TheTemptationNotJustifiedAReFinal by Delaney Diamond Read Free Book Online

great-grandfather,
Joseph Hawthorne, had been the loyal manservant of a plantation owner who’d
fallen on hard times. He’d lost everything, including his health.
    Roarke’s
great-grandfather remained at his side and took care of him until his death. In
return, the owner left this house on the beach to him. Though dilapidated and
in a state of disrepair at the time, Joseph worked constantly on it for years
to bring the house back to its former splendor. Since then, it had been placed
in a trust and was available as a vacation home for Hawthorne family members.
Individual photos of Joseph, his wife, and photos of their descendants, hung on
the interior walls.
    Roarke
stepped out of the vehicle and took a deep breath, inhaling the distinctive
smell of sand and the saltiness of the Atlantic Ocean. Beyond the lawn, the
property dipped to a sandy beach and sparkling water. Though he’d been born and
raised in Atlanta, whenever he came down to the island, he felt more at home.
Perhaps because his favorite memories from childhood stemmed from this place,
where summer vacations with cousins and siblings were spent enjoying cookouts,
riding bikes, swimming, fishing, and getting into mischief.
    “Roarke!”
    He raised
his head from bending over the opened trunk of the car to see his little
sister, Cassidy, bolt down the steps of the house toward him. Not so little
anymore. He had to stop thinking of her like that. Cassidy was getting married
tomorrow. The sun glinted off the blonde highlights in her sleek, short bob.
    She
hopped into his arms. “Thank God you’re here!” she said in a dramatic voice.
    Uh-oh .
    His
younger brother, Matthew, followed more slowly. He was an inch taller than
Roarke and filled with bulky muscle from his days as a linebacker playing
college football. “Get ready for the drama,” he warned with a roll of his eyes.
    Cassidy
dropped onto her heels and ignored Matthew’s comment. A breathless flurry of
words rushed from her mouth. “You’re not going to believe this. I can’t get in
touch with the wedding planner. She should have been here at eight o’clock this
morning. Eight, Roarke. It’s now”—she glanced at her watch—“eight thirty. Eight
thirty. Where is she? What if something happened to her? What am I going to do?
I don’t—”
    “Cassidy.”
If he didn’t stop her now, she would have a complete meltdown. Her behavior was
partially his fault. He became her legal guardian at the age of eighteen. As
the only girl and the youngest, he’d always given in to her theatrics and tried
to fix all her problems, and she expected him to do the same right now. He
steeled himself for the pre-wedding melodrama and tried to defuse the
situation. He placed a hand on either side of her face. “Calm. Down.”
    Cassidy
took several deep, quivering breaths. “I’m sorry. I’m just so nervous. Everything
has to be perfect.” She gnawed the corner of her upper lip.
    “No,
it doesn’t,” Roarke said, keeping his voice calm and steady. “Even if it’s not,
it’ll be fine. Got it?” She continued to gnaw on her lip and nodded her head.
At least he was getting through to her. “The wedding’s not until tomorrow
night. Give it another thirty minutes, and if Sheila doesn’t call or isn’t here
by then, we’ll call her, okay?”
    Cassidy
nodded vigorously. Crisis averted.
    “Thank
you for everything, Roarke.”
    Cassidy
wrapped her arms around his torso and pressed her cheek to his chest. He
enveloped her in his arms. Her words of gratitude were about more than today. Everyone
said he’d sacrificed so much, but he never saw it that way.
    After
his father passed away in a plane crash and it was discovered his lover was on
the same flight, their mother withdrew into herself and within months died of a
heart attack. Older family members insisted she died of a broken heart.
    Roarke
hadn’t taken the time to analyze the whys and wherefores. With his younger
siblings now orphans, and as the