Thank You, Next (The Kathryn Freeman Romcom Collection #9)

Chapter 11

Molly felt her throat constrict as she looked into Ben’s eyes. Compassion wasn’t a word she’d ever associated him with, but right now his gaze shimmered with it.

Not just that, but during the last awful couple of hours, he’d been the only one who seemed aware of how much she was hurting. How humiliated she felt, how upset. It wasn’t just Jasmine’s anyone here you’ve not fucked, comment. It was Duncan laughing it off. Duncan, the man who’d professed to love her, who’d told her this was a temporary break, and that his attention towards Jasmine was just a show. The same Duncan who’d just casually admitted on camera that he wanted to give his relationship with Jasmine a real shot.

She grasped Ben’s hand tightly, absorbing the strength his gesture seemed to offer.

‘Let’s get some air,’ he whispered as he led her down the hallway, twisting his hand so it folded around hers. Warm, reassuring.

The balmy evening hit her as they stepped outside onto the patio and she inhaled a lungful of it, relishing the quiet, the dark, feeling her muscles finally start to relax. That was when she became conscious he still held her hand, the touch lighter now, but all the more dangerous for it. She did not want to feel the tingles currently racing down her spine. Nor did she want her heart to flutter, like it was doing now.

With a tug she released her hand and began to walk towards the pool, dropping onto the nearest lounger with an unladylike flop, just before her knees betrayed her and buckled.

Ben glanced over at where the camera was situated, then deliberately put himself between her and it. ‘So, you and Duncan.’ His voice was low, with a husk to it suggestive of intimacy, of sitting under an inky sky, the stars twinkling above. A shiver of awareness ran through her and she wrapped her arms protectively around herself. ‘How long have you been dating?’

‘About a year.’

He inclined his head slowly, then dragged a lounger over and sat on the edge facing her, hands resting loosely on his thighs. His body obscured the camera and the distance between them was now so small, they could talk without being overheard. ‘Do you love him?’

‘Yes.’

Ben’s brows drew together. ‘You hesitated.’

Had she? Or was he just trying to mess with her head? ‘I didn’t. I definitely love him. And he loves me.’ There was something about the darkness that made it feel easier to admit to her fears. And forget who she was admitting them to. ‘I thought he did, anyway, but seeing him with Jasmine … that’s hard. Even though I know he’s only being attentive to her for the cameras. You know, so he can come across as a good guy.’

A muscle jumped in Ben’s jaw. ‘That man will always put himself first. You deserve better.’

Did she? She liked to believe she deserved more than a man who laughed when she was insulted, and who flirted openly with another woman right in front of her. ‘What do you mean by better? A guy like you? You both strung me along.’

Ben bent his head, rubbing at the back of his neck in a gesture that spoke of frustration. When he looked back up at her, his eyes blazed. ‘I understand you’re hurting right now, that you don’t trust a word any guy tells you, but even if you don’t believe anything else I say, please believe this.’ His eyes seared hers. ‘Nothing about what we had was a lie. I was falling for you. But if we’d carried on, it would have ended badly.’

‘Well, thanks for looking out for me, but from my side it ended badly anyway.’

He sighed and glanced away before seeming to come to a decision and turning that magnetic hazel gaze back on her again. ‘You give your heart away too easily, Molly. Love should be earned. When we split, I hadn’t earned it yet.’ He nodded towards the house. ‘And that man should never earn it.’

The criticism stung. ‘I don’t expect someone like you to ever understand the need to love. And be loved.’

His right eyebrow flew up. ‘Like me?’

‘You’re super-confident. Self-contained. Very secure in yourself and happy with your own company. We’re not all like that.’

Laughter seemed to burst out of him, but there was no humour to it. ‘If Rachel were here, she wouldn’t recognise that description.’

Molly found it hard to believe, but she kept quiet, letting the silence soothe some of the raw edges from earlier. As expected, Ben didn’t make any effort to break it. Instead he shifted, stretching out on the lounger, hands behind his head, acting as a pillow.

Seeing him laid out like that reminded her how long he was and memories of waking up next to him prodded through her consciousness. Memories she’d thought she’d permanently squished. Captivated by his looks, his dry wit, the way he’d made her feel important, not to mention the response of her body to his every touch, his heavy-lidded stare, she’d rushed headlong into sex. And it had been off the charts, a rawness to it she hadn’t expected. Like he’d not just wanted her, but he’d needed her with a hunger that had bordered on desperation.

Unwanted heat pooled between her legs and she shifted on the lounger. ‘We should head inside. We don’t want to miss the charades.’

He gave her a crooked smile. ‘Don’t we?’

‘Imagine how cross Rachel would be if we did.’

‘I’m not scared of her,’ he countered dryly.

