Flirting with Temptation - By Kelley St. John Page 0,1

Women Don’t Wear Size 2

To Catch a Cheat

To Linda Howard.

You’re the most amazing writer on the planet,

and you’re an even more amazing friend.

Thanks for everything, always.

—Kelley

Acknowledgments

My thanks and appreciation to:

Beth de Guzman and Frances Jalet-Miller, for editing

during the initial stages of

Flirting with Temptation;

Selina McLemore, for really understanding

Jeff and Babette’s unique relationship

and providing the editorial guidance

to make their story shine;

and Caren Johnson, my incredible agent.

Chapter 1

Babette Robinson’s breath caught, her stomach knotted, and her heart did that whole shall-I-keep-beating-or-shall-I-stop thing when Ethan Eubanks glanced across the reception hall, held up his glass of champagne and smiled toward her table. He was smiling at his wife, Babette’s sister, but that didn’t matter. Babette simply couldn’t control the typical response to seeing him, not because she had any feelings for Ethan that way, but because he was the spitting image of his twin, and whether she liked it or not, she always had some form of Jeff’s image tickling the back of her brain. It was such a nice image, after all. And seeing Ethan brought it right up front and center.

Sandy blond hair, turquoise eyes, sexy smirk. Jeff’s skin was more golden, due to his full-time beach residence, but other than that, the two were identical. Either one of them could double for Jude Law and totally be convincing. But it wasn’t Jude that Babette saw when she looked at her brother-in-law; it was Jeff. And her current vision of Jeff had him in the buff.

Again, not a bad image.

“Hellloooo. Earth to Babette, and a gentle reminder—that’s Ethan,” Clarise said, leaning forward and snapping her fingers in front of Babette’s face.

“Trust me, I know.”

“Yet you still see Jeff when you look at him. You realize that it’s somewhat uncomfortable to watch my sister’s eyes glaze over every time she looks at my husband.”

“Right. Sorry.”

“I realize that I should take it easy on you, since it’s your birthday,” Clarise said, “but I’d like you to at least attempt to remember which brother is attending Richard and Genie’s wedding.”

“Jeff should be here,” Babette mumbled against her glass, then sipped more champagne. “Richard is his friend, and Jeff was with me when I first realized that he still loved Genie. It’s because of us that they worked things out last year, and that now they’re married.”

“Exactly what did Jeff have to do with it?” Clarise took a bite of the chocolate groom’s cake, then hummed her contentment. “Sure, he introduced you to his friends, but you’re the one who made it your mission to learn the story behind the tension between them and get them back together.”

“Well, I wouldn’t have met them without Jeff, now would I?”

Clarise swallowed another bite of cake, smirked. “Jeff has been swamped with work lately. Plus, it isn’t like he lives right down the street. It’s a six-hour drive from Destin to Birmingham.”

“His family owns the company. He can take off when he wants, and you know it. And I know how far it is.” She’d driven it, plenty of times, when she’d visited him at his condo on the beach. Visited. Such a light word for everything they experienced in that condo, and on that beach, for that matter.

“For someone who hasn’t even spoken to him in months, you seem mighty disappointed that he didn’t show. And you’ve hardly spent any time at all with your gorgeous date.” Clarise scanned the reception hall. “Where is he, anyway?”

“Probably with Jesilyn.”

“With Jesilyn?” Clarise’s brows hitched beneath her bangs. Jesilyn was one of their dearest friends. Babette had spotted the sparks between her and Robbie immediately, so she left them alone. Or rather, she’d nudged them along. Didn’t matter that he’d come with Babette; she’d only brought him on the off-chance of making Jeff jealous anyway.

“Yes, with Jesilyn,” Babette said dismissively. “And that’s fine. Now, what were we talking about, again?” She knew, of course, but she didn’t want to be the one to bring Jeff back up. And she also knew that Clarise wouldn’t disappoint.

“We were talking about my brother-in-law,” Clarise answered. “You’ve hardly mentioned him since your split in the summer, and suddenly you can’t stop talking about him. Wouldn’t have anything to do with that announcement in the society section of today’s paper, would it?”

“Announcement?” Babette turned her eyes toward the dance floor and wished that the band would start back up. The current lull in music wasn’t affording her any opportunity to feign more interest in the dancing than the conversation.

“Nice try, sis,” Clarise said, and Babette glanced