“Oh, really?” Paige asked.
“Yes, really,” Mel said firmly.
“You’re going to be singing a different tune when he finally acts. You know how many times I was done waiting for Jax? Yeah, you can see just how much I stuck to my guns.” Grace held up her left hand, which had a very nice diamond on it.
Mel shook her head. “You and Jax are different.”
“Why?” Grace asked.
“Because that was a long time coming. You’ve been in love with him for most of your life.”
“What about Brendan and Paige?” Harper asked.
“Yeah.” Paige nodded. “Brendan and I moved pretty fast into things. I fell in love with him before I even knew what had happened.”
“Again, you and Brendan are different. He didn’t hesitate when it came to you.”
“Oh Mel,” Paige said, shaking her head. “All men are different, and they figure things out in their own time. And I think Bennett is right there.”
“Right where?” Mel asked.
“Right on the verge of figuring things out.”
“Hmm, we’ll just see about that.”
“Yes, we will,” Grace said.
Trevor shifted in Mel’s arms, and a second later he started to fuss.
“I think he’s hungry,” Paige said, wiping her hands on a towel. She rounded the corner and held out her hands for Trevor. “I’ll be right back.” The two disappeared into the guest bedroom.
“Here, can you take these out for the boys to grill?” Grace slid a plate full of hot dogs across the counter at Mel.
Mel frowned. “Are you just trying to get me in his line of sight or something?”
“I don’t need to do that. He keeps looking through the window at you.”
“No, he’s not,” Mel said resisting the urge to turn around.
“Oh, yes he is,” Harper chimed in.
“You two are giant pains in my ass.”
“Yes. Fine. Whatever. Now get out there.” Grace inched the plate even closer to Mel.
“Okay, okay, I’m going.” Mel got down off the bar stool and grabbed the plate.
Brendan, Jax, Shep, Tripp, Preston, Baxter, and Bennett were all outside drinking beer. And the second Mel opened the door, seven sets of eyes landed on her. Why did she feel like she’d just been fed to the wolves?
“Mel, come over here.” Shep grabbed the plate from her, threw an arm around her shoulder, and guided her over to the group. “Let me get a good look at this new haircut of yours.” He passed off the plate to Jax, who was behind the grill. “Damn, girl, you’re looking good,” he added just a little bit too enthusiastically as he pulled her close.
“She sure does.” Preston said, grinning hugely. She knew he was trying not to crack up.
“It’s just a matter of time before somebody with half a brain snatches you up.” So Shep was definitely acting stranger than usual, and that was saying something.
Mel couldn’t stop herself from looking over at Bennett, who was looking none too pleased. Shep pulled her so close she was literally plastered up against him. Apparently he hadn’t missed the look, either.
Shep was like a brother to Mel, so she was used to them being this close without it meaning anything romantic. She was also used to him being an instigator. A big one. And based on the ever-growing frown on Bennett’s face, Shep was succeeding. In spades.
“So how’s the project going?” Baxter asked.
“Good,” Mel said, trying to focus on the conversation around her and not on the glowering man in front of her. “The kids are really enjoying it.”
Tripp clapped Bennett on the shoulder. “And I’m sure our boy Bennett here is working out. Anything he puts his hands on gets some pretty amazing results.”
“Yeah, his expertise on the matter is evident,” Jax said, waving a hand at his house. “He was the mastermind behind all of this.”
“They were your plans.” Bennett shrugged and took a sip of his beer.
“That you turned into this,” Jax said.
“That you all helped with,” Bennett countered.
“Oh, look at Bennett being all modest,” Brendan said.
“I’m not being modest.”
Mel wasn’t sure how it was possible that the man could scowl any more than he currently was.
“Then are you saying you don’t know what you’re doing?” Baxter asked.
“I didn’t say that.” Yeah, Mel was wrong. He could scowl more.
“Well, I’m going to go back in and help them.” Mel pulled away from Shep and headed toward the door. She turned as she opened it and her eyes caught Bennett’s. He was watching every move she made.
* * *
“Did you have fun with that?” Bennett asked Shep.
“Sure did.” Shep grinned looking pretty damn satisfied with himself.
Bennett had not had fun. Not. At. All.
The rational part of Bennett’s brain had told him to calm the fuck down, that Shep and Mel were just friends and had been for years, for twenty-five long years. Shep wasn’t the type of guy to not go after something, or someone, he wanted. If he had feelings for Mel that went anything beyond friendship, he would’ve done something about it a while ago. And besides all of that, Bennett had no claim to Mel whatsoever.
But the irrational part of Bennett’s brain had wanted to punch Shep in the jaw. Or break his hands. Either one would’ve been highly satisfying. Especially with that smug expression that was still plastered across Shep’s face.
“I found it amusing,” Jax said as he started to put the hot dogs on the grill. “And telling.”
“Yeah, you must really suck at poker,” Preston said.
“Oh, he does. He pretty much just gives his money away,” Brendan said.
It was true. That was why Bennett avoided gambling.
“So you going to do anything anytime soon?” Trip asked. “You can’t wait around forever.”
