Indecent Temptations: Volume 2 (6 page)

I
woke up before Eric. It was more like I was awake next to him almost all night
so around nine in the morning I decided to get up. I walked downstairs to the
kitchen. I was hoping I didn’t run into Granny. I had a feeling she was
becoming less and less fond of me as each day passed.

Nathan
came in the kitchen and he looked excited. “You’re a match,” he said happily.

I
looked at him for a second and forced a smile. I wanted to help Nathan, but
that meant telling Eric and that part scared me. “That’s great. So what happens
next?” I asked quietly.

He
looked a little concerned as he watched me. “Emma if you don’t want to do this…”
he started but I cut him off.

“No
I want to do this. Things have just changed slightly.” It was more like things
had completely changed. Eric said he loved me and I loved him. I had agreed to
stay so that meant in order to donate to Nathan I had to tell Eric about Nathan
being my father.

“What
is it? You seemed so set in your plan,” he said confused.

“He
said he loved me and he asked me to stay,” I said quietly.

Nathan’s
expression softened like he understood. “Do you love him?”

I
nodded. “I think so, but I am afraid if I tell him about everything he won’t
look at me the same way.” The fear was so real I felt like I was struggling to
breathe when I thought about it.

“Emma
if he loves you like he should what you have to tell him won’t matter. It will
shock him and he may be angry, but he will come around,” he said trying to
soothe me.

I
smiled and nodded. “You are right. I will tell him tonight after the charity
ball.”

Nathan
smiled. “Good, they want to do the surgery as soon as possible. I will get
everything scheduled. I do not think he will take it as hard as you think he
will,” he said and smiled reassuringly.

I
nodded and Nathan hurried out to go make plans for the surgery. I got something
to drink then went back upstairs to my room. I showered and dressed. I was
playing scenarios through my head trying to figure out the best way to talk to
Eric.

There
was a light knock on my door and Laura came in. “Hey,” she said and sat down on
my bed.

“Hey
back,” I said and smiled.

“So
do you want to go shopping for a dress? We have that whole charity thing
tonight and we have to wear nice dresses,” she said quietly.

“That
sounds like fun. Let me go tell Eric and I will meet you downstairs,” I said
and smiled.

She
nodded and got up and left. I walked to the library and Eric was gone so I went
to his room. He smiled at me when I walked in. He was wearing nothing but a
towel that was slung low on his hips. I felt my body heat up at the sight of
him. “Laura wants to go shopping for dresses for tonight. We were going to go,
I thought I would let you know,” I said trying not to spend too much time
focused on his body.

He
came over to me and brushed his lips against mine. “Sounds fun, I will see you
later. Pick something that looks good on my floor,” he said amused.

I
smiled and bit my lip. I had to leave before he convinced me to stay. “I’ll see
you later,” I said softly then hurried out.

Laura
and I spent most of the day shopping. It was fun, but I couldn’t completely
focus because I felt like an impending doom was looming over me. I picked a
really pretty deep purple gown. It had a swooping neckline and it looked similar
to the dresses the ancient Greek women wore, but it was more modern. After trying
on twice as many dresses as I did Laura finally settled on a pretty yellow
gown. Staying true to her nature the gown was snug and it revealed as much skin
as possible. Shopping for shoes was even more of an ordeal for Laura. I found
mine after trying about three pairs. I swore Laura tried the entire store
before she settled on a pair of shoes.

After
we finished shopping Laura convinced me to go to the salon to get our hair and
nails done. At first I didn’t like the idea, but after we got there I felt more
at ease. I had my hair curled and pinned up. It would look great with the dress
and shoes I was wearing.

Once
we got home my phone started ringing, it was Eric. It was after seven and the
ball was supposed to start at eight. I knew he was probably calling because we
were running late. “Hello,” I said happily.

“You
two are late. We already left for the ball. I am supposed to be there early. It
is my event, I have to be on time,” he said amused.

“I’m
sorry. We just have to get dressed then we will be there,” I said apologetically.

He
laughed. “It’s fine. I will tell the driver to wait for you. I can’t wait to
see what you are wearing,” he said seductively.

I
felt my cheeks redden at the sound of his voice. “You will like it I promise,”
I said trying to keep my voice steady.

“I
know I will,” he said amused. We said our goodbyes and hung up.

