Welcome to Temptation: A Romantic Comedy Read Online Free PDF

ago,” she added, thinking out loud. She wondered how it could still be so vivid.
    “Sometimes it seems like yesterday,” he said.
    Something slammed against the side of the house, and Michelle jumped as reality closed in with an urgency that made her tremble. The noise heightened, until the whole area sounded like a war zone. Water lapped onto the back porch and seeped under the back door. They tried in vain to mop it up with towels. Mister Ed squawked and flapped his wings while the hound paced the floor nervously. And then, just when Michelle thought she could take no more, the wind and rain stopped and all she could hear was her own frantic heartbeat. All three hurried over to the window and gazed out at the carnage of small trees and limbs and debris. Everything was dead still. She looked at Gator. “Is it over?”
    Gator shook his head. “‘Fraid not, Mic. I think it’s just the eye passing over.”
    She liked the way he said her pet name; it always came out sounding like “Meek.” She remembered a magnolia-scented night when he’d whispered her name in her ear, his breath hot against her cheek. She’d sneaked out with him on a dare. She remembered him pulling her down beside him on his mother’s old-fashioned quilt, a light summer breeze toying with her hair and fanning her body. His usual playful manner had disappeared that night; the teasing was gone. He’d been a man filled with such a passionate need that it had frightened her.
    Suddenly, they were no longer mere teenagers experimenting with touch and feel. The slow burning in Michelle’s lower belly had blazed into something wild and reckless, teetering out of control. It had jolted her to the soles of her feet. No boy had ever made her feel those things. She had run from him, leapt from the blanket and torn through the woods as though the devil himself were after her. She had slipped back into her grandparents’ house soundlessly, but her heart was beating so loud that she’d been half-afraid the walls would come crashing down around her. It would serve her right, she’d told herself over and over. No decent girl would slip out at midnight to be with the likes of Gator Landry.
    That was the last time she’d seen him, and she was almost thankful when her parents had come for her the next day. She’d put the summer and her three-month relationship with Gator Landry behind her. She’d never even told him good bye. But she’d figured it was just as well. Gator probably hated her for running away from him. Or perhaps he’d had a good laugh over it with his friends. She’d vowed not to humiliate herself further where he was concerned.
    Michelle forced her thoughts back to the present. Another few minutes passed in absolute silence before Gator decided to venture outside and have a look around. She followed, wearing rubber knee boots to keep dry. Nothing moved. The air was heavy and oppressive, so thick, Michelle was certain she could chew it. They rounded the house and she gasped, finding a great live oak completely unearthed, lying across the back of her new BMW. Her heart sank.
    “Well, there goes all hope of getting out of here, she said, feeling the sting of tears at her eyes. She and Gator stepped closer to survey the damage.
    He shook his head but tried to sound optimistic. “Good thing it didn’t fall on the front of your car, or it would have crushed your engine.”
    Michelle laughed hollowly. “What does that matter? It’s still a wreck and I just-bought the damn thing.” She was crying now, but she didn’t care. “I special-ordered that color and had to wait two months to get it. All those months of doing without, saving every dime I could get my hands on. Giving up my vacation days,” she added on a heartfelt sob.
    Gator’s gut clinched at the sight of her tears. He could stand anything but a woman’s tears. “Aw, Mic, don’t cry.” He draping one arm over her shoulder. “We’re lucky to be alive. I can get somebody out