Temptation

one

Anastasia

"Fuck" I muttered to myself as I check the clock

"Late again Ana?" I look and see my mother passing by my doorway

I rush to my closet and put on my black shirt and jeans while trying to rush out the door

I horribly park into my spot at Madison's Diner and walk in to realize it's incredibly slow, so maybe my absence didn't affect anything... then again i am an hour and a half late

"Good morning Ana!" I hear and see it's coming from Aubrey

One thing about Aubrey is that she's always chipper, even when she's down. That may be why i love her so much

"Morning Aubs, how has it been this morning?"

"Pretty slow, just a couple or regulars but nothing too special"

"Okay good I was hop-" I'm cut off by the sound of a jingle indicating someone had walked into the diner

The man comes up to my register with his card in hand

"Good morning ladies, can I bother one of you and just get a black coffee and a strawberry croissant?" the deep voice says

We unfortunately don't get a lot of respectful men in this area so Im quite shocked to not be yelled at for food

"Black coffee? Are you sure we have lots of beverage options to choose from?" I ask a bit disgusted with his choice of drink

Personally I'm not a fan of any coffee let alone straight black, even i know that straight black coffee is just criminal

"Yes that'll be all" he says sliding his credit card to me

As I take his card I cant help but take a notice that he handed me a black AmEx.

With the name Leonardo Romano

After I check him out he takes a seat the bar of the diner, pulls out a laptop and begins working.

As I give him his order I catch his eyes on me with a curious look, he takes the food appreciatively before sparing me a glance while he walks out of the door

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I pull into the driveway and realize there's an unfamiliar Porsche parked in my parking spot

The red Porsche sticking out like a sore thumb between my parents BMW's and my Nissan

Sighing, I park near the curb and walk inside to unexpected sounds of laughter of my parents mixed with a voice I could've sworn I heard this morning at the diner

"Oh Ana! Meet our old friend Leonardo!" My mom says with a cheery smile

My breath hitched as I took him in properly, he wasn't in the casual wear I saw him in this morning, but he was in a black suit.

What was he doing here?

"Hello, nice to see you again Leonardo" I say as he flashes me a smile

"It's very good to see you again as well bellissima" he says with a smirk "I met her at the diner I visited today after my flight" Flight? I wonder where he flew in from.

Bellissima? What the fuck does that mean...

He could fly into this pus-

Anyways

"Anastasia he flew in from Chicago, he expanded his business here and is going to be staying with us for a few days while he looks for an apartment" my father explains while cooking at the stove

My father's cooking will always be my favorite, my grandparents taught him classic Mexican dishes but he expanded his knowledge and learned Italian and Chinese dishes as well.

I, of course, always volunteer to taste test new recipes

"Smells good dad, what on the menu today?" I ask while going to sit with everyone at the table

"Chicken Piccata, and I just got done so it's all ready!"

We sit at the table talking about our days, I learned that Leonardo is a publicist at the company he owns... and that he's 31

What he's doing in our small town is a question I'll ask tomorrow

Dinner was over so I decided to quickly hop in the shower before it gets too late

I stepped out of the shower and wrapped a towel around my body before stepping out

As i step out of the bathroom I run into a muscular figure "Ah bellissima, my apologies" he says as he subtly runs his eyes up and down my body before meeting my eyes again

As subtle as it was, I can clearly tell what he was doing

"It's alright I wasn't watching where it was going" I say holding eye contact and trying not to sound nervous about this interaction, he nods walking away

I let out a breath I didn't know I was holding and go into my room, I undress and stare at myself in the mirror before my eye glances at something staring at me, I look back but nothings there

Maybe I'm just seeing things. 

Thinking nothing of it I slip my clothes on and head to sleep.

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If you made it this far, I just wanted to say thank you for giving this book a chance. I promise the chapters WILL get longer and far less cringy.