by S. L. Scott
“Stop being so good all the time. You’re spoiling me.”
“You should be spoiled sometimes. We all should.”
“I bet women love to spoil you.”
“I’m as rotten as they come.”
“I suspected as much,” I tease. But I know it’s true. Bennett Everest doesn’t lack for attention. Women notice him, eye him, smile and flirt with him everywhere we’ve been, including a woman who just purposely bumped into him.
The funny thing is, he apologized to her but didn’t look twice. You know who he did see, though? Me. He makes me feel like I matter, as if I’m not invisible. Not a toy for someone to manipulate. He makes me believe in destiny as if I have a future ahead of me.
I don’t know if I do or not, but Bennett sure makes me hope for more.
9
Winter
I can ask him anything, but whether he’ll answer is a whole other story. Nevertheless, I’m greedy with this little taste of power, so I’m savoring every second.
Tapping my chin, I continue strolling down the length of the room until I reach the end. His eyes remain on me, studying me, trying to read my mind or body language. I notice. I see him.
So I drag this out in an attempt to unnerve him even though I should already know better. He’s not a man easily intimidated. At least not so far. “Let me think.” When I walk back and reach his side again, I ask, “Where did you grow up?”
He chuckles. Bennett sees right through me. I hate that I’m that obvious, but I gave him a softball question in hopes of getting one in return.
“I grew up in Houston, as you probably already know, but I’ll do you one better. I went to the University of Texas in Austin—worked hard, played harder, and also earned a business degree. After a short stint in California, I returned to Houston to work for my dad. I built a small sales team. The job was easy to come by, but the boss was on my ass day in and day out.” He laughs. “My dad was actually easy to work for, and the pay was decent for a recent graduate. My oldest brother was doing the accounting, so it was a family affair for the most part. My other brother, Ethan, was already in New York and brought me onboard.”
His brother hired him because he was good at his job, but also because he was his brother. That’s how families are supposed to work. Not like mine. I already have so many other questions I want to ask him, but since I’m willing to play by the unspoken rules. “You’re up.” Speaking of up, I crane my neck to catch his eyes. “How tall are you anyway? You’re like a giant.”
“Everything’s bigger in Texas. I’ll let you guess my height since it’s my turn.”
“You’re a real comedian, Everest. So if it’s not your charm, it’s your humor. I swear I’m determined to find your Achilles’ heel.”
“Here’s a secret,” he whispers, the back of his hand straddling the side of his mouth. “I don’t have one.”
I believe him. But something has to make him putty in my hands. Food or drink? Fast cars or cigars? Kinky sex? What will make a man like Bennett Everest cave to a woman like me?
I stop and stare down at the white floor—my red shoes standing in stark contrast—as my throat tightens and my breath exhales with a sharp edge. “What am I doing?”
“Ummm . . . looking at art?”
Shaking my head, I close my eyes, squeezing them tight. “Not this museum. You?”
“Me? What about me?”
Spinning around to face him, I reply, “I’m trying to figure you out.”
His hands move back and forth between us. “As I am you. That’s why we’re asking questions, exchanging answers, getting to know each other.”
“No, it’s not the same. I let my past in and started treating you like a game.”
“I don’t understand. Spell it out for me.”
With a tight chest matching my throat, I do what I’ve never done before—lay my soul bare and expose what I hide from the world. “I started working an angle, but I caught myself. I stopped my thoughts from digging deeper because I do want to get to know you.” I pause, unsure if I should say more, but I’m in too deep to stop. “I like you, Bennett.”
“Good, because I like you, too.” A smile starts to grow on his handsome face and holds steady before it spreads any farther. “But I’m still confused what this is between us. Pretending nothing is developing doesn’t make it true. I don’t date women who are in relationships.”
“What happened to a duck is a duck and a date a date?”
“You’re not seeing someone seriously. So when you say you’re unavailable, you mean emotionally, correct?”
When all I want is to keep my secrets from him and enjoy the few days we have together, I sure know how to put myself right in the middle of the spotlight. My shoulders drop just like the pretenses I’ve been holding onto. “Save yourself the trouble and get out now.”
He drags his teeth over his kissable bottom lip but then frees it. “You’re just the kind of trouble worth getting into, Winter.”
“I’m a mess. Can’t you see?” I hate being this raw. This open. This . . . timid. I want Bennett to like me, to want me. Even though I know I can’t have anything with him, he gives me hope.
“What I see is someone scared of the possibility of more—”
“I’m not scared of more, Bennett. I’m scared of . . .” I catch myself. “I’m telling you I’m screwed up.”
“And I’m still here. And quite honestly, I have nothing to burn but daylight, so I might as well burn it with someone I find utterly fascinating.”
“Fascinating?” I scoff. “I’m not that interesting. You just have vacation brain.”
“And what’s vacation brain?”
“With your day-to-day safely tucked in the States, you get to live another life while you’re away.”
“I don’t take vacations. I like my job, going to work, and my life in general. So if I’m here, taking days off, it’s because I want to be here.” He pauses for a moment as if he’s wrestling with something as well. How I wish we were simply strangers who met on a vacation, free to see where this leads. “Winter, what do you want me to do? Can I help you in some way? Fix something? Throw my hands up and be done with you?”
