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

Chapter 15

Family chat time over, the contestants gathered in the living room for Date Night. Natalie was there in full force. Molly could only admire a woman who felt so comfortable in her skin she was able to wear, well, that. A satin, fuchsia pink jumpsuit that proudly showed every bump, every wobble.

And damn if she didn’t look amazing.

‘Are you all excited for Date Night?’ Natalie waved her hands in the air and did a little jig on the spot. ‘This evening a chauffeur is going to drive each couple to a restaurant we’ve specially picked out because of its romantic setting. With only one week to go before you make the decision to stick with your current partner, or ditch them for someone else, it’s the night you guys should really woo the hell out of your lady if you want her to stay with you.’ She paused, taking a dramatic breath. ‘And you ladies should woo the hell back if you don’t want to lose your man.’

Everyone cheered … everyone except Ben, who let out a deep sigh.

‘Yeah, that’s not going to happen,’ Molly agreed, disappointment settling over her. She wanted to be romanced. Duncan had been really good at it, booking them into swanky restaurants, whisking her off for surprise weekends away, making a real fuss of her birthday. She missed that.

‘You’re not going to woo me?’ Ben asked as they followed the other couples out of the room.

His palm rested against her lower back as he gently guided her past another couple. ‘Obviously not.’ Why was her heart beating so fast? ‘Or vice versa. I mean, come on, it’s you and me. Besides, you even sighed when you heard the word.’

‘Only because I’m not going to be told to woo anyone.’ He grunted. ‘And that’s a ridiculous word for it.’

‘On that, we have a rare agreement. It sounds like the noise a ghost makes. You know, woo woo. Or a train.’

‘I think that’s choo choo,’ he remarked dryly.

‘It depends on the type of train,’ she argued. ‘Woo woo is a fast one, obviously. Your basic choo choo is a steam train.’

‘I stand corrected.’

They halted by the front door where, two by two, couples were shown out to waiting limos. As she turned to look at Ben, she found herself staring into a pair of hazel eyes that shimmered with amusement. There was something more though, too. Something that made her stomach swoop.

Duncan had made her feel special, made her feel loved. But Ben had made her feel. And apparently he still could. Her reaction to him was visceral: a shift of her internal organs. A hard tug deep inside her that she could never really explain.

‘Next car is yours.’ Lauren waved them towards a sleek black car inching to the front of the queue.

‘Hope you have a good evening, guys,’ James called out as they walked to their limo. ‘And if you can’t get chatterbox there to talk to you, Molly, tell the crew and we’ll come and find you.’ He winked at Chloe who was standing next to him. ‘You wouldn’t mind a double date, would you Chlo’?’

Chloe’s gaze skimmed over Ben and she gave Ben a sultry smile. ‘Not at all.’

‘Not going to happen,’ Ben said under his breath as he opened the door for her before walking round to the other side.

‘You don’t like Chloe?’ she asked when he’d climbed in, and okay, she meant James and Chloe. Chloe’s name just happened to slip out first.

‘I like her just fine.’

Molly felt an uncomfortable twist in her stomach. ‘Does that mean you like her, or like her?’

He shook his head. ‘Why are we even talking about her?’

‘Because you said you didn’t want her and James coming to join us,’ she reminded him.

‘Why would I want them to join us?’ He blew out a frustrated breath. ‘Do you ever remember a time when we had difficulty talking to each other?’

‘Well, no, I guess not. Though to be fair I did do most of the talking.’

‘Do you like talking?’

She rolled her eyes. ‘That’s like asking me if I like breathing.’

‘Well then, it was a damn good combination, wasn’t it? You talked; I listened.’

‘You actually thought we were good together?’

He stared at her nonplussed. ‘Didn’t you?’

‘I suppose so, but I figured it must have been all about sex from your side. When the fire died for you, you wanted out.’

‘That’s bollocks. The fire didn’t die.’ Irritation flared in his eyes. ‘And how many times do I have to tell you that the only thing wrong from my side was the timing?’

