Fall Into Temptation (Blue Moon Book #2)(86)

“But Beckett, we were just following your lead. Getting Paul and Gia back together. It’s what you wanted,” Ellery said, her dark eyes wide and sad. She looked like a kicked puppy and Beckett felt like the victim of an elephant stampede.

He glanced at the whiteboard again. Within the bounds of a red heart the numbers 27-0 were written. The Beautification Committee’s record of wins in love. They had never failed in a match. Why did he want them to fail this time? This was the right thing, wasn’t it?

He backed out into the hallway, shutting the door with a click, without another word and missed the satisfied grins around the table.



Beckett left the library under a cloud of doom. With the involvement of the B.C. it was only a matter of time before Gia and Paul were remarried and working on baby number three. Most likely in his backyard.

He wanted to throw up.

But it was what he wanted or at least what was right — wasn’t it? Then why did he feel like shit? And how had he not known that Ellery was a member of the B.C.?

Maizie at Peace of Pizza told him it would be another couple of minutes and rather than wait inside with people, he chose to head across the street to the solitude of the park. If he stayed on this end of it, he wouldn’t get too close to the yoga studio, wouldn’t witness Paul doing some flying swan handstand pose or something equally awesome.

He was just stepping up onto the curb when a little flash of red flew at him. “Bucket!”

Aurora, bundled up in a purple coat, launched herself at him. Without thinking, he swooped her up and held her high until she giggled.

“I missed you, Bucket!” she said, when he settled her on his hip. “Mama says you’re busy.”

He felt a pang of guilt. “I’m sorry, shortcake. I miss you, too.”

She had little pink mittens on her hands and her ponytail was askew. “I’m hungry, Bucket. Can I have a snack?”

Beckett wished with all his might that he had a snack squirreled away in a pocket to give her. “Sorry, kiddo. I don’t have anything with me.”

Her face fell, hungry devastation.

“Where’s your mom?” he asked, realizing that a panicked Gianna should have come running by now.

“She’s at da school wiv Evan for somethin’.”

“Did you run away from the school?” Beckett was already digging for his phone before realizing it was still at home.

“No! Silly!” she giggled. “I’m wiv Daddy.”

“Okay, then where’s Daddy?” Beckett asked. Darkness was starting to fall and the park, even in Blue Moon it was no place for a five-year-old by herself.

“I dunno. His phone rang and he says ‘Rora, you hang out here!’” she said in a deep voice. “So I hopped, hopped, hopped on one foot, but I think I hopped too far. Can I go home wiv you?”

Beckett wanted that more than anything. “How about we find your dad first and then we’ll figure it out, okay?”

Aurora sighed. “Okay. Thanks for finding me, Bucket.” She patted his shoulder. She stared at him cocking her head from one side to the other. “I like your face blanket,” she said, bringing her mittens to his cheeks. “Scratchy!”

Face blanket? God love this kid. He hugged her a little tighter to him.

Five long minutes later, during which Beckett began to wonder if Aurora had been abandoned, they spotted Paul pacing in front of a park bench having an animated phone conversation.

He paused when he spotted them and raised a hand that held a cigarette in greeting. “Yeah, yeah. Listen, just do what you have to do and we’ll figure it out in a couple of days, okay? No, man, I’m still in. We’ll figure it out. Cool, cool. Okay, listen, I gotta go. There’s a gorgeous redhead making eyes at me. Ha. Yeah. Later.”

Paul hung up and took one last drag of his cigarette before stubbing it out on the trashcan.

“There’s my Rora Borealis,” he said, holding out his hands to her.

Beckett paused for just a second before handing his daughter over.

“Thanks for entertaining her. Business call went a little longer than expected.”

“No big deal, I just found her across the street in an alley,” Beckett said, stone faced.

“Oh hey! You’re Beckett, Gia’s —”

“Landlord,” Beckett supplied.

“Cool.”

The guy was way more excited than he should have been.

“I’ve been hearing a ton about you from the kids. Haven’t I, Rora?” he tickled her until she giggled.

“Daddy, I’m hungry,” she said between fits of giggles.

“Okay. We can fix that. Is there any food at home?”

“Daddy! I don’t know. Can you make pancakes wiv chocolate and bananas?”

Paul frowned. “I don’t know how to make that. Sorry, kid. What’s next on the list?”

Aurora was starting to look concerned. “Can I have Fruity O’s and soda?”

Paul looked at Beckett. Beckett shook his head imagining the fit Gianna would have if Paul were to pump her daughter full of eight thousand grams of sugar before bed.

“Uh, sorry princess. No on the Fruity O’s. Oh, shit. Don’t do that.”

Aurora’s lip was out and her eyes were tearing up. “Daddy said shiiiiiiiit,” she said on a tearful wail. “I’m so hungry.”