I lower my gaze to his chest, feeling ridiculous for starting this conversation in the first place. “No. You can’t fix it or me, but I don’t want you to leave.”
Taking my hands, he holds them between us, gently rubbing his thumb over my knuckles. It’s filled with the possibility that he’s sticking around and we can get to know each other better. “Although I appreciate the heads-up, the warning doesn’t scare me. Messed up, screwed up, emotional. These things come with life. We’re all screwed up. Just some of us are better at hiding it. Life is full of surprises. Some good. Some bad. It’s how we handle them that makes the difference.”
He’s so good. His heart is pure. He has an uncanny way of restoring hope where I thought there was none.
Wrapping an arm around my neck, he holds me to his side, and I’ve never felt safer in my life. I just want to burrow inside this comfort and not come out until all the bad is out of the way and I can move on with my life and possibly Bennett.
When I wrap my arm around his, he dips his head to the side on top of mine, and whispers, “You’re a lovely package, but it’s who you are on the inside that I like the most.”
“Stop being all—”
“I know. I know. Charming.” Hearing his carefree laughter puts my unsettled soul at ease. Our bodies break from each other, and he looks me in the eyes as if he’ll make a stronger point that way. “You think I’m using lines or working you over, but I’m not. You just bring out the best in me.” The added smirk at the end is a nice touch.
“Well, the best of you is downright romantic. That’s all I’m saying.”
Quirking his lips to the side, he narrows his eyes but then relaxes. “I don’t know what to say to that, but as for the rest, I’m not going to read more into this conversation than it is. I like that y
ou’re being upfront.” I notice his gaze darts to the far side of the room. I check over my shoulder, just in case. “I think the takeaway is that you like me. Guess what, ma chérie? I like you too, even more because you gave me something real.”
From any other guy, I’d be on the fence about the pet name, but that a guy who loves sports and all those guy things says it wins me over every time.
We start walking toward the exit. “We’ve all made bad choices in our lives. All we can do is our best to fix them.”
“There’s a saying about bad choices make great stories. Let me tell you, I could write a series from all the bad I’ve done.”
“Do you know how sexy it is that you know yourself well enough to acknowledge faults and want to do better?”
“Don’t we all?”
“No,” he replies, chuckling. “I’ve dated a lot of models and a few actresses—”
“Of course, you have.” I sigh sarcastically.
“My point being that they rarely see their flaws because they’re surrounded by yes people calling them perfect every day.”
“I didn’t have that luxury.”
“Good. Neither did I, and I think we turned out pretty okay.”
“Pretty okay?” I can’t help but laugh now. “That’s what we’re striving for? Pretty okay?”
Taking my hand, he warms me from my fingertips to my toes. “Guess so.” He stops, and says, “As much as I can appreciate the work that it took to create these masterpieces, I can only stare at them for so long. Are you ready to leave?”
I don’t know why I find that funny, but I do, and I can appreciate his honesty like he respected mine.
In the middle of Paris, we start meandering as if we have no destination in mind. But I have plans for this man, things I want to show him that I’ve never done with anyone else. Maybe I was just waiting for the right person to experience them with.
I’m tempted to tell him everything—why I’m here, how I got here, the scheme I’m a part of, the devious debts that are due. Bennett Everest makes me want to confess my sins and then beg for forgiveness. Unfortunately, I think it’s too late to cleanse my soul. Even by him.
The only thing that matters is what’s happening right here, right now in the present. So before the goodness of the day disappears, I ask another question. “Have you ever eaten escargot?”
* * *
Not two hours later, the sun has set. As the lights dim, a familiar French tune wafts through the busy evening crowd. I’ve started to relax because the man I’m with has provided so much warmth and easy conversation, something I’d forgotten but had missed. He’s a nice distraction to the mundane life I’ve been living, making me laugh before I forgot how.
“I’m starting to think that all people do in Paris is eat well and drink coffee all day and wine all night while watching the world go by,” he says.
Having just taken a sip of my Pinot Noir, I choke. I cover my mouth with a napkin and try not to spit out the wine. That would not be pretty, and the last thing I want is to have red wine running down my chin. He tends to catch me off guard more than I’m used to. I think Paris has made me softer in more ways than my midsection. “Is there something wrong with that? Sounds like the good life to me.”
“Nothing wrong with it, but when do they work?”
“They work around living instead of fitting living into their work schedule. It’s a good lesson. One I never knew until I lived here.”
“Speaking of you living here, when you said you’re breaking, do you mean you’re taking a break, a sabbatical?”
“I’m not sure how to answer that, Bennett.” He’s too perceptive.
“I’ve liked the honesty route.”
I set the glass down and begin to spin the stem before glancing up at him sitting across from me. “I don’t know if I can be that honest about everything.”
That gives him pause. He looks away, but with a more determined tone, he asks, “Is the Winter with me now the same woman the rest of the world sees?”
“When I’m with you, I’m the person I want to be.”
