Sweet Temptation by Cora Reilly

It was cold but sunny when we arrived at the beach house on Friday afternoon.
Cassio had gotten Daniele’s present, which surprised me. My mother had always
taken care of buying us things, but I was glad that he was trying to be involved
with his kids.
After we settled in, I began assembling the ingredients for the birthday cake.
Cassio scanned the display as he came up behind me. He was dressed in chinos
that accentuated his long muscular legs, and his sweater did nothing to hide his
broad chest. His aftershave, a spicy scent that always filled me with astonishing
warmth, reached my nose, and I had to resist the urge to lean back into him. So
far, we hadn’t shared any kind of intimacy in front of the kids, and I wouldn’t
initiate anything.
“What’s all this for?” Cassio asked. With his body shielding me, he brushed
his hand along my side, coming to rest on my hip for a brief squeeze, before he
stepped back.
“A funfetti rainbow cake.”
I could see his confusion. Before doing online research, I hadn’t known such
a cake either. I smiled. “You’ll see.” Daniele hovered in front of the terrace door,
peering out toward the beach. Loulou sat beside him, her gaze locked on the
seagulls roaming the sky. “Maybe you can take a walk on the beach with him, so
he doesn’t see his cake before tomorrow?”
Cassio’s dark brows snapped together. “I can try.”
Simona crawled toward us then, using my leg to pull herself up. After her
initial suspicion toward me, she now barely left my side. “I didn’t think Daniele
and Simona would take to you so quickly.”
“I suppose it’s an advantage they’re so young.” Too young to really
understand what had happened, especially Simona.
“Yeah.” Cassio regarded Daniele.
“Why don’t you take Loulou with you?”
Cassio’s expression morphed to reluctance at once.
“Hear me out,” I said before he could argue. “Daniele loves her. If Loulou
trusts you, maybe Daniele will too. I think it’s why he started trusting me.”
“That dog won’t let me anywhere near it. It’s a miracle the thing stopped
snapping at me.”
Lifting Simona up, who kept tugging on my skirt, I faced Cassio. He peered
down at me and his daughter, and his expression became softer. “You could start
by calling it Loulou. Give it a try. Please.”
He frowned, shaking his head, then leaned down and kissed me, catching me
by surprise. Simona made grabby hands for his chin, and he snatched her fingers
up with his mouth, causing her to giggle. When he pulled back, my gaze found
Daniele, but he still stood with his nose practically touching the window. “All
right. But won’t Loulou run off once she’s outside with me?”
“She might. Keep her on a leash.”
I grabbed the leash on the way to the window front. Cassio followed close
behind. It was strange seeing a man as tough and as used to ruling over fellow