Naturally, Bennett had rented a car when he got to the island. He guided Adah to a white compact car in the hotel’s parking lot and opened the door for her, waited until she was properly settled in the passenger seat before firmly closing the door. He sank into the driver’s seat and started the engine.
“So how are things going with my wayward fiancée?” He skillfully guided the car out of the nearly full parking lot and onto the road like he knew where he was going. Maybe he did; maybe he was as familiar with the island as Kingsley was.
Adah ducked her head, wincing at the thought of the man she apparently couldn’t get out of her mind for five damn seconds. “Don’t even joke about that.”
“That bad, huh?”
She sighed and fiddled with her seat belt, ready to tell him everything, or at least the edited version of what had happened between her and Kingsley on the beach. “I can’t go through with the wedding.” She blinked. That was not what she’d planned to say.
“Okay,” Bennett said.
She felt his eyes on her, a comforting sensation despite her own dawning horror of what just came out of her mouth. “That’s all you’re going to tell me?”
“Do you want me to say more?” Bennett tilted a playful brow her way. “No one is going to force you to marry me, Adah. I’ve seen you struggle with this decision practically since the day you made it. The only person dragging you kicking and screaming to the altar is you.”
“Don’t say that!”
He chuckled. It wasn’t a mean sound, but it did make her feel a little foolish. “Having our families joined by this damn agreement would be great for the company and for the idea that our parents had, and the key word here is had. But we adapt and change to circumstances, my girl. And this, you falling for some surfer in the middle of nowhere—”
“He’s not a surfer!” She sputtered despite herself.
“Definitely qualifies as a change in circumstances,” Bennett finished.
Adah pressed her palms against her face and shook her head. She was still wrestling with the words that had jumped out of her mouth without permission. Was she willing to commit to them and call off the wedding based on nothing but a couple of heavy petting sessions and eleventh-hour jitters?
“I just can’t do this,” she said again. “I...he and I hung out today and things went further than I planned.”
Bennett took his gaze from the road to glance at her in surprise. “You finally got some?”
Her face flushed. “Oh my God, stop! You’re just as bad as Selene.”
Another smile, something warmer, almost indulgent, flickered across his mouth. “There are worse comparisons you could make.”
He was right about that. Selene was one of the best women, the best people, she knew in the world. Adah remembered telling her friend about the plan to marry Bennett and save Palmer-Mitchell Naturals. Selene had asked her if she was sure, talked her through the cons of her decision and later comforted her when the doubts struck.
Selene never thought the decision was the right one, but when Adah, in a fit of annoyance, had snapped at her to drop the subject, Selene let it go and never brought up her reservations again. And even as the years went by and Adah began to voice her own doubts, not once had Selene said “I told you so.” Adah didn’t think that, in the reversed position, she would have been that noble. She sighed.
“So what’s up with you and this guy anyway?” Bennett asked. “Are you two trying to elope or something?” He skillfully guided the car through the narrow streets, one hand on the wheel while he changed gears with the other, occasionally glancing away from the road to rest his gaze on her face. “I hope you’re not basing a life decision on the ability of one guy to rock your world.”
“Please! I’m not that impulsive.” Almost, but not quite.
“Just making sure, love. You know I have no problem with you changing your mind about this marriage thing. Our parents will get over it and make other plans, but I don’t want you to get hurt. Not even by your own decisions.”
Adah tucked her tongue between her lips, thinking very carefully before she spoke. “It’s not about him—I mean, yes, I met him and he...affected me in ways I never expected, but I’ve been indecisive for a while now. You know that.”
“I do. I do.” He pulled the car into the parking lot of a one-story colonial building, the gravel crunching under the tires. “As long as you do, too. Men are interesting creatures.” He looked at her as he turned off the engine. “And by interesting, I mean we think with our dicks most times. And we assume women think with their hearts and make decisions based on their lust for marriage, or whatever. If he knows the whole story, he might think you’re breaking this thing off just for him. That might scare him off.”
Adah shook her head. “I don’t think that’ll happen. I’ve been pretty clear that, I’m...” What exactly was she doing anyway?
“Just having fun in Aruba and he could’ve been any guy as far as your sweet little libido is concerned?”
She laughed, even while heat flooded her cheeks. Bennett had always been able to make her blush and laugh easily. “Not exactly. But it’s been really physical between us, and I want to explore that without feeling guilty about hurting you.” Although they both knew Bennett wouldn’t be hurt by anything she did. She wondered if he even had a jealous bone in his body. He applied his own “live and let live” attitude to everybody around him.
He gave her a look that said exactly that. “Watch out for your own tender bits, little one.”
Adah shook her head, smiling so widely that her cheeks hurt. How could she have thought marriage would work between her and someone who called her these ridiculous names? Little one. She loved him for that and for his overall tenderness, and for never pretending the feelings between them were something different from what they were.
“I love you, Bennett.”
