CHAPTER NINE
“Shit,” Bethany muttered on a stumble. She was trying to shimmy back into her dress, her legs apparently still shaking enough to affect her balance.
Multiple orgasms will do that to a girl.
It was official, she was out of control. Sex with an ex once wasn’t great. But twice? Twice was catastrophically stupid. Even for her.
Don’t forget at work. You did it at work, too. Anyone could have walked in.
Frigging marvelous. Another curse left her lips as she finally managed to close the zipper. She was a dumbass.
“B, baby.” Benny’s hand cupped her cheek as she desperately tried to look anywhere else but into his eyes. “Don’t be mad. Please.”
Her gaze went down and she immediately regretted it. The damn man was still shirtless. Flashing that hard chest at her again. He was temptation wrapped up in a six-pack sent personally to wreck her.
“NeNe, look at me.” She was. That was part of the problem. On a sigh, she met his eyes. “We’re going to do that again,” he confidently declared.
What did he just say?
She was mentally preparing to open a full can of whoop ass on him when he went on, his thumb lazily stroking her cheek.
“Don’t give me that look and pretend you weren’t chanting my name five minutes ago.
” The freaking nerve. “‘Cause you were. Just like I was chanting yours when you clamped down around me and I saw fucking stars.”
She was finding it hard to swallow as she stared into him, the intensity in his eyes scaring the living daylights out of her.
“Tell me this won’t happen again,” he demanded.
Opening her mouth to try, she thought better of it and changed her mind. She’d already proved she had absolutely zero willpower, best not make herself a liar, too.
“That’s what I thought.” A dangerous smile tilted his lips before his mouth covered hers again.
Yep. Zero willpower. At least you’re consistent.
Another claiming kiss sent more shivers through her. She also might’ve accidentally moaned again as he opened her up to him. Killing more brain cells as he tasted every inch of her.
Just as she was contemplating repeating her stupidity for a third time, a loud knock on the consultation door had her heart stopping for an entirely different reason.
Damnit. At work, remember?
How could she keep forgetting?
Quickly slipping from Benny’s hold, she crouched down to pick up her white jacket.
“Can I come in?” Dr. Brunswick’s deep voice echoed through the wood.
“Um,” she stuttered, trying her best to redress and flatten her sex hair. “I’m in the middle of a physical exam.”
Benny flashed her a wicked grin at her announcement, clearly in no hurry to put a shirt on.
“Male or Female?” Brunswick asked.
“Male,” she confirmed hesitantly.
“Great.”
Next thing she knew, Dr. Brunswick was pushing open the door.
Is this what a stroke feels like?
She couldn’t feel her legs. A cold sweat breaking out as her supervisor approached. Ignoring the topless man, his gaze flicked between Bethany and the clipboard he was holding.
“Sorry to interrupt, but how much longer do you think you’ll need? We’re getting a bit backed up out there and I need to know whether to reassign some of your patients.”
She was guessing that she’d gone way over the allotted fifteen minutes with Benny.
“I’m sorry,” she rushed out. Clearly flustered. “I’m almost done. Just need to wrap up here.”
Dr. Brunswick sent a reassuring smile Benny’s way and gave her a nod. “Take your time. I’ve got the next patient covered, just let me know when you’re finished.”
It was only after Brunswick left the room that she could breathe again. Oh no. Could he tell what she’d been doing? Had she been loud? Did everyone in reception hear her chanting her ex-boyfriend’s name?
Oh my God. Oh my God.
She was still spiraling when Benny’s hands came to her face again. “Hey. B. It’s okay. He had no idea. Trust me.”
Sure. Trust her ex who had broken her heart. Lied about why he’d dumped her. And tricked her into sex. Twice.
Tricked?
Okay. Maybe not tricked. Still, he did keep flashing those abs at her. That was just as bad. Speaking of which—she released herself to pick up his shirt and throw it at him.
“You! You need to go. Right now. And don’t even think about turning up here again.”
She was gifted with another smoldering smile as he shrugged the material over his head. “Dinner at my place, Friday?”