“Someone’s going to snag Mel up pretty soon. I would’ve by now if I didn’t see her as a sister. But we all know that little scenario only tickles Jax’s fancy,” Shep said.
Jax looked up from the grill and pointed the tongs in his hand at Shep. “I stopped looking at Grace like a little sister when she was eighteen years old and I figured out she was hot.”
“Things I never, ever wanted to know,” Brendan said, shaking his head.
“Yeah, from what Grace tells me, Jax doesn’t do brotherly things to her now,” Preston said.
“Seriously. Can we change the subject?” Brendan looked pained.
“Actually, if you’re not going to do anything about Mel, I was going to give her number to one of my friends from law school,” Preston said.
Bennett sputtered on his beer. He started coughing, and Tripp hit him hard on the back.
“I’ll take that to mean he’s going to do something about it,” Baxter said.
Yeah, he was going to do something about it, all right. He just wasn’t sure what.
When Bennett had walked outside earlier and found Mel with her tiny little butt in the air, he’d about lost his damn mind. And then he’d been so close to her again and he’d wanted to kiss her so much it was literally painful.
But he’d hesitated. Yet again. What the hell was wrong with him?
Every time he saw her he wanted her more. And how was it possible for the woman to get even more beautiful than she’d been before?
He’d been a huge fan of those curls stretching down her back, but damn if they didn’t look that much more enticing bouncing around her shoulders. And they somehow seemed bigger, fuller. His fingers were just itching to plunge into them.
But that wasn’t going to be a reality until he learned how to open his mouth and actually say what he needed to say to Mel.
Was it always this complicated when it came to women? He couldn’t remember, but he was sure as hell going to have to figure it out.
* * *
Mel was beyond fidgety on Monday. Fidge
ty and irritated. She had no idea what the hell was going on with Bennett. That man turned hot and cold faster than she could blink. He’d acted so strange all through dinner on Sunday. Hardly talking to anyone, and whenever Mel would look at him he’d always be studying her like an incredibly difficult math problem that he just couldn’t figure out.
It was beyond frustrating. He was beyond frustrating.
The man drove her crazy in so many different ways, some of them good…some of them not so good. Right now, the not-so-good was outweighing the good, by a lot.
He’d been fine this morning during the classes. He turned on a professional switch whenever the kids were around. He’d acted like everything was perfectly fine with him and Mel. Except it wasn’t perfectly fine for her.
And she wasn’t done for the day with Bennett driving her crazy. He had to come back because they were getting a delivery of the second shipment of wood. She’d told him she could take care of it. She had to wait for Hamilton to finish up with practice, anyway. But he’d insisted. She hadn’t argued, because there was no point in arguing with a crazy person.
The final bell rang, and Mel decided to grade papers until Bennett got there. She got halfway through her pile before she leaned back in her desk and started chewing on the end of her pen.
Why was this so damn complicated? Why was he so damn complicated?
Mel’s experience with men and relationships was certainly lacking, but really, she knew when she wanted a man. And boy, did she ever want Bennett. More than she’d ever wanted anybody else. And it was about more than his good looks…but did he ever look good.
It was about how great he was with her kids, listening to them and talking to them. He was actually having quite an impact on Dale. Dale was really into the project, and he was making a much bigger effort in class.
And then there was the effect Bennett had on her. Like how his smile made her go all warm and fuzzy. Or how when he looked at her, she felt like he was actually seeing her. He made her feel things she’d never felt before. Things she didn’t know or understand. And it scared her, but the thought of not figuring out what it was scared her a lot more.
It wasn’t like she thought Bennett was the guy she was going to spend the rest of her life with. She wasn’t planning their wedding, or where they would live, or what they would name their kids. No, that would make her a little crazy, considering the fact that they’d never kissed or even been on anything that she would consider an actual date, or had a discussion about any of this.
Really, if their inability to get off the ground was any indication, then whatever they had going on wasn’t going any further.
Any further than what? The inch it’s moved in the two months since I got shot and he finally noticed me?
Okay, that might not be entirely true. They’d been friends before that. Well, he’d been her friend and she’d pined quietly.
Pined?
Yup, she really was pathetic, a pathetic little schoolteacher who fantasized about a hot muscled man. Muscles that she wanted to trace and memorize with her hands and tongue.
She was pretty sure he had some skilled hands, too. Hands she would have absolutely no problem with if they roamed all over her body.
How many times was she going to have to tell herself not to dwell on this man anymore? Well, to be fair, at that exact moment she wasn’t dwelling, she was fantasizing. So she might as well indulge herself a little bit.
Or a lot.
She imagined what it would feel like to have Bennett’s mouth on hers. What it would be like if he pushed her back against her desk, his hands going down to her hips where he would lift her up and sit her down. Then he’d make space for himself between her thighs while he lay her down and his body covered hers. His mouth would move from hers, and he’d kiss her jaw as he made his way over to her ear. One of his hands would travel up under her dress and he’d whisper her name as his fingers traced a slow torturous path up the inside of her—
“Hey, Mel.”
Mel shot up in her chair to find Bennett standing in front of her desk. He was wearing a somewhat bemused grin as he looked at her. At least he wasn’t frowning anymore.
