She’d felt welcomed, but didn’t say much since she hadn’t read the book they were discussing. By the end of the night Alexis had her first TBR—To Be Read—pile, and what she hoped to be a few new friends.
A new life. She now had a social life. Sort of. It was invigorating, going out to the book club and being social with other women in town. And now her all-day date with Ben.
A thing of beauty, he was, a satisfied smile on his face, sitting behind the wheel driving them to dinner.
He was right. Being together was enough. And romantic. There were no flowers, no music, no fancy clothes, and still, her heart raced every time he took her hand in his. Every time his knuckles skimmed across her cheek. Every time his lips caressed her neck, her mouth.
A lesson in love learned in one afternoon. No, not love. Alexis wouldn’t admit to Ben, or to herself, that she’d fallen in love with him. A wonderful friendship formed, yes, and she knew all too well how friendships didn’t bode well with love.
Friends with benefits was more their style.
“You know I’m not the creative type,” Alexis warned Ben. She pointed at the next intersection. “Turn right up ahead.” They’d have a nice dinner and sneak back to her bedroom for quiet sex while her parents slept downstairs. Not exactly original. “We’re here.”
Ben turned into the China Dragon. “Chinese?”
“We’ve had seafood and I didn’t want to attempt Italian. I’m sure Maine’s idea is vastly different than what you’re used to. I figured Chinese was a safe bet.”
“It’s perfect.”
“I don’t really do the date thing,” she said, nerves twisting in her gut. “I’m not the dating type.”
“I’ve seen the way Ty and Wade are with you, and the way the townsfolk talk about you. I don’t know why you’re so hard on yourself. Everyone respects you.”
“Exactly. I have respect.”
“You say that like it’s a bad thing.” Ben turned off the ignition, but didn’t reach for the handle. “You’re an amazing woman, Alexis.” He stroked her cheek with his finger, and those warm and fuzzies filled her insides again.
“I don’t date regularly.”
“Why not?”
“Honestly?” Could she tell him?
“Only if you want to tell me,” Ben said, as if reading her thoughts. He always knew the right words to say.
Feeling comforted by his touch, by his eyes, by the softness in his voice, she fidgeted with the cuffs of her coat and opened up.
“Grace is the pretty one—”
“I beg to differ,” he interrupted.
Alexis rolled her eyes, brushing off his compliment. “You’ve never met her.”
“I’ve seen pictures.”
“You’re just saying that because you know you’ll get lucky later.” She rushed with her words, not letting him interrupt again. “Grace attracted a lot of boys in school. When she was a freshman and I was a senior, my friends still invited me to hang out with them, but would ask if I could bring my sister with me. She loved being the center of attention, and dated the entire football team. Well, it seemed like it at least.”
She shifted in her seat and continued. “She started using more make-up, hit up our parents for more trendy clothes, even though she knew they couldn’t afford it, and…matured too quickly. I found myself spending more time comforting her broken heart than I did studying. And I was a good student. She went through boys faster than Hemmy goes through rawhides.”
“And you were there to pick up the pieces.”
“Yeah. She changed. A lot. And the boys loved it, but they weren’t looking for anything long term. I mean, we were in high school. After I graduated I took a few business classes at the community college while keeping my schedule open to work at the winery. Grace waited tables at the Happy Clam and then got a job at one of the tourist shops in Rockland. She used to love working the fields. Until she discovered boys. She was more concerned about having enough money to go out, do things, dress better.”
“So you stuck around here to help your parents.”
Alexis turned to face Ben. “Yes and no. Running the winery has been my dream since I was a little girl. Coastal Vines is my life, and I love it. It’s not in my dad’s or mom’s blood. I swear it skipped a generation. I want to be here.”
“And part of you resents your sister for not wanting it, too?”
That was the crux of it all. Had Grace wanted to be part of Coastal Vines they’d probably be at each other twenty-four-seven. Deep down inside Alexis was happy to have the responsibility of the winery.