‘Well, I am. Besides, I don’t want Duncan to think I’m … I don’t know… hiding away from him, all upset about what he said about giving his relationship with Jasmine a shot.’ When Ben said nothing, she slipped her feet onto the floor and swivelled to face him. An idea danced around her head as she skimmed her gaze over his lean body, his handsome profile. ‘Maybe we could give him a taste of his own medicine.’

Ben’s eyes widened, and a line formed between them as they raked over her face. ‘You’re asking me to flirt with you?’

Her heart began to hammer. ‘Yes.’

His gaze pressed hers. ‘Put my hands on you?’

Oh God, when he said it like that, all gravelly, it sounded dirty. Wicked. ‘If it’s appropriate, yes.’

‘All so we can make Duncan jealous?’

‘Yes, no… God, does that make me sound awful?’ When he didn’t respond, just kept staring at her with those incredible eyes, she started to fidget. ‘It does – I know it does – but, and this is going to sound really sad, my ego would welcome a bit of attention right now.’

He nodded, one single, sharp incline of the head before he jumped to his feet.

She wasn’t ready for the way his arm slid around her waist, drawing her closer. Making her acutely aware of the expensive cologne she remembered inhaling that first evening.

Nor was she prepared for the way he took her hand as he eased her to a stop just before they went inside, turning to face her.

She definitely wasn’t ready for the words he whispered into her ear. ‘Just to be clear, I won’t be doing this because you’ve asked, or to make him jealous.’ Hazel eyes glittered as they stared into hers. ‘I’ll be doing it because I want to.’

If he hadn’t wrapped his arm back around her waist, hadn’t supported her as they walked inside and towards the main living room, her knees would have given way.

* * *

Whoever invented charades, needed to be shot. At the very least, tied to a chair and forced to play the blasted game for two hours like he had. All in front of a camera.

Sitting next to him on the sofa, Molly bounced up and down. ‘I’ve got it! Fast and Furious…’ she trailed off as she watched Chloe hold up six fingers. ‘Six!’

Ben shook his head and whispered into Molly’s ear. Did he need to whisper? No. But she’d handed him an excuse to get close to her now, and he was damned if he was going to waste a single opportunity. ‘How did you get that?’ All he’d seen was Chloe jogging up and down on her feet, then pointing to Duncan.

Molly gave him a pitying look. ‘Come on, that was easy peasy. She was running fast and furiously, plus Duncan’s kind of like The Rock.’ When he looked at her blankly, she added. ‘You know, Dwayne Johnson, the actor who’s in?—’

‘I know who Dwayne Johnson is.’ He stared scathingly over at Duncan. ‘But forgive me if I don’t see any resemblance.’

She smirked at him. ‘Well, Chloe did. And I did. Guess it’s a woman thing.’

Unconsciously he flexed his biceps. Yep, they were still there. ‘I seem to remember you once liking my body,’ he murmured.

The smile slid from her face and those sparkling green eyes darted away from his. ‘I seem to remember you once liking mine. Funny how easily a mind can change.’

‘Molly.’ How could he regain her trust? Prove that what they’d had, had been real? You could open up to her, you dumb arse. Give her the detail behind the glib lines. His stomach rolled at the idea. What had she said about him? Self-contained, super-confident. She had no fucking clue how insecure he was. How badly he’d fucked up in the past. How terrified he was to put his heart on the line again.

‘My turn.’ Molly leapt to her feet and snagged a card. With a sigh he slumped back against the sofa. He’d get another chance to talk to her. Maybe he’d find his balls by then.

His gaze strayed to Duncan, whose attention was totally focussed on Molly now, all but ignoring Jasmine as she smoothed her hand up and down his hulking thighs.

Even if Molly never trusted him again, even if he never found his balls again, he was going to make it his mission to ensure she realised she was worth far, far more than the self-absorbed personal trainer with a wandering eye.

Much to the amusement of everyone, Molly went to sit on the floor by the coffee table. Gripping both sides of the table, she reached her head back and groaned.

Immediately Duncan laughed. ‘When Harry met Sally.’

Apparently it was the right answer, because Molly grinned and high-fived him, much to Ben’s annoyance.

‘How did he get that?’ he muttered when she came back to sit next to him.

‘The orgasm scene.’

Slowly the penny dropped, but it niggled at him that Duncan was so clearly on her wavelength. When Natalie had announced the game, she’d said it was designed to see how in tune they were with each other. He’d smirked at the concept, but now the grin had been wiped off his face.

The niggle turned into a knot as Molly left to go to the loo, and Duncan rose to his feet and followed her out a few seconds later.

Nothing you can do, he told himself. But his head kept turning towards the door, and his body felt like a coiled spring, ready to pounce into action.

The minutes ticked by, and his restlessness increased. Sod it. Anyone asked, he was off to the gents.