Had he taken a knock to the head?
“Out!” she hissed, her finger going to the door.
“Okay, baby.” He lay a quick kiss on her lips before backing up toward the exit. “I’ll call you.”
Finally alone, she swiped the phone from her desk. She was in over her head, clearly. It was time to call in reinforcements.
***
Bethany had managed to convince Lucy to take a trip to the Tipsy Cow with her after work.
It was Woodvalley’s one and only bar. A neon-lit cave where the walls were plastered with a rather random assortment of glowing signs.
And while it was a perfectly acceptable establishment, her friend had felt the need to remind her several times that she wasn’t a ‘bar person’ because it reminded her too much of work.
Apparently, serving food at the diner was dangerously close to sitting at a bar with her friend.
After promising she’d never drag Lucy back there, Bethany confessed her sins. Coming clean about not just one but two trysts with Benny. Luckily, she had a big glass of red wine to help her through the conversation.
As expected, Lucy was horrified.
“Please close your mouth, Luce. People are looking.”
Well, not really. A couple of older cowboys perched at the bar may have given them a quick glance when they’d arrived, but nothing since then. Still, she really needed Lucy to stop gaping at her.
“I just...in the consultation room?”
That was the part she was stuck on? “Yes. And the other night when I went over to his place.”
She should have told Lucy after that night, but she’d been too embarrassed. Now, here she was, shoveling more shame onto the shitshow that was her life.
“Lucy!” a woman’s voice called out. “I never see you here!” Was she British?
Thirty seconds later and Bethany had her answer as an attractive, dark-haired woman with a gentle curve to her belly stood at their high-top table wrapping Lucy up into a warm embrace.
“I can’t believe it; I’ve been trying to drag your arse here for months. I see I’m just gonna have to be more convincing next time.” The woman straightened, her gaze going straight to Bethany as she outstretched a hand. “Hi. I’m Cat, and you’re Bethany, right...the runaway bride?”
The runaway bride? Jesus Christ.
Lucy laughed. Traitor.
“Congratulations by the way,” her friend was quick to add, before Bethany had a chance to confirm whether she was or wasn’t the runaway bride. “Rachel told me the news. I’m so happy for you, Cody and Dylan.” Her friend’s eyes went to the bump.
Bethany watched Cat visibly soften as she placed a protective hand over her belly. “Thanks, Lucy. We’re all really excited.”
“There you are!” another female voice hollered, this one she recognized.
Rachel. The petite redhead who’d helped secure her bags.
“Bethany!” Rachel beamed as she joined them at the table. “It’s so good to see you, sugar.”
Bethany could see the woman meant it and that was enough for her to relax a little.
A few minutes later, Cat and Rachel had pulled up stools to join them. They obviously already knew Lucy from Molly’s Diner where she worked, but they’d also begun filling her in on how they knew each other, too.
So far, she’d learned Cat was married to Cody, who was best friends with Zach Evans, who worked with Benny.
She remembered Zach, he was the oldest of the four Evans brothers, the youngest of which: Jonah, she’d gone to school with.
Bethany already knew Rachel was married to Hunter who also worked with Benny, but they also mentioned another guy, Luke, who worked with them too, and was part of the same enormous friendship group.
As was Luke’s girlfriend Bella, Zach’s wife Libby, Wade: another Evans brother and his girlfriend Riley.
I should probably be writing this down.
Being away so long, it had been easy to forget just how interconnected her small town was. Everyone knew each other, literally, and each other’s business.
“So, how come you ran out on your wedding?” Cat asked, a little too casually.
Bethany had been about to take a sip of her wine when she paused mid tip.
Straight to it, then.
Usually, she wouldn’t take kindly to strangers so openly prying.
But there was something about the extremely blunt Cat that stopped her from being offended.
Granted, she’d only known her five minutes, but like Rachel, there was something so real and genuine about the woman.
It was almost as if she was asking out of concern rather than curiosity.
It was for that reason, Bethany opened up.
“Well,” she cleared her throat, placing the wine glass back on the scratched wood table.