“I thought I was meeting you over there.” She stood up and smoothed the front of her dress. Her cheeks and chest were on fire.
“We were. But the delivery guys called me, and they’re going to be ten minutes early. I called your cell but you didn’t answer.”
“It must still be on silent.”
“No problem.” He looked her up and down. “Whatever you were thinking about must’ve been something good.”
She flushed and rounded her desk.
“So was it?”
“Was it what?” she asked as she headed toward the door, trying to not look at him directly. He was ex-military, he could probably read her mind or something if she looked him in the eye.
“Good?” he asked as he fell in step beside her.
She cleared her throat uncomfortably. She was incapable of lying, and telling Bennett she hadn’t been thinking of something good would be a bald-faced lie. And if she said yes, and he asked her what she’d been thinking of, she’d have to lie then, too. “Oh, you know, just thinking.” She waved her hand in the air vaguely.
“Riiight,” he said slowly.
Please no more questions. Please, please, please.
She held her breath for a couple of seconds waiting. He didn’t say anything, so she exhaled, her shoulders relaxing.
“I’ll have to get it out of you later.”
She stopped dead and stared at his back in horror as he continued to make his way down the hall.
“You coming or not?” he called out, not turning around.
* * *
Maybe that was a bad choice of words, Bennett thought as he rounded the corner. Because if he got to put his vote in, they’d both be coming.
Really it wasn’t his fault that he was having dirty thoughts. It was Mel’s. When he’d walked into her classroom he’d been more than a little surprised to find her in the state she’d been in.
Her head had been resting on the back of her chair, her long slender neck exposed and looking incredibly kissable. All of her wild curls had been tied back into some sort of knot thing that Bennett really wanted to pull down. Her lips had been pursed around the end of her pen, which had put images in Bennett’s mind of other things her lips could be wrapped around. Her lovely chest had been rising and falling rather quickly, and her skin had been flushed.
When Bennett had been in school, he hadn’t had any hot teachers. So he’d never had any classroom fantasies. Yeah, seeing Mel sitting behind her desk looking hot and turned on had blown that out of the water. He’d had a fairly graphic image of them on the top of her desk.
She caught up to him just before he opened the doors to head outside. He held it open and she walked past him.
“Thank you,” she said, still not making eye contact.
Bennett couldn’t stop himself from grinning. Whatever she’d been thinking about must have been really good, and the fact that she wouldn’t look at him led him to believe it had probably been about him.
Here’s hoping.
He stared at her back as she walked in front of him. She was wearing some sort of green wrap dress, the tie just above her right hip. Bennett’s fingers itched to pull at the bow. Instead, he watched her hips sway back and forth; the clingy material of her dress molded to her in all the right places.
The delivery truck got there just as Bennett and Mel arrived. Mel had told Bennett she could take care of the delivery by herself. But he’d vetoed that plan. First, he wanted to check the wood and make sure it was up to his standards. And second, he was finally going to talk to her, just as soon as he could get her alone.
When all of the wood was stacked in a neat little pile in the corner, and the delivery truck had pulled away from the wood shop, Mel and Bennett made their way back up to the school.
As they passed the library, a door open
ed and Mrs. Sylvester came out. She was in her seventies now, with dark gray hair and kind blue eyes. She wore a fuzzy blue sweater, thick glasses, and a big smile. She had her purse over her shoulder and her keys in her hand ready to lock up.
“Why, if it isn’t Bennett Hart!” Mrs. Sylvester said. “How have you been, sugar?” She smiled wide and held out her arms for a hug.
“Good,” he said, taking a step forward and wrapping his arms around her.
“Now why haven’t you been to see me since you started working on that project?” She put her hands on his forearms and took a step back. “You too important to come visit your favorite librarian?”
The woman might be tiny, but when she peered up at him with that stern eye he felt like he was fifteen years old again.
“No, ma’am,” Bennett said. “I just haven’t had a chance to get over here. I promise to make it up to you when my schedule calms down.”
“That’s what I like to hear.” She reached up and patted his cheek, her stern look melting back into a smile. “Melanie has told me how busy you guys have been.” She gave Mel an indulgent smile. “Still as pretty as ever my dear. And you’re looking good, too, young man. Have you still not found a nice woman to settle down with?” She gave Mel another significant look.
Bennett cleared his throat uncomfortably as he rubbed the back of his neck. “Uh, well, I uh…,” he stuttered. “I’m not seeing anyone at the moment.” He was very aware of Mel next to him.
“I’ll let you two talk,” Mel said, moving off rather quickly.
Shit. He needed to talk to her. But Mel didn’t get very far down the hall before another teacher stopped her, a male teacher who was definitely looking her up and down as he started chatting her up.
“Well, you need to get on it. You aren’t getting any younger. You know,” Mrs. Sylvester, whispered taking a step closer. “Ms. Melanie O’Bryan over there is single.” She nodded to where Mel was standing.
The guy who was talking to her was wearing khaki pants and a polo. He wasn’t scrawny like Stu; he was tall and filled out the sleeves of his shirt. He also had pretty-boy hair that Bennett suspected was gelled or moussed or some crap like that.
Unstoppable (A Country Roads Novel) Page 10
