Chasing Temptation by Payton Lane Page A

why. The why had left its scars on him years before he even met Sylvia. It had forced him to make student loans that at one point in time he couldn't imagine paying back. It had made him the man he was today. Lynne wouldn't be able to sum up his why in fifty words or less.
    Christ, he was thinking about her again.
    “Sylvia, you've been working for me for a long time.”
    “Eight years,” she replied stoically. “Who's counting?”
    The caveat forced him to stop pacing. Something had been off about her since they came to town. “Is there something you want to tell me?”
    Fear. The kind of expression one sees on the faces of actors in scary movies crossed her face, except hers was authentic. “Nothing.”
    She wouldn't lie to him. He brushed off the thought before it took root. She didn't share, much, about her personal life It was the type of relationship he liked, but she wouldn’t lie to his face.
    “I think we need to get to know the locals here. They seem to be loyal to Lynne.”
    “She's lived here for quite some time.” Her tone still held a hesitance.
    He finally sat down across from her in one of the wooden kitchen chairs. “That presents a problem, but nothing we haven't dealt with before.”
    “True.”
    He heard the question in her answer. “But?” he asked.
    “Ms. Kelley has a vested interest in not selling the store. An interest that goes beyond dollar value and that automatically presents an underlying problem.”
    Who was she telling? “That's what this impromptu meeting is for. To figure out ways around her reasons. Get her to sell.”
    And, so finally, I can go home.
    “Where do you want to start?”
    The knot in his stomach loosened. He could do this. He'd done it a hundred times before.
    He gestured to the file, sitting next to Sylvia. “Let's look at the numbers again.”
    After Nate spoke the words, the panic receded. The motions of tried and true methods eased any left over fears. His technique wouldn't fail him now. He wouldn't let it.
    *****
    Considerably tense, Lynne concentrated on trying not to kill Jeremy. He approached another customer, a spring in his step and a smile on his face.
    Lynne couldn't take it. Standing at the counter, with a pile of clothes that needed to be re-folded, she called him over.
    He excused himself and approached the counter. “Hey, Lynne,” he said, just chipper and perky.
    She leaned forward, lowering her voice so only he could hear. “You have got to stop with this chipper act.”
    The smile faltered, and instantly Lynne realized she'd gone over to the dark side, sucking joy from anyone around her, but today she couldn't help it. The night before, it wasn't until she got to the hardware store that she remembered where she lived.
    Purchasing a super showerhead and being a single woman in a small town was not a good thing to do if she wanted to quell any rumors. Needing a super showerhead after spending most of the day with Nathan at her side...an even worse thing to do. She rubbed her temple, cleared her throat and tried again.
    “Ignore me.”
    She turned around and headed for the back door. The old craving for nicotine hit her. She sunk her nails into her palms. It had been almost ten years since she chucked the expensive, death-ridden habit. Man, only deep-seated, in-the-bottom-of-her-gut stress made her crave.
    The door shut with a clang behind her. Closing her eyes, she searched for inner peace. Lynne tried not to snicker at the phrase center your inner chi , but, regardless, the phrase helped her find equilibrium.
    Lynne opened her eyes and looked down the back alley to her left. Rows of other buildings on both sides framed the short back street. Large trash bins cluttered most of the space. But only one thing drew her gaze. One man really.
    Unsure if she was holding her breath or couldn't breathe, Lynne decided there had to be a special place in hell for Nathan Craine . If he wasn’t Satan himself, then he was a right-hand man.
    The muscles