Two
I had no more than shut the door and turned to lock it than Ben had found his way out onto the patio and was leaning over the balcony railing. Granted, it was only a six-floor drop, but even a daredevil like Ben might not survive.
I grabbed the back of his dress shirt and pulled him back to safety before shoving him into one of the chairs.
He smiled up at me with lustful glassy eyes that matched the Caribbean ocean. “You need to learn to live a little, Lizzy. You know, that’s why we were never a thing.”
“And you need to grow up,” I answered, plopping back down in my seat. My quiet night of letting the drunken party people entertain me from afar had gotten a lot closer to home this time. I was now officially on babysitting detail. Next year I wasn’t answering the door unless it was Gandhi himself, wanting to watch the festivities from my patio. “So, you want to tell me what happened?”
“What makes you think anything happened?” he asked, rising from his seat and heading back inside to the kitchen. This time I followed, locked the French doors behind me, and moved a chair in the path. Not that Ben couldn’t move the furniture, but the scratching wood against my tile would act like my own personal warning.
Ben grabbed another bite of my fruitcake and tossed it into his mouth.
“It’s dangerous to eat my dessert, especially that one.” I sauntered into the room and took the tin from his hands. “It’s magical.”
“You need some magic in your life.” He chuckled and pinched off another piece, holding it to my lips.
“I’m not eating that. There’s no telling where your hands have been.”
A sensuous smile played on his lips. His devilish gaze drifted down to my lips. “Eat it, and I’ll tell you why I drank.”
I raised a brow and remained unmoving.
“You know you want to.” His square jaw visibly softened as hints of humor surrounded the fine lines around his mouth. “But don’t bite me.”
“You promise you’ll tell me what happened?” I needed to know. Not because I cared, but because I needed answers to tell my brother before Ben passed out.
“I promise,” he answered.
I licked my lips and slowly opened my mouth. His gaze followed every move. Ben visibly swallowed before placing the fruitcake on my tongue.
I lightly closed my teeth on his finger and winked, reminding him that I wasn’t above inflicting pain.
He pulled his fingers away and licked them as I chewed.
“Lindsey broke up with me,” he said before heading toward my bedroom.
“Who’s Lindsey? I thought you were dating someone named Sue.” I quickly followed behind him and watched as he kicked off his shoes, unbuttoned his shirt, and slid the material down his arms.
Ben might have worked behind a desk, but apparently, he didn’t miss any days at the gym. He was downright mouthwatering as I watched the way his muscles bunched with the slightest movement. There was a tingling in the pit of my stomach I couldn’t ignore, and I licked my lips before I even realized what I’d done.
When he reached for the button on his pants, I rested my hand over his, stopping him. “Those stay on, or I’ll call Jack to come back and pick you up.”
“Spoilsport.” Ben sighed and plopped face down on my bed.
“Now who’s Lindsey?”
“My assistant’s best friend. We dated for two weeks.”
He went through women like I went through gallons of my favorite ice cream, and just as fast. “What happened?”
“Your brother’s bachelor party. That’s what happened.”
“Okay. What about it? It wasn’t a secret you guys were going out tonight. Unless you did something stupid, like sleep with a stripper, then I don’t see the problem.”
“I messed up.” Ben rolled onto his back to face the ceiling. “When I got home, she was waiting at my place to surprise me. It’s probably better this way. No reason to string her along.”
More likely, she’d been there to see if he returned home alone. Ben didn’t like clingers, and it sounded like whoever this Lindsey was, she was getting a bit too close.