He helped her out of the car with a grin. “Don’t let your mother hear you say that. She’ll get the wrong idea.”
At the mention of her mother, Adah rolled her eyes and dared to make a joke. “It’s not her fault you’re perfect son-in-law material.”
They walked into the restaurant together, a homey space with paintings of different landmarks around Aruba hung on the walls, glass display cases containing small pieces of handmade local jewelry for sale, and tables spread out at a comfortable distance from one another.
The host immediately greeted and seated them and had barely turned to go back to his post when a waiter came with water and an offer to get them something stronger. The waiter took their orders and quickly left, the height of efficiency and good customer service.
“Mama’s going to kill me when she finds out I called off our engagement,” Adah said once they were alone again.
Bennett laughed at her. “You’ll survive this, and so will she.”
“And the family business?”
“It’ll be fine, too.”
Since the marriage agreement had been made, Leilani’s Pearls, thanks to Bennett’s hard work and business sense, had recovered to the point where they didn’t really need Adah’s parents anymore. Any decision Adah made now would affect her family more so than Bennett’s.
Adah cursed. “I feel so selfish right now.”
“It’s not selfish to want to be happy, doll.”
“Of course you’d say that.”
“It doesn’t make it any less true.” He tapped the back of her hand with two fingers, his version of reassurance. “Life is too damn short to make sacrifices this big.”
Across the table from her, he looked relaxed and happy, a man without a care in the world. Would he be sacrificing anything if their marriage went on as planned?
“What about you, Bennett? Isn’t there anyone who makes you reconsider any of this?”
He drew
his hand back and braced his forearms against the table. The handsome planes of his face went blank as he seemed to think about his answer. “There’s someone I would give this all up for if she was interested in me the way I’m interested in her,” he finally said. “But she isn’t, so my feelings don’t matter.”
Adah drew back, surprise blowing into her chest like a sonic boom. She’d asked the question almost as a hypothetical, believing that someone like Bennett simply lived and loved because he wanted to, not in reaction to the fact that a woman didn’t want him the way he wanted her. “I’m so sorry,” she said softly.
“Don’t feel sorry for me, doll face. I got over that a long time ago.”
She didn’t believe him. “Okay...”
The waiter came then to bring their drinks and took orders for their meals. Bennett took a slow sip of his wine and gave Adah a pained look. “I didn’t come here to talk about me,” he said.
“And I didn’t come to Aruba to fall into bed with a well-hung stranger either.”
Bennett cringed the same time Adah did. “That was way too much information.”
“I know, right?” She pressed fingers to her lips, embarrassed and shocked at herself. “I don’t even know—” But she cut herself off before anything else could come out of her mouth. Bennett was already looking at her in disbelief.
“So you haven’t even slept with this stud yet?”
“Sort of. I mean, we...” She blushed as she said the words, unable to continue.
“Again, even though I just asked, let’s just keep it to broad strokes, shall we?”
A giggle bubbled up from Adah’s throat. “So to speak.”
“An unfortunate choice of words.” He grimaced like he’d just found out where babies actually came from, and she nearly doubled over in laughter, reaching for his hand across the table and holding fast, so grateful for him and the way he was able to help her forget about her problems.
“I’m so glad you came tonight.”
He smiled back and squeezed her hand. “Good. I figured face-to-face was the best way to have this conversation. That way you couldn’t bullshit your way out of what you needed to say.”
“I was going to call you and confess all my sins, then agree to set the wedding date.”
“My little martyr.”
The sound of laughter near the entrance of the restaurant drew Adah’s gaze. A blonde head appeared—Annika from the nighttime snorkeling trip. She had her hands in the pockets of a stylish jumpsuit that skimmed her model-lean figure. Still laughing, she turned her head to look at someone walking up behind her. A blond man Adah didn’t recognize. Then Kingsley walked in, gorgeous in a white, open-necked shirt and dark jeans. Adah lost her breath.
Although he seemed completely engaged in the conversation with Annika, he looked around the restaurant as he walked in and immediately saw Adah. His eyes narrowed, and the animated look on his face become more subdued.
She snatched her hand from Bennett’s. With a complete lack of tact, he turned to look toward the source of the noise and took in what was going on with a quick sweep of his gaze.
“That’s your new friend?” But it was more of a statement than a question. “We should go say hello.” His dimples flashed with mischief.
Adah frantically shook her head.
“No. We shouldn’t.” But telling Bennett what to do was like telling lightning not to strike. He gave Kingsley an appraising look, watched him and his party get seated on the opposite side of the small restaurant. Just as Bennett was about to get up and make a nuisance of himself, their food arrived. Adah breathed a soft sigh of relief.
But she had no sooner picked up her fork to eat when a quiet presence moving across the restaurant and toward their table drew her attention. She looked up with the fork clenched in her hand.
“Adah.” Kingsley approached the table with the confident and predatory rock of his hips that made Adah’s mouth water. “I didn’t expect to see you again today.”
