Chapter 12
Sherry
I hated how good he looked. I hated how he was an absolute gentleman who met me at the stairs and held his hand out for me to take.
I hated how he told me I was the most beautiful thing he’d ever seen.
I hated how he opened the car door and waited for me to be comfortable before shutting the door and rounding the car to the driver’s seat.
I hated that when he sat in the seat, he looked over at me and smiled that charmingly adorable smile that made me want to say screw the date and drag him to bed.
He made me want things I didn’t trust. He made me throw my rules out the damn window.
Being adored, being taken care of, being seen even… that was dangerous. What if he finds out underneath all the control and planning, I was just barely holding it together?
“Ready?”
“Where are we going?” I never asked. I had no idea if I was overdressed, but as soon as he told me to wear a dress, I remembered this little black number in the back of my closet just waiting for its moment.
“The resort. I figured it would be less pressure if we weren’t surrounded by the locals.”
“Afraid of running into Odette?”
“Yes, that woman scares me.”
A laugh burst from my lips, too loud and too aggressive.
I slapped a hand over my mouth and tried to silence my outburst, but it was too late.
“She’s harmless. She cornered me at the grocery store and grilled me about my mother’s maiden name, my blood type, and whether or not I liked summer weddings. ”
“She means well.”
“She was wearing a flamingo print matching set and had lipstick on her teeth,” he muttered. “I thought I was being interrogated by a cartoon character.”
“Wouldn’t she make a fabulous cartoon character? Disney should get on that. They’d make millions.” I tucked a strand of hair behind my ear and refocused. “She just likes to know everything about everyone. If you have nothing to hide, then you have nothing to worry about.”
He shifted in his seat. “And if I do have something to hide?”
“Then I hope you’re better at keeping secrets than you are at flying under the radar of small town gossip.”
He let out a chuckle. “I actually like the gossip. Did you know I’m apparently a divorced billionaire, hiding out from scandal involving a Russian supermodel?”
“A Russian supermodel, huh? Should I be jealous?” I teased.
He shot me a sideways glance, one hand on the steering wheel, loosening its grip as he eased back. “Absolutely. According to the gossip mill, she’s still trying to track me down to win me back. I’m rich and very desirable.”
“Luckily for you, I’m not after your money.”
He came to a stop at a stop sign, his gaze turning toward me. “I don’t have any,” he said, as if it were the most shameful confession he could have made.
“You’re rich in personality, wit… and in a certain area, you are an expert.”
A smile cracked at the edge of his mouth. “Only one area?”
“There are a few, but one stands out from the rest.”
He leaned in, his voice dropping to a near rumble. “Maybe after dinner you can remind which one.”
I forced myself to look away, afraid if I didn’t, I’d climb across the console and straddle him. After all, I was in a dress. Easy access, and all that.
He tapped the gas, the car rolling forward when all I wanted was to go in reverse, back to my place. But I agreed to a date, and I was a woman of my word.
His hand landed on my thigh, his finger trailing along the bare skin by the hem. I snatched his hand, tightening my grip. “Don’t.”
At first, his eyes widened, but then he must’ve seen the desire consuming me, and the shock slid into amusement. “Why not?”
“Because you promised me dinner and drinks, and if I let you touch me, I’m afraid we will get to, either.”
“Is that such a bad thing?”
“You said no more sneaking around.”
“I did.” His voice was low and serious. His hand stayed in mine, warm and comforting as his thumb brushed circles against my skin.
“I meant it,” he said. “I want more than stolen moments and closed doors.”
The sincerity in his gaze was almost too much. My heart stuttered in my chest. He’d been fighting for me for so long, and this is all he asked of me. I owed him this much.
I loosened my grip but didn’t let go entirely. “We get dinner. Drinks. Do the normal date thing. Then you can touch me wherever you want.”
A slow smile spread across his face, but this time without the cocky edge to his smirk. It was genuine. It was devastating. “I’ve never looked forward to dessert more in my life.”
“Then you’ve never had one of Lainey’s cakes.”
His eyes drifted toward my lap, then back up. “I have, but nothing has ever tasted as sweet as you.”
“Did you practice that line in the mirror?”
“I don’t have a mirror big enough to capture all this charm.”
A laugh burst from me so loud, I swore the windows rattled. “You’re ridiculous.”
He leaned in slightly, amusement playing on his features. “You love it, and you know it.”