“I was standing there in my wedding dress, looking in the mirror. Really looking. And asked myself one question. One question that I knew would be the difference between me saying I do or getting the hell out of there.”
All the women leaned in, their elbows hitting the wood as their eyes widened in anticipation.
“What was the question?” Cat prodded.
She gave the women surrounding her a sad smile. “I asked myself, if there was no one out there, no packed church, no expectant parents...would I still go through with it?”
Rachel gasped in wonder. Cat nodded in understanding. While Lucy matched her own sad smile.
On that note, it was time for another round. One hour passed and as a second glass of wine made it into her system, Bethany participated in another sharing session.
She spoke about Denver and her residency, and in turn, Rachel told her more about her bakery, Fairy Baked. Cat talked about working as a book editor, while Lucy, as usual, stayed quiet, only perking up once at the mention of the new romance book Cat was reading.
Note to self, remind Lucy how awesome she is and encourage her to share that awesomeness with others.
“What’s it like seeing Benny again?” Rachel innocently batted her eyelashes. “You two dated in high school, didn’t you?”
Bethany’s eyes shot to Lucy who was nervously biting her lip. Then her gaze landed on Cat who all of a sudden was finding her chipped red nail varnish fascinating.
Oh my God. They know.
She didn’t know how they knew, but she felt it immediately. Talk about a giant elephant in the room.
“Okay, come on. Spill it.” Bethany banged both hands down onto the table. “What do you know?” Her eyes flicked between Rachel and Cat as they both sported guilty expressions.
“She’s good,” Cat was quick to point out.
“I know you know something, so let’s just get it all out there,” Bethany continued.
Rachel wasn’t meeting her eyes. Cat went back to looking at her nails. Surprisingly, Lucy was the one to pipe up.
“Come on, ladies. B needs to know what the Woodvalley gossip mill is saying about her. If it was the other way around, you’d want to know, too.”
Bethany mouthed a thank you to her friend and reached over to squeeze her hand. See, Lucy was awesome.
Cat sighed. “The Woodvalley gossip mill knows nothing, I swear.” Yeah, right. “Only me, Rachel and Libby know. No one else, I promise. Not even Bella or Riley and let me tell you, they’ll be royally pissed off when they find out we knew and didn’t tell them.”
She wasn’t thrilled to hear that Cat thought the other women were going to find out, but the other stuff she said didn’t sound too awful. “Are you going to tell me what you, Rachel and Libby know, or do I need to find you a pen so you can draw me a picture?”
Cat’s laughter sliced through some of the tension now thickening the air.
“I knew I liked you,” she smirked. “Okay. Fine. Don’t be mad. But Benny told Zach about you guys...you know...doing the deed.” Fucking Benny. “And Zach tells his wife everything. She, of course, told me because we also tell each other everything...and Rachel might have overheard us.”
On cue, Rachel flashed her another guilty look.
Okay. This wasn’t a disaster. The town didn’t know. Just a few people in Benny’s friendship group. It could be worse.
“Wait.” Bethany waved a finger at the women across from her. “Do all the guys know, too? I take it you tell your husbands everything, too?”
Oh, for fucks sake.
She clearly didn’t need verbal confirmation. Their faces said it all.
“We suck. I get it,” Cat declared. “But we love Benny. And we’ve never seen him react to any woman the way he reacts to you.” Rachel was nodding right along with her friend’s words. “We just don’t want to see him get hurt, that’s all.”
Benny get hurt? Oh, please.
Bethany let out a noise that conveyed just how ridiculous she thought that statement was. It was a cross between a snort and pfft.
“You know that he was the one to break up with me, right? He broke my heart. If anything, I’m the one who stands to get broken all over again here...not him.”
Rachel’s hand went to Bethany’s arm. “We didn’t know, sugar.
No one told us anything. The first we heard of your existence was a few months ago when Benny got your wedding invite.
” She still couldn’t believe her parents had sent an invite to her ex-boyfriend.
Talk about inappropriate. “So, tell us. How long were you together, why’d you break up. ..start at the beginning.”
The beginning? Damnit. She was going to need another drink.