Bennett reluctantly pulled his gaze away from Mel when Mrs. Sylvester started talking again: “And I’ve heard a couple of the other single males at this school are interested in her. I’m just saying she’s a mighty nice girl. She’d be a good catch for you. Maybe you should think about that as you spend time with her on this project.” She patted his arm.
Bennett looked back up just in time to see Mel laughing. It wasn’t one of her real down-to-the-belly laughs, not the one that he always tried to get out of her. Not the one that made all the tension in his body disappear. No, this one was small and polite. But the stupid schmuck in front of her must have thought it meant something else because he reached out and touched her elbow, and his hand slid up the back of her arm. She didn’t move away from him, but Bennett could see the tension snap into her shoulders as her laugh died off.
“I’ll see you later. I promise. I need to go take care of something,” he said to Mrs. Sylvester.
“Atta boy,” Mrs. Sylvester said, as Bennett walked off.
“Hey Mel.” He came up behind her and put his hand at the small of her back. She didn’t tense up with him; if anything she leaned into his hand, pulling away from Pretty Boy.
“Hey,” she said, turning to look up at him. “Bennett, have you met Duncan Marsh? He teaches geography and is a football coach.”
“Defensive coordinator,” Duncan said, holding out his hand.
“Duncan, this is Bennett Hart. He works for Marlin Yance’s construction company.”
“Nice to meet you,” Bennett lied. He shook the guy’s hand while not moving his other hand from Mel’s back. Duncan sized Bennett up and tried to squeeze Bennett’s hand just a little too tightly.
Really, pal? I could snap you. It might be a bit of a challenge, but I could still snap you.
“Bennett is helping me out with the bookshelf project,” Mel continued.
“Really?” Duncan asked, letting go of Bennett’s hand. “So you’re going to be around here for a while? With Mel?”
“Yup.” Bennett nodded. “Until the end of the semester.”
Duncan folded his arms across his chest. “You know, you could’ve asked me, Mel. I know my way around a hammer and a nail. And I’m sure coming down to the school all the time is a big inconvenience for Bennett here.”
“Mel and I are old friends. We go way back.” Bennett let his hand travel around to Mel’s side and pull her in closer. “So it isn’t an inconvenience at all.”
Mel looked up at him, but Bennett didn’t see her expression because he was still focused on Preppy.
“If you’ll excuse us,” Mel said, grabbing Bennett’s arm and pulling him away.
He let her drag him down the hallway. When they were well away from the library she rounded on him.
“Are you kidding me with this?” she yell-whispered at him.
“Kidding you with what?” he asked.
“With whatever the hell it is you’re doing!” she exclaimed. “You, Bennett Hart”—she poked him hard in the chest—“are the most frustrating”—poke—“most difficult”—poke—“back-and-forth man that I’ve ever”—poke—“met!” Poke.
“What did I do?” he asked taking a step back out of range.
She might be small, but she had some force in her, all right. And she had some other things, too. Her curls were coming down from her bun, her amber eyes were blazing, and the apples of her cheeks were bright red. She looked sexy as hell.
“We’re ‘old friends’?” she asked, gesturing between the two of them. “We ‘go way back’? And by that do you mean the last two years? Because I don’t recall us ever hanging out when you were one of the most popular seniors in high school and I was an eighth grader with braces and uncontrollable hair.
“And you know what else? I’m so sick of this game you insist on playing. I’m sick of your inability to make a freaking decision when it comes to me. You’re hot and then you’re cold. You’re flirting with me then you’re ignoring me or acting pissy about God only knows what. You freak out when we almost kiss then you proceed to have a pissing contest with some guy right in front of me.
“That’s what you did, Bennett. If you’re not interested in me, that’s fine.” She took a step forward and pushed him hard in the chest. “But leave me alone.” With that she turned around and walked away.
Well, he thought, that had been enlightening.
Chapter Eight
No More Playing Games
Mel was shaking as she walked back into her classroom. Her hands were balled up into fists at her sides, and she just wanted to scream. She needed to get out of this place pronto. She needed to call Harper and Grace and have them come over so they could drink wine and bitch about life. She needed something to think about other than that ridiculous man, because if she thought about him for a second longer she was going to go crazy.
She needed to move on from him. She had to move on, because they weren’t going anywhere.
What the hell was she talking about? There was no they. There was her, and there was him. That was it. That was how it was and how it was going to stay. She had to accept that and move on.
Move. On.
Please, just move on.
Oh God, who was she kidding? She’d never felt this way about any man before. Bennett was…well, infuriating to start with, but he was brave, smart, kind, funny, intense. There was nothing like having his full attention focused on her. He gave her way more than butterflies. It was like eagles were flapping around in her stomach whenever he was around. There were no flutters. They were freaking tidal waves.
Yeah, getting over Bennett was going to be way easier said than done.
Mel headed toward the supply closet at the back of her classroom where she locked up her purse in a filling cabinet. She grabbed the key and unlocked the top drawer, pulled out her purse, and slammed the drawer shut. When she turned around Bennett was standing in the doorway. Filling it completely. Mel stopped short and stared at him. His eyes were focused on her, the determination in them making all of the thoughts vacate her brain.