“Do you kiss your mother with that mouth?” I asked with a laugh.
He chuckled, low and warm. “We’re not exactly an affectionate family. Mom’s more of an air kiss kind of woman.”
“Tell me more about her. You know my entire family, and I know nothing about yours.”
“Kind of hard to tell you when you spend your days dodging me.” He said it with a smile, but there was a slight edge to it.
Guilt nudged at my stomach, and I shifted in my seat. “I wasn’t dodging you,” I said softly. “I was protecting myself.”
His expression didn’t change, but there was a flicker in his eyes. “From me?”
“One night with you, and I knew I would fall for you.”
He came to a stop at a stop sign, and I met his gaze head-on.
“And that scares me.”
“Why?”
“I haven’t exactly had the best luck with men. They tend to get jealous of my dedication to my job and family.”
His finger brushed lightly against my knee.
“My mom’s the type who cares more about table settings than real conversations.
As long as there’s the facade of being perfect, then she honestly believes everything is perfect.
It rarely is. My dad… we rarely see eye-to-eye.
He’s old school and hates that I’m more forward-thinking.
He always says, if it’s not broken, don’t change it. I only talk to him if I have to.”
“Why?”
His jaw tightened, and for a moment, I thought he might shut down.
“He’s the boss, and you can’t argue with him. It’s his way or no way. He only cares about winning. I couldn’t be a part of it anymore, so I tried to walk away, but apparently, walking away isn’t free.”
“Your label?”
“It was my ticket out, and I failed.”
His voice twisted with regret or disappointment. I wasn’t exactly sure, but whatever it was, it hurt my soul.
“Failing wasn’t even my biggest mistake. Borrowing money from him was. Now I owe him, and I can’t escape him. He holds it over me.”
“How much do you owe him?”
“Any amount is too much.” He ran a hand over his face, then adjusted his hold on the steering wheel. “I always thought happy families were something that only existed on TV, but then I met you and your family, and you gave me hope in a way I haven’t had in a long time.”
“We’re not perfect,” I said.
A faint smile tugged at his mouth. “Perfection doesn’t exist. Though, you’re pretty close.”
My eyes rolled on their own accord. “You already got into my pants. You don’t need to blow smoke up my ass.”
“Kinky.”
“I can’t with you.” I waved my hand as if I could swat him away. He captured it, planted a kiss to my knuckle, then tucked it into his for safe-keeping.
“As I was saying,” he continued, “your family isn’t perfect, but for the most part, you don’t just tolerate each other. You actually like one another.”
“It wasn’t always like that. Nero once used my underwear in capture the flag when he was playing with a group of his friends. I beat the hell out of him and didn’t talk to him for a month.”
Ben choked on air before letting out a contagious laugh. “How old were you?”
“I was eleven, he was twelve. I had a crush on one of his friends, so it was extra humiliating. Then there was the time Franc convinced me to eat a whole jalapeno on a dare. It ended with me crying on the floor, hugging a gallon of milk. Before you ask, I was thirteen, and he was seventeen. In his defense, he told me I’d regret it, but he also knew I loved a good dare, so it’s still his fault. ”
“You’re lucky.”
My eyebrow arched, wondering how dying from capsaicin overload made me lucky. “How so?”
“You have stories. Great memories. My childhood was me being told to sit and not move. Children were meant to not talk or get in the way of the adults.”
“That’s terrible. I’m sorry.”
“It’s why your grandpa made such an impact on me. He didn’t look at me as some child. He saw me as a person who was capable of conversation.”
“He never treated us any differently than the adults. We were always on the same level with him.” I glanced out the window, a sadness washing over me at the loss that would always be a part of me now. “So, are you an only child?”
“I wish. I have two older brothers and a sister-in-law that is a witch with a capital B. They’re ten and twelve years older than me. I guess you can say I was a mistake. Something I’m reminded of constantly.”
“Laurent and Rhone are eight years apart, but they’re still really close. Rhone and Rose being the babies… We joke that they had many sets of parents.”
He pulled into the resort's parking lot and came to a stop in the first available space. Ben held up a finger, jumped out of the vehicle, and hurried to my door, opening it with an extended hand.
“Pulling out all the stops, huh?” I teased, slapping my palm against his.
“Or showing you what you’ve been missing out on.” He shut the door behind me, linked his fingers through mine, and headed into the main entrance or the resort.