Sweet Temptation by Cora Reilly

I held the hat out to her, and she took it with a sweet smile. “Quick reflexes
are required to survive if you have as many enemies as I do. But I don’t know
why I caught this thing. It’s ugly.” Giulia had once more chosen an outfit I
decidedly hadn’t chosen for her. Cowboy boots, black shorts with suspenders, a
bright pink sweater, and an oversized coat that would have fit me as well. It was
a fashion nightmare.
Worry tightened her face, her hand frozen on the door. “How many attempts
at your life have you survived?”
I tried to remember. It was difficult to say. There had been so many. Only a
couple had gotten close.
Giulia shook her head. “Never mind, if you have to think about it this long, I
probably don’t want to know. Just promise to be careful, okay?”
I walked around the car and opened the back door then lifted Simona out.
Giulia and I had already fallen in a sort of routine where my children were
concerned. She handled Daniele and I handled Simona. It made our life easier,
even if it turned my heart to ice that my son refused to be close to me.
“Can you take Loulou’s transport crate?”
I took it from the trunk. Giulia had insisted we take the dog with us, even if
I’d have preferred to let Sybil watch it. Refusing Giulia was more difficult than it
should have been.
Pressing Simona protectively to my chest to shield her from the cold, I led
Giulia toward the front door. She had trouble carrying Daniele on her hip. Even
though he was a thin boy, he was tall for his age and Giulia was petite. It would
have made more sense for me to carry him.
She set him down the moment we were inside and looked around in wonder.
The interior, like the outside of the house, was white. The back of the house
facing the beach was almost entirely made of glass windows, giving views of the
dunes and ocean. The marram grass bowed down under the force of nature, and
dark clouds hung low over the water. Even on tumultuous days like this, the
white of the furniture illuminated the house without electricity.
Giulia rushed toward the windows, peering out. Her eyes drifted to the left
where a swing swayed gently in the wind. The porch protected it from rain. She
reached for the handle.
I set down the dog crate then carried Simona over to her white cradle. She
was still sound asleep. “It’s too stormy. We can go outside tomorrow.”
Giulia pouted, looking like the teenager I tried to pretend she wasn’t.
Sometimes I managed to forget, especially when she handled the kids and in bed,
but I wasn’t always successful.
Daniele stood beside her. She held out her hand, and he took it. I froze, my
heart squeezing a little tighter. With a smile, she led him toward the crate and
released the dog. It creeped out slowly, looking around.
“If it pees on the white carpets, it’ll sleep outside.”
Giulia rolled her eyes as if she thought I was joking.
The dog began to sniff everything. At least, it didn’t attack my pant legs