“No. I resented her for having a social life when I didn’t.”
“Resented as in past tense?”
“I worry about her. I don’t think she’s happy. Our phone conversations are practically null now. We used to talk all the time, even if it was mostly bickering.”
He cupped her cheeks in both hands and drew her across the center console until their breath mingled. “You have a heart of gold, Alexis, and you don’t see your true value.”
Dangit. Ben wasn’t supposed to be so perfect. He leaned in and touched her with his lips, a gentle kiss that branded her to him. He may not have meant for the kiss to be so powerful, but it was. She wanted to stay in his arms forever.
He pulled away first. “It’s getting cold in here. Let’s go inside. Wait here.”
Alexis nodded and watched him round the car, and waited for him to open the door for her. Simple gestures, the little touches, and her heart danced a slow waltz. Like the kind she’d seen her parents do in the barn when she was younger when they didn’t think anyone was watching.
Once inside the restaurant, they shared a Pu Pu Platter and a scorpion bowl, Alexis drinking most of it since Ben had to drive. They shared stories, laughing a lot, flirting even more, and ignored the clock, knowing tomorrow would come too soon and Ben would be on a plane taking him three thousand miles away.
When he parked the car in her parents’ driveway hours later they grew silent. She needed to think about investing in her own place. Money was still tight. Maybe in the late fall. Six more months living in her old bedroom. She could handle it. Hopefully.
“Is this where I kiss you goodnight and thank you for a wonderful evening?” he asked, turning off the ignition.
“You could. Or I could invite you in for a nightcap. Maybe a little fooling around action on the couch.” If only they weren’t sharing the house with her parents.
“That’s a tempting offer. With your parents home though, I think I’m going to have to pass. I’ll walk you to the door.”
Alexis slumped in disappointment. She wasn’t ready for their evening to end. Who knew how long it would be before she would see him again. He came to her side and helped her out of the car, his hand on her lower back, guiding her to the front door.
“I thoroughly enjoyed myself today.” Ben took her hands in his and lifted them to his lips, kissing her knuckles.
That’s it? If he had a wonderful time, and the laughter over dinner was genuine, why the sudden brush off? And where was he staying tonight? If she asked, it would mean she cared, and Alexis’s heart couldn’t afford to let him know she cared.
“Yup. Me, too. Guess I’ll be seeing you around.”
There was a glimmer of amusement in Ben’s eyes but she found nothing funny about the abrupt ending of their date. If he wanted her to come out and beg him to stay with her, he’d be waiting for a long, long time.
“Good night, Alexis Le Blanc. You’ll see me in your dreams.” He bent his head and touched his lips to hers before slipping away into the night.
No tongue, no fondling, no suggestive talk. “Well doesn’t this just suck?” She let herself inside, relieved to see her parents were already closed up in their room for the night. Hemmy lifted his head from the dog bed in the corner of the living room and plopped it back down again.
Not even the dog was excited to see her. She brushed her teeth, tugged her hair out of the el
astic, and slipped into her ratty old sweats and favorite T-shirt. Sliding between the covers of her bed, she nuzzled her face into her pillow, inhaling Ben’s lingering scent.
Spice and Italian man.
It troubled her that she was so hurt over his quick departure. She shouldn’t care. It was best this way, giving them space, allowing her heart to get used to sleeping alone. Closing her eyes, she wrapped her quilt tighter around her shoulders and prayed sleep would come easily.
It didn’t. She opened her eyes in alarm and listened to strange noises coming from her rattling window.
“What the hell?” She bolted to a sitting position, gripping her pillow in front of her chest. Like a case full of feathers would protect her from whatever was outside.
The tapping came again. Followed by a familiar voice. “Alexis. Let me in.”
She scrambled out of bed, tripping on the tangle of sheets around her ankles. “Ben?” Pushing back the curtain she gasped at his large frame crouched on the roof outside her window. “What are you doing?”
“Sneaking in your window.”