Again. Both she and Bennett would have had to be deaf not to hear the significance of that word.
She cleared her throat. “It’s good to see you.” She deliberately avoided the word again, then swallowed, put her fork down. “I didn’t think I’d leave the hotel for the rest of the night, but Bennett paid a surprise visit.” She gestured to him sitting across the table from her, and he stood up, holding out his hand to shake.
“I’ve heard a lot about you,” he said to Kingsley, and Adah wanted to kick him.
Kingsley offered his own hand and his first name. “I may have heard a thing or two about you.”
Was it her imagination or did he grip Bennett’s hand a little too hard?
“Will you be in town long?” Kingsley asked after he released Bennett’s hand. He stuffed his hands in the pockets of his slacks, the equivalent, Adah thought, of wiping off his hands.
“Not very.” Bennett stayed standing. “I’m making a quick stop over to see this lovely young woman before I head back to the States.”
“Well, I hope you enjoy everything the island has to offer while you’re here. It’s a beautiful place, and not only because Adah is here.” He dipped his head once to indicate Adah and to catch her eye.
“I’ll keep that in mind,” Bennett said, his eyes flashing merciless amusement at Adah’s expense.
A hiccup of awkward silence made Adah want to say something, but she held her tongue before something stupid could trip off of it. More seconds of stilted silence ticked by while the two men loomed over her, looking at each other.
“I’ll let you get back to your meal,” Kingsley finally said. “It was good to meet you—Brandon, was it?”
Bennett corrected him with a cheerful flash of teeth. “Same here.” He sank down into his chair before Kingsley could step away, apparently bored of the game now. “I’m sure I’ll see you again.”
“I’m not so confident of that. But we’ll see what the future holds.” He looked at Adah again. “Take care.”
She swallowed the hard lump in her throat and could only nod at him before he turned away and headed back to his friends. Adah could hear their voices speaking in Dutch and laughing easily. She didn’t watch him walk away. She couldn’t.
“Well. He certainly wants a repeat performance.”
Adah ducked her head, still unable to speak. Her stomach was twisted up in knots and the food that seemed so appetizing before now made her turn away in revulsion.
“You okay, little one?” Bennett asked, taking her hand.
“Not really.”
“Do you want to leave?”
She shook her head, and her entire body trembled with the violence of the motion. “No. Let’s stay. I know you’re hungry. I’ll get over this.”
But it was unbearable. Kingsley’s presence had destroyed any sense of equilibrium she’d found after her conversation with Bennett. Nearly an hour later, with her plate mostly full and her stomach still too twisted to do any of the formerly delicious-looking food justice, Adah wished she was anywhere but in the restaurant where she could still hear the sound of Kingsley and his friends’ conversation, the rumbling bass of his voice, their laughter that continued uninterrupted.
Bennett put down cash for the meal, his dessert finished.
“Let’s go. Any more of this and I feel like I’m torturing you.” He didn’t wait for her to get up, just pushed his seat back at the same time she gave him a grateful look, her chest still tight with discomfort while her belly churned, a twisted roller coaster. He helped her from her chair and guided her out of the restaurant, apparently trying to be subtle with the placement of his body between her and where Kingsley was sitting.
In the car, he started the engine without comment. When they were back on the road, coasting toward Adah’s hotel, she felt his eyes on her again.
>
“Is there any place you want me to drop you?”
It was such a pointed question that she caught her breath. He wasn’t suggesting...? “Wouldn’t that be a little presumptuous of me? He might not even go back home after the restaurant.”
“He might not. You’re right.” Bennett tapped his fingers on the steering wheel in thought. “Come out for a drink with me—then I can drop you off at his place later tonight.”
Adah wanted to say no. She shouldn’t go to Kingsley’s and disrupt his life any more than she already had. But the desire to see him was a sudden and demanding ache. Once Bennett suggested it, there was nothing else she wanted more.
“No,” she said. “I won’t drink tonight, but I will have some ice cream with you.” She nearly looked away in embarrassment at Bennett’s knowing grin.
“That’s my girl.” Bennett flashed her a smile and squeezed her shoulder. “Where should I take the fair princess?”
They ended up near Palm Beach and the high-rise hotels. The gelato place Adah chose was the best she’d found on the island so far with enough flavors to satisfy her taste for variety. She insisted on treating Bennett to a second dessert, and they walked through the small shopping area that was alive with browsing tourists and the slow meandering of cars on the small side street.
“Thank you again for this,” she said.
Finally, her intense reaction to Kingsley’s presence at the restaurant was beginning to subside. The awareness of him was still there, a faint pulse beat under her skin, but it was no longer a fight-or-flight impulse that would only lead to recklessness.
“I couldn’t do any less for one of my best girls.”
Adah laughed. “I’m not sure what I should say to that.”
“How about ‘thank you’?”
“Thank you, Bennett.” She looped her arm through his, and they walked on.
The Pleasure of His Company Page 12