She was starting to realise he was serious. ‘What was it about the timing that was so wrong then?’

The lines either side of his mouth tightened, and a shadow crossed his face. ‘My ex died a few months before you and I met.’

‘Oh.’ Her stomach dropped and her brain froze as she tried to grasp what he’d said. He’d been grieving? ‘That’s awful, I’m so sorry. But for God’s sake, Ben, why didn’t you just tell me?’

He turned to stare out of the window. ‘I can’t… I couldn’t talk about it.’ He exhaled heavily and when he finally glanced back at her, his face looked so tortured it made her heart ache. ‘Can we shelve this for another day?’ A deep breath in, and out. ‘We’re supposed to be wooing each other, remember?’

She desperately wanted him to open up, to help her understand why the man she’d fallen for so quickly, so acutely, had not just slammed the brakes on their relationship, he’d sent it to the scrap yard. But Ben was clearly hurting, and it wasn’t fair to ask him to go back to somewhere painful only minutes before having a camera thrust in his face. ‘I thought we agreed we weren’t going to woo woo or choo choo. Instead we’re going to have … fun,’ she settled on. ‘We’re in a limo, about to arrive at a swanky restaurant where the bill is already paid. Let’s go and have fun.’

His returning smile was one of strained relief, yet mixed in with it was a fondness that sent her heart jumping into her throat.

* * *

After the conversation in the limo, Ben hadn’t thought a fun evening was possible. Especially knowing there was a camera set on the table beside them, recording every word. But he’d forgotten what the real Molly was like when she was in full flow. And by real, he meant the Molly he’d known three years ago, before he’d stomped on her heart. Not the wary, hurt, angry version he’d spent the last week with.

‘Come on then, tell me about this company Chloe says you sold recently.’ Having swallowed her last mouthful of chicken, Molly settled her knife and fork onto her plate and studied him across the table. ‘Did I mention she thinks you’re, what was it? Oh yes. Mr Tall, Dark and Totally Delicious.’

‘Is there a reason you’re trying to push Chloe on to me?’ He frowned as the realisation settled like a weight in his chest. ‘Wait, this is about you wanting to swop partners, isn’t it?’

Molly had beautiful creamy skin which flushed easily when she was embarrassed, like it was doing now. It also turned rosy after sex… He forced the unhelpful memory away.

‘No. At least I don’t think so,’ she added hesitantly, screwing up her nose.

Reminding himself he still had time to change her mind, he took a sip of his wine and focussed on her earlier question. ‘You asked about my company. I set up an app connecting people who want to hire unique spaces for weddings, or events, with owners happy to rent that space for a few days.’

‘That’s right, I remember you talking about the idea. We were at a restaurant overlooking the beach, the one that started life as a small church, and I said what an amazing place it was, and how it would make a great venue for a wedding.’

Nostalgia washed through him, yet Rachel’s words from earlier rolled right alongside it. Had she been thinking about marriage even then? To him?

‘Ben?’

‘Sorry.’ Shit, he couldn’t think about that right now. This was his chance to remind her how well they used to get on, and he was damned if he was going to fuck it up by thinking too much. ‘I replied that I had this idea to connect people who wanted to rent spaces that were original, via an app.’ He made sure to catch her eye. ‘You told me I should stop thinking about it and do it.’

An emotion he couldn’t identify flitted across her face. ‘And you took my advice.’

‘I did.’ He’d hit rock bottom after their split, but setting up the business had helped to drag him out of it. ‘What about that idea you had, the one for making new clothes out of crappy old ones?’

‘You mean my idea for repurposing clothes, upcycling them?’

‘That’s what I said.’

She gave an amused shake of her head, but then the laughter slid from her face. ‘I never quite got round to it. I’m still doing that most fascinating of jobs, processing orders for car parts.’ Her gaze drifted away from his and onto the table. ‘At least they let me have a sabbatical so I could come on here.’