She covered her mouth with her hand to ward off a laugh, which subsided into a gush of emotion. “You didn’t.” He could break his neck, slip and fall. Die.
“Obviously I did.” He tapped the window with the top of a wine bottle. “Are you going to let me in or am I going to have to climb down that maple? It’s not as easy as it looks. Especially with your hands full.” He held up a bottle of Crystal Ice and two wine glasses.
“Oh, Ben.” She unlocked the window and shoved it up. “Scoot over while I take off the screen.” With trembling fingers she unlatched it and it went flying down to the ground with a quiet thud.
“I’ll get that later.” He stuck his head far enough through the window to give her a kiss. “You didn’t think I was leaving without a proper kiss goodbye, did you?”
She shrugged and stepped back, giving him space to crawl through the window.
When he was inside, he set the bottle and glasses on the sill and shut the window. Turning to her, he cupped her face in his hands and frowned. “You did.” She shrugged again, not wanting him to see the hurt she had felt, the familiar sting of rejection. “Oh, sweetheart.”
Ben drew her in his arms and hugged her. Hard. A blend of friendship and sensuality radiated through his body and into hers.
“You must think I have Superman powers to restrain myself against your lure.”
“My force isn’t that strong.”
“Ah, but it is, young jedi.” He kissed her like he hadn’t seen her in days, weeks, months. His hands tangled through her hair and then lowered to her back, gliding lower until they cupped her butt. “You’re incredibly sexy, my bella.”
“I’m wearing sweats.”
“Mm. They are hideous. You should remove them.”
Alexis didn’t have time to lower her hands from his shoulders before he had her sweats off and flung across the room. “Impressive.”
“I know.”
“What about your clothes?” She stood in her underwear and T-shirt while Ben was bundled from head to toe.
“I’m too busy touching you.”
While he returned his lips to hers and his hands massaged her stomach, and then her breasts, Alexis attempted to focus on her task at hand. She managed to unzip his coat and untuck his shirt before her knees knocked together in lust.
Ben’s fingers played with her breasts, pulling, tweaking, teasing, and her head went light and spacey. Needing to find her ground, she gripped onto his sides and pushed him back toward the bed. Still, he didn’t relent, even on his back with her splayed on top of him.
“Help me get your clothes off.”
“I can’t.” His hands continued to massage her breasts, and then traveled south to her heated core.
“You have to,” she panted, attempting to unbutton his jeans.
“I can’t keep my hands off you, Alexis. Don’t make me stop.” He flipped her so she was on her back, powerless to his strength. Ben made a deep, guttural sound in his throat and covered a breast with his mouth.
She gasped, gripping the sheets under her for support as he sucked and lapped, bringing her close to the edge. When his mouth left her breasts and made a trail down her belly and to the apex of her thighs, she was goner.
Body. Mind. Soul.
And her heart.
They all belonged to Ben.
Damn, she was beautiful. Naked and splayed under him, ripe for the taking. Hell, he just had her, and he needed her again. He felt like an animal, taking her like that, his jeans around his ankles, his boots still laced. Hell, he still wore his winter coat.
Ben rolled off her, shucking his clothes and returning quickly to the cramped bed. He found he preferred the cramped twin over the giant one he had at home. Sure there was less room to roll around, but there was also less space between their bodies.
“You planned that all along, didn’t you? Climbing up my window?”
“It was a total turn on. Not that I need any help where you’re concerned.”
“And you brought wine.”
He almost forgot about it. Again. Rolling to his side, he sat up and reached for the wine bottle. He handed Alexis the glasses while he rummaged through his coat pocket for a wine opener.
“Such a boy scout. You came prepared for everything.”
Not quite. He hadn’t been prepared to fall so hard, so fast for Alexis. Once he got home and put some distance between them he’d be able to figure out if it was all chemistry, or something else.
And when the baby came in to play…yeah, that would shake things up a bit. Better to keep it all about the sex with Alexis before he lost his heart and mind in this wild affair of theirs.