The waiter comes between us briefly and blocks me from reading his expressive eyes. My heart starts racing as I sit impatiently waiting, wondering what he’ll say next, or ask, and if I can answer truthfully.
The waiter leaves after setting the dish of escargot between us. Peeking up, I wait for him to lead. Instead of peppering me with more questions, he picks up his fork, and says, “No time like the present.” He pops a snail in his mouth and starts to chew, slowly at first, and then he swallows. “It’s not that bad.”
I can’t let him show me up, so I take a deep breath and eat one. I don’t love it, and I’m struggling to even like it. If I was alone, I’d spit it out, but he swallowed, so I will too. The right side of his mouth rises. “Not your cup of tea, huh?”
“Or coffee, wine, or ugh. No, I didn’t like it. It’s gross. Never make me eat another.” He starts to laugh, and then I do.
Holding his glass up, he says, “Here’s to no more snails.”
“I will definitely toast to that.”
With our eyes on each other, we both drink. He sets his glass down and leans in. “You know what I could really go for?”
“What’s that?”
“A steak. A big, juicy steak.”
God, he makes eating a steak sound like a sinful act. “That does sound good. I don’t even remember the last time I had a steak.”
“What do you like to eat?”
“I eat a lot of salads. Sad, sad salads,” I say. The thought of a steak really does sound good, and my stomach growls. “God, I need a steak.”
“I think it’s time I buy you a proper dinner since this is a duck?”
I burst out laughing. “Yes, an official duck.” And the best duck . . . date, I’ve ever had.
In awe, I stare at him. Nothing could have prepared me for where we ended up when we met a few days ago, but now that we’re here, basking in each other’s company, I don’t want tonight to ever end. How could I when I feel like I’m finally breathing again?
10
Bennett
I’ve avoided six calls from my brothers today, but I should really take the seventh. Winter makes it so tempting to ignore it like the other times. I just know if I do, they’ll send out a search and rescue team.
I hold the phone up. “I’m sorry, but I need to take this.”
“It’s fine,” she says, waving me off like it’s no big deal.
Excusing myself, I walk through the restaurant toward the door. Just outside, I stand among the smokers congregated out on the sidewalk. “Hey, what’s up?”
“What do you mean, what’s up? You were supposed to be in the office today,” Ethan says. His voice is eerily calm . . . Shit.
“I sent an email that I’m taking vacation days.” I release a heavy sigh. “I never take time off. I’m taking two fucking days. The company isn’t going to fall apart in that time.”
“That’s right because it’s my fucking company. What are you still doing there?” Ethan asks.
“I’m okay. Thanks for asking,” I reply curtly. There’s a slight echo. I’m on a speaker. That means my other brother is there too.
“Glad to fucking hear it,” Ethan remarks. “Wish you would have answered the first call, so I didn’t have to spend my day worrying about you. Singer’s called me three times worried sick.”
Ah. That’s when I realize this isn’t about me taking a few days off. This is about their concern for my well-being. His wife is apparently not the only one worried. “I get it. You miss me, but I’ll be back the day after tomorrow. In the meantime, I’m sightseeing.”
“With Winter Nobleman?” Hutton’s voice is distant. He’s a pacer.
There are a lot worse ways he could have asked what I know he’s thinking. “Look, sightseeing isn’t fucking. I’m not having sex with her since I know that’s what you guys think is going on here. But I do like her, and I also think there’s
more to this story than I was told by her father.”
“So you’re not sightseeing, you’re investigating?” Hutton asks.
“No, I’m taking a few days off, and we’re spending time together, getting to know each other. That’s it.” So far. No promises for later. “She’s . . . fascinating.”
“Oh wow, baby bro,” Ethan starts, “sounds like you might be—Do I say it, Hutton, or let him off easy?”
Hutton replies, “Say it,” then chuckles.
“Nooo.” I’m already shaking my head. “No need to say it.”
“In love.”
“Asshole,” I snap.
“So it’s true?” he adds. “We’ve seen photos. She’s—”
Standing under a streetlamp, I turn back, trying to see her through the window. “Beautiful.”
“I’ll tell ya. I fell for Singer the moment I saw her,” Ethan says.
Hutton sounds closer to the phone when he says, “The moment I saw Ally, I knew we were meant to be more than a casual thing.”
Winter spins a diamond in her ear, glancing around at everyone in the restaurant. The smile I left her with has vanished, and she appears unsettled. From my absence? “As much as I’d love to stroll down memory fucking lane with you two and relive your fairy-tale endings, I need to go.”
“Yeah, yeah.” Hutton laughs. “Don’t forget about the deals we have signed since it looks like the Nobleman contract won’t go through by the end of the year.”
I’m quick to reply. “It’s going through.” The deal is a good one before he added that clause. I should be able to close it on merit alone.
“It’s good to see you’re still on track. Enjoy your time off, and we’ll see you in a few days,” Ethan says.
I tuck my phone away and head back in, keeping my eyes on Winter. As soon as she sees me, she exhales a breath, and the anxiety that I spied before disappears with it. A small smile reappears, but she seems to catch herself and takes a sip of wine as if everything’s been fine all along.
