Page 105 of King of Temptation

“Apologize for having feelings again and you’ll be holding wall squats for an hour.”

Bottom lip puffing out in a ridiculously adorable pout, she looked up at him through her lashes. “Meanie.”

Now that the crisis had seemingly passed, he could laugh, and he did so as he leaned in to brush a kiss over her lips. “You love it when I’m mean.”

“Maybe a little.”

“Mmhmm. Now, tell me what needs to be done for this signing. Where is it?” It wouldn’t be ideal for him to be out of the city right now, but no way in hell was he letting his little menace roam the country without him. Killian would just have to deal.

“In town. My next big event I have to travel for isn’t until…” Closing her eyes, she scrunched up her nose as she thought. “September, I think. Down in Florida. Normally I have a lot more but I needed a year off, so I decided to stay as close to home as possible and⁠—”

“We're getting off into the weeds a bit, menace.” And while it was absolutely fucking adorable watching her wander, he needed her to focus. “So we don’t need to worry about travel. What do we need?”

“I don’t know,” she answered with a strained laugh. “Zoe. I need Zoe.”

“The woman who runs your social media?”

“Yes. She travels even more than I do, but she grew up here so she helps me out at my local events whenever she’s in town. God, I hope she’s in town.”

“Let’s start there, then. Call Zoe while I finish breakfast. If she’s not available, see if she can make me a list and I’ll step in for her.”

He had to fight back a laugh as she stood stock still, staring at him like he’d grown three heads. “You want to be my assistant?”

“If that’s what you need, yes.”

“Okay.” Raking a hand through her short strands, she blew out a breath. “Okay. I’ll go call Zoe.”

“Good girl. I’ll have breakfast ready when you’re done.”

“Okay.” She started to turn, then seemed to change her mind, whirling back around to rise up on her tiptoes and press a kiss to his cheek. “Thank you, Daddy.”

“You’re welcome, menace. Now go, before I decide you need some motivation to do as you’re told.”

Flashing him a sassy grin, she turned and headed for the den, swiping at her phone as she walked. “Zoe? Oh, thank god.”

Satisfied his babygirl was taken care of for the time being, Brody pulled his own phone from his pocket and hit a familiar button.

“Kill? I need a favor.”

Goldie

* * *

Relief knocked some of the pressure in her chest loose as the face of her social media manager-slash-occasional assistant filled the screen. “Let me guess,” Zoe said, a smirk curving her red-slicked lips as the pale green of her eyes danced with amusement. “You forgot about your signing?”

“You know, a couple hundred years ago they would have burned you as a witch for being that insightful.”

Zoe’s grin widened. “I wear that knowledge as a badge of honor. But not to worry, you're all set. The bookstore has all your books, and they’re very excited to see you. I still have a whole box of swag from your last few events and I’ve been posting to your socials since you’ve been mysteriously MIA the past few weeks.”

Guilt stabbed at Goldie, making her wince with it. “I know. It’s… too much to explain right now. When things calm down a bit, I’ll buy you dinner and tell you everything.”

Zoe frowned. “You seem more high-strung than usual. Which I didn’t think was possible. Everything okay? Wait.” Eyes narrowing, she leaned in closer to the screen. “That’s not your apartment. Where are you?”

“Ah…”

“Oh my god! Did you finally meet a guy? Who is it? Can I meet him?”

It was difficult to feel stressed with Zoe around, which was one of the things Goldie loved most about her. “Yes. His name is Brody. And maybe.”