Popping open the bottle, he inhaled the sweetness and held the wine to Alexis to smell.
“I can’t believe I made this.”
“I can’t believe I waited this long to taste it.” He poured two glasses, the wine a rich, deep liquid gold, and set the bottle on her nightstand. When he took the glass Alexis offered, he tipped his glass to hers and toasted. “To…” To what? To friendship? Their relationship? Keeping it cool, he winked at her. “To the finest winemaker in the east. May this be only the beginning of a new, successful venture for you.”
They clinked glasses and sipped the sweet wine. Bursts of honey and apricot, followed by luscious peaches coated his mouth. A lingering essence of ripe mango and honeydew melon lingered on his tongue. All from a frozen grape.
“This is amazing. If I didn’t see you press and rack the wine I’d swear there was a fruit blend mixed in. And I say that as a compliment. Your fruit wines will be a big hit this summer. I know it.”
“Your faith in me is ill-deserved.”
“I beg to differ.” He sipped his wine and studied her reaction to his words, and the taste of her special ice wine on her lips. “Finish your wine. I need to do something.”
“Bossy much?”
“All the time.” He hated swilling the delicate wine, but time was not on their side. Setting their glasses on the side table, he drew her face closer to his and sipped at her lips, tasting the honeyed nectar from her tongue. “Mmm. So much better than I had imagined.”
He didn’t need the fancy wine; all he needed was the sweet taste of Alexis.
In an attempt to make the night last, he drew away, wrapping his arms around Alexis’s middle and pulling her body into his.
They fit together well; her petite body molding into his long frame. He played with her hair and soaked in her sweet scent. Leaving in the morning would be harder than before. For many reasons.
“You’re very good at this.” She stroked his chest, rubbing her fingers across his nipple.
“At?”
“The sex stuff. The cuddling. The romance. The women in California must love you.”
He’d rather be the one doing the fishing. “I’ve noticed the accolades the men around town have for you. If John Miller had his way, he’d expor
t you to Portsmouth, or send his son up here to marry you.”
Alexis snorted. “Trust me. He’s not interested.”
“I doubt that. Not only are you a beautiful woman, but you’re strong, hard working, and have a kind heart.”
“No need to bring on the BS. You already have me naked.”
Ben hugged her tighter. “I thought we went over this earlier tonight.”
Letting out a huge sigh, she rolled to her back and stared at the ceiling. “The men in this town see me as the jock. The tomboy. Not as a woman. And Brandon…let’s just say I’m not his type, so no worries there.”
“And if you were?” If she still held a torch for the man it would make leaving her easier. His gut churned at the thought.
Hell, it wouldn’t. It would rip out his heart.
“If you want the whole sordid story, Brandon and I were best friends for years. Pretty much our whole lives. The night before he left for college, we…we had sex. It meant something to me. Didn’t mean shit to him. Never really talked to me again afterward. Like I said. Guys around here don’t see me as anything but a friend.”
Her voice didn’t hide the hurt. The rejection had to have stung, and obviously hardened her view on men. Earlier she’d made it sound like her sister was the reason for her self-doubt, but there were layers of rejection and hurt she’d been hiding.
“High school was a long time ago.”
“Yeah. I got over Brandon. I confused friendship for love. It was smart of him to blow me off or we would have gone down another path. Either into a relationship that he’d later regret, or having an awkward friendship with me looking like the stalker girl. We’d end up hurting each other either way. Going our separate ways was best.”
They were about to face a similar situation. Only he’d be the one stalking her. There was no way he could walk away from her. “I’m sorry you lost your best friend.”
Alexis shrugged. “I’m too busy to have relationships, friends or romantic, anyway.”
She was lonely and hurt. He’d picked up on the undercurrent of heartache when she’d mentioned her sister in conversations as well. She didn’t think she was worth much, and Ben planned on showing her how much she meant to him. He wouldn’t be able to come to Maine for some time, not until he knew what was going on with Felicia and their baby.
At First Blush Page 22