Once out of the room, he took a left turn and headed down the corridor towards the French doors that opened onto the patio. He’d been out there with Molly, knew how seductive the moonlight could be. When he’d been sitting next to her on that lounger, he’d had to shove his hands behind his head to stop from giving in to the urge to pull her on top of him.

What he wouldn’t give to feel the slide of her legs over his hips again, the heat of her as she arched her back and impaled herself on him.

Not helpful.

As he neared the doors, he heard voices.

‘You’re not being fair, babe.’ Duncan. It was whispered, clearly to avoid being picked up by the lurking microphones, but he recognised that ‘babe’, employed, Ben felt certain, to soften up whoever he was talking to. ‘It’s not like I’m doing anything behind your back. You know why I had to split up from you, why I’m on this show. I’m going to come across as a right douche if I don’t at least try with Jasmine, especially now you’ve told everyone we used to date.’

‘I didn’t mean to.’ Molly, and she sounded miserable. ‘It’s just, the way Jasmine was making out you belonged to her. It pissed me off.’

‘I know babe, but if I don’t give Jasmine a go, it will look like I cynically ditched you just to get some visibility.’

Funny, because that’s exactly what you did. Ben clenched his jaw in an effort not to say it out loud.

‘Fine.’ Guilt pricked as he heard Molly’s hushed tone again. He knew he should step back. He’d be fucking livid if Duncan had listened to him and Molly talking. ‘I take it you won’t mind if I try again with Ben then, either.’

He froze at the sound of his name. Could he justify staying if they were talking about him?

‘Seriously? You want to give that dickhead another chance after what he did to you? Remember how cut up you were, babe? I do. Took me ages to convince you to trust me.’

An image of Molly when he’d told her they should end things, pushed its way to the front of his mind. Face distraught, tears flowing down her cheeks, it was an image he’d struggled to bury over the weeks and months that had followed as he’d dragged himself out of his torment and turned his focus to business. To anything that hadn’t involve feelings, or his heart. Or redheads with glittering green eyes.

‘I don’t need the reminder,’ Molly hissed. ‘But as you’ve so clearly pointed out, we’re no longer together, so what I do isn’t your concern.’

‘Can’t see what you ever saw in him,’ Duncan muttered. ‘Guy’s an arrogant twat. Thinks he’s a big man because he owned a business. I mean, dude, I own a business too. And I could knock him to the floor if I wanted to.’

Before he knew it, Ben was striding out onto the patio. ‘I’d like to see you try,’ he retorted, feeling like he had when he’d been fifteen, full of raging testosterone needing an outlet. It wasn’t a good look on a thirty-year-old and he knew it.

All in full view of the sodding cameras.

Molly gaped at him. ‘Have you been eavesdropping on us?’

A little bit? ‘You were gone a long time. I came to check you were okay.’

‘She’s a damn sight more okay with me than with you,’ Duncan sneered. ‘You broke her heart, dickhead. You shouldn’t be allowed within a million miles of her again.’ He turned back to Molly. ‘Remember I’m here for you, babe. Always have been, always will be.’

With one final glare at Ben, Duncan marched back inside.

The air crackled between them as silence descended. A tense, awkward silence, full of simmering anger and resentment.

‘I wasn’t deliberately listening in.’ He exhaled heavily, shoving his hands into his pockets. ‘I came out to find you.’

‘What did you hear?’

Taking her arm, he led her to a spot round the corner where he’d worked out they couldn’t be seen or heard. ‘Everything from “You’re not being fair, babe.”’

He wasn’t sure, but he thought her lips twitched at his emphasis of the last word. ‘So you heard me saying I was going to try again with you.’

He tried to keep the hope out of his voice. ‘Yes.’

She nodded, and turned away to stare at the garden. ‘Well, just so we’re clear, I only said that to wind him up.’

That told him. ‘Understood.’

‘I don’t want Duncan thinking he holds all the cards. If he wants to try with Jasmine, fine. But I’m not going to sit around pining for him.’

Bending his head, Ben whispered in her ear. ‘You’re going to give us another go instead.’

Her breath hitched and satisfaction flared through him. But then she darted away. ‘Pretend to give us a go. Don’t think for one minute that I’ve forgiven you for what happened, or that I could ever trust you again.’

He couldn’t fault her clarity. ‘I’ve got it. I only get to pretend-date you, pretend-touch you.’

‘Yes.’ She jutted her chin in the air. ‘Do you think you can handle it?’

He searched her eyes, finding anger, yes, but also an uncertainty that tugged at his heart. ‘I can handle it,’ he told her softly, gaze dropping to her soft, pink lips. ‘The question is, can you?’

For a few beats the air around them hummed, and when her tongue darted out to lick those very same lips, he felt his groin tighten. But then she seemed to realise what she was doing, and stepped away from his hold before turning and heading back inside.