“I can’t leave you alone.” He came into the room and shut the door behind him. “And I’m not playing games.” He crossed the small space. “Or at least I’m not trying to.” He shook his head. “I think about you all the time.” He stopped in front of her, took the purse out of her hands, and put it on top of the filing cabinet. Then he reached up and touched her cheek. His fingers fanned out as he pushed his hand to the back of her head and tilted her face up.
Holy hell, what is happening?
She looked into his eyes, and her knees went just a little bit weak. She reached back and planted her hands against the wall, trying to find some balance, something to keep her upright, because she really didn’t want to miss this.
“Because I am interested in you, Mel.” He cupped her face with his other hand and ran his thumb across her lower lip. “Very interested.” He leaned forward and pressed his mouth to hers.
The kiss was soft and gentle at first, just his lips against hers. He took another step into her, pushing her back. When she hit the wall she gasped, and Bennett took advantage of her open mouth. He sucked her bottom lip into his mouth, and she couldn’t stop the moan that escaped her throat.
She plastered herself up against him, against every inch of his hard body. Her arms wound around his shoulders; her hands skittered up the back of his head. She opened her mouth further and his tongue touched hers. Bennett groaned as their tongues began a thorough exploration of each other’s mouths.
His hands were at the back of her head, his fingers deftly pulling out the pins that held up her bun. And then he was unwinding her hair, his hands plunging deep into her unruly curls.
“I’ve wanted to do this for so long,” he said against her mouth. “These curls of yours drive me out of my mind.”
“What stopped you?” She nipped at his lower lip.
“Pure stupidity,” he said, as he claimed her mouth again.
> Holy cow, can this man kiss. I feel it everywhere, and do I mean everywhere! He had her toes curling in her shoes, all manner of body parts tingling where they were pushed up against his, and his hands were magic in her hair. One of his hands drifted down to her side. He touched her hip for a second before his hand slid to the small of her back. He held her to him, but really, she wasn’t going anywhere.
“Mel,” a voice called out from her classroom. “Are you here?”
There were only a few things that could bring Mel back to reality with the snap of a finger. The sound of her little brother’s voice was definitely one of them.
“Oh crap, it’s Hamilton,” Mel gasped, pulling back. Bennett’s hand was behind her head, and it prevented her from hitting the wall. “I’ll be right out!” she answered Hamilton, unable to completely cover up the breathy edge to her voice.
Bennett nodded. He let go of her reluctantly, and took a step back. “You’re going to have to give me a minute before I can go out there,” he said, clearing his throat uncomfortably.
“Oh,” she said, nodding. “Um, okay.”
Actually, she was going to need a minute, too. She knew her hair was everywhere, and she had a feeling Bennett’s scruffy jaw had left its fair share of marks on her face. Not to mention her thoroughly swollen lips.
Soooo worth it.
She grabbed her purse from the cabinet and searched for a hair tie. She found one at the bottom and attempted to pull back her hair. It was useless. Bennett had done his best to untame every single one of her curls. He’d succeeded.
“Do you have a sweater or something?” he asked her.
“Nothing that will fit you,” she said, looking up at him with a small smile.
“I meant for you.” He indicated her chest.
“What?” she asked, looking down. Apparently Bennett wasn’t the only one that had body parts rising to the occasion. Mel’s nipples were standing at attention. Front and center. “Oh.” She turned around and grabbed a cardigan from a hook on the wall. She put it on and turned back to Bennett. “Do I look presentable?”
“Sure,” he said. His eyes took a slow journey up her body, lingering in more than one place.
“You’re not helping matters,” she said, shaking her head.
“You don’t say?” He finally met her eyes, and his mouth quirked to the side. “What exactly am I doing?”
Making her want to jump him, that was what he was doing.
“I’ll see you out there.” She walked past him, opening the door and stepping into the classroom.
And there sat her little brother, sitting at her desk with his feet propped up on the corner.
“What were you doing?” he asked, pushing up his glasses.
She frowned at him. “Hamilton, get your feet off my desk.”
He dropped his feet and stood up just as Bennett came out of the supply room. “Ahh, so it wasn’t what you were doing, but more like who you were doing.” It didn’t matter that he needed glasses, because the boy missed nothing.
Mel wanted to deny it and say that nothing had been going on. But her inability to lie made that a problem, and she couldn’t lie to her baby brother. She also didn’t want to deny that something had finally happened between her and Bennett.
“Don’t bother trying to hide it,” Hamilton said, folding his arms across his chest and shaking his head as he looked between Mel and Bennett. “I’m not an idiot. It looks like someone took sandpaper to your face, and there’s no helping your hair.”
“You’re a pain, you know that?”
“I’m your little brother—that’s what I do. So Bennett, I see you finally made a move on my sister. You’ve wised up and you will be seeing her now?” except he said it like it wasn’t really a question, more like an order. He also attempted to give Bennett an intimidating glare.
If Mel weren’t beyond mortified, she would’ve laughed at her little brother being protective of her.
“Hamilton,” Mel said still trying to sound stern, “that isn’t any of your business.”
