Chapter 26
Ben was trying to figure out what in the actual hell he’d been thinking, kissing Mylie like that. He stood at his front window,
watching the tarp they’d put up where the glass was shattered.
He shook his head. He’d lost control. That’s all it was. They’d have to talk about it, of course, but it wasn’t going to happen
again. Nothing good could come of it. But holy fuck, it had been hot. More than hot. It had been... well, everything he
thought it would be. He shuddered to think about what might have happened if Jodi hadn’t interrupted them. Ben knew he’d been
mere moments away from throwing her over his shoulder and finding a place to lay her down, right there out in the open.
And then they’d come home to a hole in Mylie’s house, and he’d been so blinded by rage that he temporarily forgot himself.
He was angry at Robbie, and he’d taken it out on Mylie. He knew damn well Mylie could handle herself—would handle herself.
He wasn’t some knight in shining armor here to defend her honor. But that didn’t stop him from being pissed off and wanting
to smash something, even though he knew it was childish. He shouldn’t have left their conversation like that.
It was too late to talk to her now. Besides, she had Cassie to deal with as well as the window. He hoped the teen was okay. He’d gotten bits and pieces of what happened on the way home. He’d forgotten how awful high school could be. He thought that being back in Clay Creek would dredge up some of those old feelings, but so far, that hadn’t been the case. Nearly everyone, with the exception of Robbie Price, had been nothing but welcoming, friendly even. He liked the way Melissa stayed open for them just to make Cassie feel better. He liked the way Mylie knew Melissa would stay open just for them. These were the little things he hadn’t known he missed.
Ben stepped closer to the window when he saw a shape moving toward his house from across the street. At first, it was a blur,
headed toward him, but by the time the shape got to his porch, he realized it was Mylie. She was poised at the bottom step,
staring up at his house, shifting from one bare foot to the other, seemingly trying to decide what to do.
She wasn’t wearing anything but a nightgown.
Instinctively, Ben went to the door to unlock it. He wanted to pull her inside. He wanted to kiss her again. He wanted...
well, he just wanted. But he pulled his hand away from the lock at the last moment and stood there. He could still feel her
lingering on his mouth, and he was desperate to be near her again.
If he let her inside, he knew what would happen.
He waited for her to knock and leaned his head against the door, knowing that if she did, he wouldn’t be able to ignore her,
wouldn’t be able to stop himself.
When she didn’t, relief and disappointment swirled around him. She knew then, just like he did, what would happen in the morning
when they realized what they’d done, when they realized their mistake.
Because that’s what it would have been—a mistake.
Ben stood at the door until the light across the street flickered off for good, and he was bathed in darkness once again.