Page 14 of No Darker Temptation

I tilt my head. “What a lovely ceiling you have.”

A beat passes before her mass of red waves comes into view. “Oh crap. Hold on, I’m watering the plants.”

She sets her phone up somewhere but the second she turns around, it slides out of place. Instead of capturing her from the shoulders up, the camera focuses on the curve of her backside under her T-shirt as she lifts to the tips of her toes and waters a plant somewhere she can’t reach.

“Nice view.”

“I know right?” she says. “The front of the apartment gets the best lighting, especially when the sun rises.”

A silent rumble of laughter rolls through me and she continues to tiptoe across the apartment, watering plants and showing off the edges of her soft pink underwear. Eventually she makes her way back to wherever she left her phone and gasps, scooping it up. “You perv! Why didn’t you say anything?”

“I did. I said I was enjoying the view.”

She makes a face and sets the phone down by the windowsill. Unfortunately, no more glimpses at her backside but she looks absolutely resplendent in the daylight. I hardly register a word that comes out of her mouth.

“Well?” she lifts a brow at me expectantly.

I scramble to remember what she said. “Sorry, I’m in the villa. The wifi hasn’t been working, I think you got cut off.”

Her smile warms me to the marrow of my bones. “It’s all right. I asked if you had any plans for the holidays coming up…” She hesitates. “Do you celebrate Thanksgiving?”

“Depends. It was a bigger event when Mom was still around but the tradition has faded over time. Technically, she was the only American in the family and without her, there was never any real reason to celebrate.”

I can’t believe how quickly time is passing. It’s already the end of the month and in the blink of an eye, it’ll be December.

“Well, I fully intend on stuffing my face with pumpkin pie and store-bought turkey.”

“You won’t spend the holiday with Karina?”

She gives a non-committal shrug. “Brent and his family are insisting on hosting this year since it’s so close to the wedding and they want to bring everyone together. I’m not crazy about spending the holiday with them in Jersey, nor am I interested in inviting myself. I’ll die from the embarrassment.”

“That’s too bad. If you were here, we’d have done Thanksgiving for you.”

She gives me a playful smile. “You sound eager to have me back.”

“I am,” I say, the candor in my voice surprising even me.

Dahlia pauses and sets down the plant she was tending to. An uncomfortable silence lingers between us and I nearly regret admitting as much when she says, “I wish I was there, too.”

Neither of us is brave enough to make eye contact with the camera. She returns to her plants and I pretend to scribble something in my planner. Water runs and the stove flickers to life as she puts the kettle to boil.

“We should probably discuss it,” I say. “What would happen if you decided to come back.”

Her entire body deflates with relief. “Can we? I couldn’t figure out a way to bring it up.”

“Of course. Where do you want to start?”

Dahlia pours herself a cup of tea and takes it with her out onto the fire escape. She sits in a fold-up metal chair and beside her are a bunch of empty crates piled high to create a makeshift side table upon which an old radio rests. With crossed legs, she sits back to enjoy her tea, the phone probably resting on a ledge somewhere because I can see her clearly from the knees up.

“I suppose first thing on the list is living arrangements.” She stares into her cup and tendrils of steam engulf her face. “I’d need help finding an apartment.”

“Don’t be ridiculous. You’ll live with me.”

She smirks into her teacup but doesn’t look up. Realizing my mistake, I rush to correct myself.

“Unless, of course, you wanted your own space. In which case, you could pick whatever you want nearby and I’ll set you up there.”

“Set me up?” She reaches down somewhere I can’t see and throws a heavy knitted blanket over her long, beautiful legs. “I don’t like the way that sounds.”