Hamilton just looked at Mel like she was crazy, then returned his gaze to Bennett. “So…are you?”
“Well, your sister and I haven’t discussed that yet. But as far as I’m concerned, yes.”
Mel hadn’t realized she’d been holding her breath until she exhaled in relief.
“I’ve got a consult in half an hour with a client and then practice tonight,” Bennett said to Mel. “Can I see you tomorrow?”
She nodded.
“When’s your lunch?”
“Eleven thirty,” she said with no small amount of thrill.
“You available?”
“Yeah.”
“I’ll bring lunch.” He crossed the room and planted a soft kiss on her mouth, then he headed for the door. “Good seeing you Hamilton.” He gave a final wave as he left.
Mel was more than a little stunned by the kiss, but not stunned enough to stop herself from looking at the amazing way his jeans molded to his butt.
“You’re drooling,” Hamilton said.
Well, it was an improvement from the panting she’d been doing five minutes ago.
* * *
Mel tried to have dinner with her family on a regular basis. Lately, her mother tended to hover over her the entire time she was there. Tonight was no different.
“You look too thin. Are you eating enough?” Corinne asked as she studied Mel.
It was always a little disconcerting for Mel when her mother scrutinized her. Maybe it was because Mel had her mother’s eyes. They were the exact same shade and shape, and Mel always felt like she was looking into a mirror.
“Yes, Mom,” Mel said as she helped herself to another piece of fried chicken.
“Have you lost weight?” Corinne pressed.
“Mom, I’m fine.” Mel tried to change the subject. She’d actually lost ten pounds since the shooting, but it wasn’t like she’d wanted to. It was because she hadn’t really had an appetite for a while. But she was eating regularly again.
“Are you sure? Because—”
“Corinne, Mel’s fine. She would tell us if she wasn’t,” her father said.
Miles O’Bryan wasn’t a formidable man by any sense of the word, but his wife and children had always listened to him.
“Oh, all right,” Corinne relented.
Thanks, Dad, Mel mouthed to her father.
No problem, he mouthed back. “So how’s this project shaping out?” he asked aloud.
“Oh, yeah, I meant to ask you about that,” Corinne said. “Superintendent Stafford came by our school the other day and he told me how impressed he is with you. I really like that man.”
Corinne was a preschool teacher and had been for the last twenty-seven years. She’d never liked the former superintendent, Keith Reynolds. But that might’ve also had to do with the fact that Keith had screwed over her best friend. Corinne had known who Grace’s father had been, too, but she’d been sworn to secrecy along with Claire’s mother, Lula Mae.
Corinne had also despised Reynolds because he’d always treated the preschool grades like a day-care center. He’d had absolutely no concept whatsoever as to what went into teaching three- and four-year-olds. So not only had he been a prick in every facet of his life, he’d also been a moron.
“It’s going really well. We’re right on schedule, and the students seem to be getting a lot from it. Which was what I’d wanted.”
“And Bennett?” her mother asked, saying his name with more than a little emphasis.
Yeah, Mel wasn’t the only one who liked Bennett. Ever since the shooting, Corinne asked about him all the time. She’d been more than a little appreciative of him, having saved her daughter’s life and all. She also hadn’t forgotten that Bennett had sat in the waiting room with Hamilton for a good couple of hours after Mel’s surgery. Yup, she’d been pushing her daughter in that direction for months, not that Mel had needed any more incentive.
“What about him?” Mel asked.<
br />
“How is he doing?”
“I’m pretty sure they were making out in the supply closet this afternoon,” Hamilton announced to the table.
“What?” Corinne dropped her knife and fork on her plate. It clanked loudly.
“Thanks, Hamilton,” Mel said, frowning at him.
He grinned. “Anytime.”
“Are you two seeing each other?” her mother asked anxiously.
“Um, yes,” Mel answered, suddenly finding her carrots fascinating.
“That doesn’t sound very convincing,” Corinne said.
“Don’t worry, Mom, I asked him the exact same question,” Hamilton said. “They have a lunch date tomorrow.”
Mel looked at her little brother in horror. She didn’t care how much she loved him. He was a dead man.
“Hamilton,” Miles said, looking at his son over his glasses. “You do realize your sister works at the school you go to, and she is more than capable of paying you back for what you’re doing right now?”
“There’s nothing for her to tell. I’m an angel at school. You can ask any one of my teachers.”
“Can we get back to the subject of you and Bennett?” Corinne said, absolutely refusing to get sidetracked.
“Mother, it just happened.”
“I might be a little biased because he helped save your life, but I like him,” Miles said. “If anyone wants my two cents.”
“Well, of course we all like him. He’s perfect for her,” Corinne said excitedly.
“Okay, Mom.” Mel put her knife and fork down. “Don’t start planning a wedding and grandchildren. We just kissed. That’s it.”
“Looked like a lot more than kissing to me.”
Mel kicked her brother under the table, hard.
“Ouch,” he cried.
“Shut up,” she said to him. “We are not going to make this into something before it is something.” She looked around the table. “Does everyone understand that?”
Unstoppable (A Country Roads Novel) Page 11
