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She suddenly shook her head, and ducking her chin in embarrassment, she pulled her hand from his “This was not the conversation ere supposed to have,” she said, her voice a bit flustered “This was about Maddux and how he got shot and not me and my childhood woes”

She conveniently shifted the conversation back to Maddux, and for the next few minutes, Remy listened as she told hiainst the men responsible for her parents’ ht of the fairy-tale ball Except, things had not gone as planned, and Maddux had taken Theodore’s daughter, Arabella Cole, as collateral of sorts When Gavin, the man who’d wanted Arabella for hie to lure Maddux to his death, Maddux ended up taking a bullet to save her life

He shook his head as he tried to process it all “So, you’re saying that your brother fell in love with your enehter?” he asked incredulously

“Yes” A light, cheerful note finally returned to Te e about her pare

nts’ deaths had dredged up “Arabella is incredibly sweet and kind and compassionate, and exactly what Maddux needed in his life, even if he didn’t realize it at the time”

Telad she’d trusted hi so personal with hi they’d both experienced and understood And even though hers had been ruthlessly taken from her and her brothers in one fell swoop, and Remy’s mother had opted to walk away from him for what she perceived as a better life, both ere devastating in their oay Yet despite all that, Tempest had found a way to be so positive, playful, and upbeat—instead of letting resentment and bitterness define her life or her future

It was an eye-opening revelation

As their waitress arrived with theirplate of food in front of each of them, Remy was forced to admit that he’d harbored a lot of preconceived notions about Tempest Wilder, not to mention all the assumptions he’dand she’d debunked She’d lived far fro Rerew Beneath the sophisticated outer trappings, she was just a kindhearted, generous, beautiful woman who seemed to want to live her life to the fullestand make her brothers proud

“Holy shit,” Tempest said, her eyes wide as saucers as she took in the pub’s Fat Burger—a full one-pound h with layers of cheese, strips of bacon, crispy onion straws, lettuce, tomato, and topped off with O’Brien’s secret sauce, all of which was nestled between two huge buns Next to that was an insane amount of French fries

She glanced at him, her expression incredulous “Why didn’t you tell er was the size of my head?”

He chuckled “Because you didn’t ask, princess,” he said, deliberately teasing her “I can’t wait to see you try and tackle that burger”

Her gaze narrowed at his challenge “Gaht see, she tucked it into the collar of her pristine white blouse to protect it from spills

S how messy this particular sandwich could be He watched in pure a burger, then brought it to herbite Grease froers and a few drops landed on her ain

He laughed and silently applauded her efforts before starting in on his ers when she put hers down on her plate and wiped her sticky fingers on one of the extra napkins the waitress had brought to the table, exhaling a heavy sigh

He s out already?”