easier.”
“The site?” Once more, she found herself trying to connect
the dots in what he was saying and it took her a few seconds. “Oh, you work
construction?”
“Yeah,” he said simply as he dug his keys out of his pocket.
No further response or elaboration. While his reasons for
rushing out on her were mostly valid, there were still ways around it if he
really wanted to stay. But he clearly didn’t and didn’t want to outright say
so.
Another untruth. This one much easier to comprehend. She
would have called bullshit, and was just about to, when she remembered that he
didn’t owe her anything. Keeping their actual situation in perspective was key.
He wasn’t her boyfriend—or even her friend really—so if he wanted to keep his
business private, that was his prerogative. And if he didn’t want to become
more than sexually involved with her? Well, that was his choice too. She had to
respect it.
At least he was trying to be sensitive of her feelings. It
wasn’t like she was looking for anything more anyway. A relationship, more than
likely, wouldn’t work on so many levels so at this point she had to ask herself
why she cared so much.
That very grownup decision made, she wrapped a blanket
around her body and stood, intending to walk him to the door. This goodbye was
a little awkward, she wasn’t going to lie, but she had a sneaking suspicion
that this would be the last time they saw each other while she was in town.
Opening the door, he turned toward her and she stood on her
tiptoes to kiss him softly on the cheek. “Thank you.” She felt her face flame.
“I mean, for everything.”
That rare smile graced his entirely too handsome face and
her heart stopped. Good Lord. Moving past this man to “normal” men was
going to take some doing. But it was what it was.
Bending down, he kissed her lips gently. “It was definitely
my pleasure, Sugar.”
Pleasure was the right word, but it sure as hell wasn’t all
his. He had given her enough fantasies to fuel her imagination for quite some
time. For the first time in she didn’t even know how long, she was actually
looking forward to putting pen to paper to craft out a new and immensely
improved love scene between Charlie and Natalie.
But as he walked out into the night and she closed the door
behind him, she knew she wouldn’t be able to get what had just happened between
Ben and Emma out of her head. More than likely she would replay every dirty
detail over and over in her mind, trying to convert it into a scene for her
book but picturing Ben’s sexy self instead of her leading man, Charlie.
Sighing, she pushed away from the door and wondered how long
it would take to fall asleep.
Chapter Six
It couldn’t have been a more perfect fall day if Emma had
designed it herself. The sun gave off a warm amber glow, bathing the small
forest surrounding the little lake in golden light. A cool, crisp breeze blew
over the surface of the water, ruffling the multicolored leaves on the trees. It
was a little brisk but the sweatshirt she wore kept her plenty warm.
As predicted, she hadn’t fallen asleep right away last
night. Then when she woke up this morning all the events of the past few days
bombarded her until she couldn’t sit still. Fresh air had been what she had
needed, so she had grabbed a pen and a notebook and took off in search of the
perfect spot to spark her creative juices.
That was when she happened upon this serene lake and had
spent the entire morning lost in her imagination. If her encounters with Ben
were going to play through her mind like a broken record, then she might as
well put the memories to good use. And she had been. Already her characters
seemed more three-dimensional and the prose had a more authentic quality that
had been lacking before.
In fact, she was so absorbed in the fictional world she had
created, she didn’t notice the person standing next to the bench she had
claimed upon arrival at the lake. Not until
“The site?” Once more, she found herself trying to connect
the dots in what he was saying and it took her a few seconds. “Oh, you work
construction?”
“Yeah,” he said simply as he dug his keys out of his pocket.
No further response or elaboration. While his reasons for
rushing out on her were mostly valid, there were still ways around it if he
really wanted to stay. But he clearly didn’t and didn’t want to outright say
so.
Another untruth. This one much easier to comprehend. She
would have called bullshit, and was just about to, when she remembered that he
didn’t owe her anything. Keeping their actual situation in perspective was key.
He wasn’t her boyfriend—or even her friend really—so if he wanted to keep his
business private, that was his prerogative. And if he didn’t want to become
more than sexually involved with her? Well, that was his choice too. She had to
respect it.
At least he was trying to be sensitive of her feelings. It
wasn’t like she was looking for anything more anyway. A relationship, more than
likely, wouldn’t work on so many levels so at this point she had to ask herself
why she cared so much.
That very grownup decision made, she wrapped a blanket
around her body and stood, intending to walk him to the door. This goodbye was
a little awkward, she wasn’t going to lie, but she had a sneaking suspicion
that this would be the last time they saw each other while she was in town.
Opening the door, he turned toward her and she stood on her
tiptoes to kiss him softly on the cheek. “Thank you.” She felt her face flame.
“I mean, for everything.”
That rare smile graced his entirely too handsome face and
her heart stopped. Good Lord. Moving past this man to “normal” men was
going to take some doing. But it was what it was.
Bending down, he kissed her lips gently. “It was definitely
my pleasure, Sugar.”
Pleasure was the right word, but it sure as hell wasn’t all
his. He had given her enough fantasies to fuel her imagination for quite some
time. For the first time in she didn’t even know how long, she was actually
looking forward to putting pen to paper to craft out a new and immensely
improved love scene between Charlie and Natalie.
But as he walked out into the night and she closed the door
behind him, she knew she wouldn’t be able to get what had just happened between
Ben and Emma out of her head. More than likely she would replay every dirty
detail over and over in her mind, trying to convert it into a scene for her
book but picturing Ben’s sexy self instead of her leading man, Charlie.
Sighing, she pushed away from the door and wondered how long
it would take to fall asleep.
Chapter Six
It couldn’t have been a more perfect fall day if Emma had
designed it herself. The sun gave off a warm amber glow, bathing the small
forest surrounding the little lake in golden light. A cool, crisp breeze blew
over the surface of the water, ruffling the multicolored leaves on the trees. It
was a little brisk but the sweatshirt she wore kept her plenty warm.
As predicted, she hadn’t fallen asleep right away last
night. Then when she woke up this morning all the events of the past few days
bombarded her until she couldn’t sit still. Fresh air had been what she had
needed, so she had grabbed a pen and a notebook and took off in search of the
perfect spot to spark her creative juices.
That was when she happened upon this serene lake and had
spent the entire morning lost in her imagination. If her encounters with Ben
were going to play through her mind like a broken record, then she might as
well put the memories to good use. And she had been. Already her characters
seemed more three-dimensional and the prose had a more authentic quality that
had been lacking before.
In fact, she was so absorbed in the fictional world she had
created, she didn’t notice the person standing next to the bench she had
claimed upon arrival at the lake. Not until
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