Page 109 of King of Temptation

“Must run in the family,” Goldie muttered, glancing over at the spot where Brody had been standing before he’d gone off to get her the break she knew she needed even if she wasn’t ready to admit it.

Smirking, Reagan reached into the large bag on her shoulder and pulled out a white box. “It does, a fact you should both keep in mind. But for now, we have presents.”

Goldie blinked down at the box. “This is for me?”

It wasn’t like it was unusual for people to bring her gifts, she just hadn’t been expecting one from her possible cousins-in-law-to-be. Taking the white box from Reagan’s hand, she opened the lid.

And let out her second squeal of the day.

“You bought me a tiara?” Grabbing the glittering gold-and-pink crown from its nest of tissue paper, Goldie shoved the box toward Zoe who had materialized seemingly out of nowhere at the exact moment she needed her—as she often did—and placed the tiara on her head. “I need a mirror!”

Before the words even left Goldie’s mouth, Zoe had her phone up and flipped to selfie mode so Goldie could see her newest accessory. Tears welled in Goldie’s eyes as she turned her head side to side, admiring her “reflection”.

“It’s gorgeous. Thank you guys so much.”

But when she reached up to remove it, Reagan swatted lightly at her hands. “We bought it for you to wear, brat. Where are the pins for it?”

“Got them!” Aria held up a small baggie of Bobby pins in triumph.

“Oh, that’s so nice of you guys, but I can’t wear a tiara to a book signing.”

“Sure you can,” Zoe chirped, still holding her phone up but now it was facing the opposite direction and Goldie was pretty sure she was taking a video. “It’s all the rage on social media right now for authors. I’m actually shocked this is your first one.”

Reagan’s ever-present smirk somehow turned even more smug. “I like her.”

“Well that’s good because she’s the one I was telling your brother about. Zoe, meet Reagan O’Rourke. Reagan, this is my friend and the keeper of my sanity, Zoe.”

If Zoe was at all shocked by the last name, she did a damn good job of hiding it. Her smile only brightened as she looked over at Reagan. “Hi! You are fucking stunning. And I love this whole nineteen-twenties-mobster thing you have going on with the outfit.”

Before Reagan could do more than blink at Zoe, the husband half of the husband-and-wife team who owned the bookstore stepped in front of Goldie’s table and clapped his hands. “All right, folks, we’re taking a ten-minute break to let Goldie here get something to eat and rest her hand a bit. Alice will be around with some snacks for everyone, so if you could just sit tight, we’ll be right back.”

Sounds of disappointment rose from the remaining readers, but she didn’t have any time to feel too guilty about it before a hand cupped her elbow, leading her toward a back room. A small table had been set up with a variety of snacks, along with a cold bottle of soda.

“Sit.”

Without giving her a chance to argue, Brody clamped a hand on her shoulder and pushed Goldie down into a chair. Again she was left with those warring feelings of gratitude and annoyance at his bossy ways, and she glared up at him from her seat. “I’ve been sitting all morning.”

Brody snorted. “The fuck you have. You’ve been up and down all morning like a goddamn Jack In The Box.”

“Because that’s my job.”

Leaning down, he placed one hand on the table and the other on the back of her chair, very neatly boxing her in, their noses practically touching. “And it’s my job to make sure you don’t run yourself into the goddamn ground doing your job. So you can either sit here and eat the very nice snacks the owners have laid out for you, or you can spend your ten-minute break being reminded what it means to be Daddy’s good girl. What’s it going to be, menace?”

There was a not insignificant part of her that was tempted to put his threat to the test. Would he spank her where so many people could potentially hear him? Or did he have something more devious in mind?

It was the unknown of it all that decided it for her. Huffing out her annoyance, she reached for a mini hot dog wrapped in some kind of pastry and popped it into her mouth. “Happy?” She asked around the food, earning her a shockingly wide smile from the man still hovering over her.

“I’m with you, menace. So yeah, I’m happy. But you’re still getting your ass spanked for talking with your mouth full.”

Worth it.

Smirking up at him, she reached for another little appetizer just as the door to the back room flew open and Zoe filled the space, her eyes snapping with excitement. “You.” She pointed at Brody, then jerked her thumb over her shoulder. “Out.”

“Excuse me?”

Anyone else, Goldie included, would have frozen at the ice coating Brody’s voice. But Zoe only planted a hand on her hip, cocked a brow, and stared him down. “You heard me. I need a moment with my client.”

“Anything you need to say to her, you can say in front of me.”