‘Why didn’t you progress it? It was a good idea.’ He waited until her eyes found his again. ‘I still have the jacket you made for me.’ She’d found a couple of torn leather jackets in a charity shop and cut them up to make a vintage jacket for him.

‘Of course you do. I can just see you wearing it.’ She glanced pointedly at his suit. ‘I’m sure it fits really well with the rest of your designer labels.’

‘You know I loved it,’ he retorted, inexplicably hurt. ‘I used to wear it all the time.’

‘Yeah, maybe.’ Again her eyes darted away from his. ‘But that was then.’

‘You think I’ve changed?’

She sat back in her chair and shrugged her shoulders. ‘How do I know? It’s been three years since we dated. You’ve set up, owned and sold your own company in that time.’ Her hand reached for her dessert spoon and she fiddled with it restlessly. ‘You’ll have gone out with lots of women too, I expect.’

The moment was interrupted as the waitress came to ask them if they wanted a dessert. Molly immediately shook her head, refusing to take the proffered menu.

Ben gave it a cursory glance before handing it back. ‘I’ll take a sticky toffee pudding, thanks.’ When she’d left, he turned back to Molly. ‘To answer your question, no. There haven’t been lots of women.’

‘Okay, well, it’s none of my business anyway.’

She continued to play with the spoon and he felt a shoot of hope. ‘Does it matter to you?’

‘What? That you dated after me?’ She shook her head dismissively. ‘Of course not.’

It was hard to tell if she was lying because she still refused to look at him. ‘After we split, I put all my energy, all my focus, into setting up the business. If I couldn’t be in a relationship with you, there was no way in hell I could date anyone else,’ he added, to be absolutely clear.

Finally her gaze jumped to his. ‘Really?’

‘Nearest I got to a hot date was a take-out vindaloo.’

‘Funny.’

But a slow smile crossed her face. He wanted to ask if she was glad he hadn’t dated, but this was all so fucking awkward when a camera was recording every word.

The waitress returned with his sticky toffee pudding and Ben glanced over at Molly. ‘Want some?’

‘It doesn’t count if I’m sharing, right?’

He hated the hold Duncan still had on her. ‘It doesn’t count if I eat it all, either.’

‘You wouldn’t.’

He grinned. ‘Want a bet?’ Digging his spoon into the pudding, he scooped a big mouthful.

‘Tell me it’s awful.’ Her eyes tracked the path of his spoon as she repeated his description of the chicken wings they’d shared on bowling night.

He devoured the mouthful. ‘Definitely awful.’ Reaching across to her place setting, he pinched the spoon she’d been toying with and scooped some more up. ‘See for yourself.’

Their fingers touched as she took the spoon from him, and it was like an electric charge had zapped through him.

They carried on taking alternate mouthfuls until it was all gone, but he became no less sensitised each time their fingers touched.

By the time they were back in the limo, there was so much sexual tension hanging in the air, she’d have to be deaf not to hear it crackle.

Deaf, or still so into Duncan she was going to ignore it.

‘Now we’re away from the cameras, are we going to talk about this?’

‘This?’ Her voice sounded reassuringly as hoarse as his.

‘You know what I mean.’

‘Maybe I do.’ Her exhale sounded loud in the intimacy of the limo. ‘Lack of chemistry was never a problem for us.’

‘You’re single. I’m single. We have at least one more week together.’ He raised a hand to her face, angling it slightly so she looked at him. ‘Forget pretending, Molly, this is real. You know it, I know it. The question is, what are we going to do about it?’

‘I don’t know.’ She drew in a shaky breath. ‘I’m scared to do anything.’

It wasn’t just her words. It was the tremble in her voice, the glisten to her eyes, that did him in.

She was right to be scared. What was he doing, tangling with a woman whose heart he’d already broken? She needed a man who could communicate properly with her, who wasn’t afraid of opening up, of committing not just his heart, but himself to her.

Until he could do all of that, he had no business acting on the red-hot chemistry that still fizzed between them.

Ignoring the ache in his chest, he dropped his hand to his lap and turned to gaze out of the window at the dark night.