night, or cleaning up all the poop.”
In between brushing, her daughter’s mumbles floated down the hall. “Aunt TT can help since she lives with us.”
That idea made Bella hoot with laughter. She shared a two-family home with her sister to save on the mortgage, but Taylor was fierce with her privacy, and had made it well known she wouldn’t be sharing her space with anything covered in fur. “Aunt TT prefers fish over dogs.”
“Ugh, fish are boring!”
As Zoe went on to back up her case for a dog they’d never get, Bella heard her phone buzz. She picked it up from the table and read the text from Gabe.