Laura
and I helped each other get into the dresses then we hurried downstairs and got
in the waiting car. I was really enjoying spending time with Laura. It seemed
like every time I felt like I was having fun, my little voice kept reminding me
of what I had to tell Eric.

“Is
something wrong?” Laura asked watching me.

I
looked up at her. I had been lost in my thoughts. “I’m fine,” I said forcing a
smile.

She
didn’t look like she believed me. “Well even if you aren’t you still look hot,
and that is all that matters,” she said happily.

I
laughed. “I really wish looking good would fix every problem.”

She
smiled. “I think it does in a way. It at least decreases you problems for the
most part.”

I
smiled and shook my head. I looked out the window and watched the scenery go
by. I was so nervous. I wasn’t sure what I was going to say to Eric. I had kept
playing scenarios through my head, but I couldn’t find the right way to tell
him.

Once
we arrived at the house there were valets helping women out of cars. The party
was being held at a historic mansion. It was really a beautiful place. Laura
and I followed the crowd into the mansion.

Someone
tapped me on the shoulder and I turned to see who it was. It was Granny. The
sight of her made my mood take a nosedive. “Emma, I was wondering if I could
speak with you alone,” she said sounding nicer than I expected.

I
glanced at Laura and she shrugged. I nodded and followed Granny out of the
crowd and too a private room. She shut the door and turned and smiled at me.
She seemed like she was in a better mood then she should have been in. “I just
wanted to apologize for everything I have said. I trust my son to make good
judgments. He will make the right decisions I am sure of it. I was just worried
that he wouldn’t judge you properly because you are so pretty and smart.”

She
seemed so nice it bothered me a little. “I’m not mad at you. I accept your
apology,” I said quietly.

She
smiled and nodded. She hugged me and laughed. “I am so glad. Sometimes I just
get a little over protective of Laura and Eric. After Alice died Eric seemed so
lost and I was so worried about him for so long. I am just glad he is getting
back out there and taking a risk.”

I
wasn’t sure what to say to her. I didn’t understand why she was suddenly
playing nice. Maybe Eric had gotten through to her. I was just glad she wasn’t
running around saying hateful things anymore. I had enough to worry about. I
didn’t need to worry about her embarrassing me or Eric in front of the whole
party. “I’m glad he is to,” I said nervously.

She
grinned. “Well we shouldn’t keep them waiting. There is so much going on this
evening. It should be fun.”

I
watched her confused as she turned and walked out. I tried to shake the bad
feelings off as I followed her back out to the main room. She hurried off one
way and I scanned the room looking for Eric. I spotted Laura so I went over to her.
She looked at me and smiled. “Well you are still in one piece. I take it Granny
was nice?”

I
laughed. “She was so nice it scared me. Have you seen Eric?” I asked looking
around.

She
shook her head. “He is usually in the back making sure everything goes as
planned until the party really gets going. You know doing the whole host thing,”
she said dryly.

I
stood with Laura for a while. I thought he would be looking for me, but I
couldn’t see him. Laura ran off with her friends so I walked the outside edge
of the ballroom looking for Eric. I spotted him across the ballroom. He was in
a tuxedo and he looked good, it was hard to miss him. He locked eyes with me
and he came toward me. Something about the way he looked and moved worried me. He
seemed annoyed, but he attempted to smile as he passed people he knew.

He
came to a stop in front of me and he looked a little hostile. “Is something
wrong Eric?” I asked worried. He seemed like he was having a bad night. I wanted
him to have a good night so when I talked to him it wouldn’t be as bad.

He
smiled tightly and it didn’t go to his eyes. “You know the usual. I love
dealing with fake people and liars.” The way he said it and looked at me made
me feel like he was directing his comment at me.

“What
are you talking about?” I asked confused.

“I
am sure you will figure it out,” he growled and shoved a folded up piece of
paper into my hands then walked off.

I
looked at it confused. I opened it quickly and scanned the letter. I felt
myself go pale. It was a letter to Nathan from social services. It was a request
for him to take custody of me when I was fourteen. I had no idea how he even
managed to get a hold of it. I looked up and looked around for Eric. I had
explain to him before he came to his own conclusions. My eyes locked with
Granny’s. She was standing with Beth and they were smiling like they knew
exactly what was going on.

Stay
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