I didn’t have a tab, but Marley knew damn well I’d be picking up the cost of the fridge repair for my dad. She did the books, so she had a good idea who paid a lot of the farm’s bills.
We chatted a minute longer before saying our good-byes so Marley could help someone else who was waiting. Strolling the aisles, holding hands, Murphy and I bought a couple of grilled Vermont cheddar sandwiches and hand-cut fries to share for an early dinner.
“I can check out the competition too,” I said, taking a bite of the sandwich.
“So, cheese?” Murphy asked before taking a bite of her own.
“Yeah, well, syrup is a winter thing workwise, so the cheese is more like a side gig that ends up taking year-round. I’ll tell you this, my parents do make a mean grilled cheese on Saturdays and Sundays in the tasting room. They like to add fresh peppers and onions.”
“Wow. I need to go. This sandwich is good, but I’d rather have yours. Or theirs.”
Sitting on the picnic bench, we ate and talked about Hunnie making blackberry honey, and Murphy being desperate to get some now. And we also talked about the goats.
“That was the deciding factor for my dad on the animals,” I told her. “He figures it’ll be great for the gift shop and lead to many grilled cheese sandwiches and syrup sales. Once people have a taste of the product, they seek it out more and more. He’s hoping it gets so busy that Brenna will want to work for him, and take off some of the strain of her raising Branson by herself.”
“Why doesn’t she want to work for them now? It’s a family business, right?”
Setting my sandwich down on the bench, I sipped at my water as I took in the beauty in front of me. “She doesn’t want handouts or to be stuck doing syrup and cheese because they do. But let’s not ruin our evening by talking about her stubbornness. Let’s talk about goats.”
Not arguing with me, Murphy laughed. “They’re very friendly and like humans. Apparently, they’re good with kids, and yes, they do stand on your back during yoga. Did you know Hunnie is getting certified to be a yoga instructor?”
“I heard something about it. Online, right?”
“Yes. I love how she chases her dreams. It’s inspiring.”
“You’re inspiring,” I said, leaning in and stealing a quick kiss. “Come on. Let’s grab some dessert and get out of here.”
Grinning, Murphy jumped up from the bench.
With a bag of cider doughnuts between us in the center console and two hot cups of mulled cider in the cup holders, Murphy and I pulled up in front of my place.
I pressed the button to open my garage doors, which were now a faux wood. They matched the trim of the house, a single-story craftsman. It had been updated when I bought it, except for the attic, a large open space reached by a staircase off the kitchen that I’d made into a bedroom for Branson.
Now as I pulled my Jeep into the fairly neat garage, I wondered what Murphy would think of my home.
“I don’t know if I will ever get out of this car,” she said with a sigh. “It smells so good in here.”
“Don’t tell me you’re the apple-candle type of girl? They’re nice and all, but after a few hours, they really stink up a house.”
“Sounds like you know a lot about this subject.” Murphy pretended to be joking, but I detected a hint of jealousy in her question. I’m not going to pretend I didn’t like it.
“Brenna used to burn them when I was living at home. I’d run outside as fast as I could, if you must know.”
“Well, if you must know, I haven’t been a girl in a long time. As for candles, back in New York I used to burn a white-lily scented candle. It was the signature scent from a boutique where my mom and I liked to shop.”
After shifting the car into park and turning off the engine, I ran my hand down Murphy’s cheek. “Well, we don’t need scented candles in Vermont. We open the windows and breathe in all the natural scents.”
“Is that so?” She leaned her cheek into my palm, seeking deeper contact.
“Fun time?”
She nodded.
“Sorry my mom wasn’t there.”
“After all your warnings?” Murphy’s head popped up, and she smirked.
“Still.”
“Hunnie said your mom used to curse my existence, so I’m definitely holding off on meeting her.”
“Don’t be silly. Besides, Marley will report every detail about meeting you at the farmers’ market. She may be more subtle in her tactics than my mom, but her gossiping is just as deadly.”
Murphy playfully growled at me, and my mind went other places than my mom.
“Let’s go inside,” I said, changing the subject.
Murphy jumped out and walked behind the car while I grabbed the snacks.
“Welcome to my place,” I said, opening the door to the house, juggling the cups and the bag and holding my keys in my mouth.
“Here, let me take something.” Murphy took the cups and bag, and I let her walk in front of me.
“Wow. This is so cool,” she said, wandering into the open kitchen that led to an open floor plan. Setting the food on the dark green granite island, she looked around wide-eyed. “Nice digs, Dr. Rooney. I’m impressed.”
“Brenna found it. One of the other doctors at the hospital owned it, and had to put it up for sale when he moved to Alaska to work in an underserved community. When Bren heard it was going on the market, she wouldn’t let it go. She dragged me here one night, telling me she needed to pick up something for Branson from one of his friends, and surprised me with the real estate agent waiting for us in the kitchen. Once she dragged me through the house, she pulled out the heavy artillery, insisting that I deserved it.”
Murphy smiled at me, tilting her head. “Aw, she sounds unbelievably committed to you. I mean in a family way, something I know nothing about.”
“She wants me to make a life. A real life.”
Murphy kicked off her now muddy boots by the door leading to the garage and hopped onto one of my kitchen stools. Peeking inside the bag, she plucked out a doughnut and took a bite. With a dusting of sugar on her lips, she looked relaxed and at home, like she belonged here in my kitchen. Seeing her like that gave me a twinge in my chest that I’d never experienced before.
“Looks like you have a pretty good life,” she said after chewing a big mouthful. “Mmm, these are good. Have one.”
I moved closer, leaning my hip against the island as I stood in front of Murphy. “Brenna wants me to have a life of my own, one where I’m not always taking care of her and Branson. A life with someone who matters to me.”
“So, what’s stopping you?” Murphy asked the question without a hint of artifice, an honest question between friends.
Leaning down to steal a small bite of doughnut left in her hand, I chewed before running my sugary lips along hers. “Didn’t meet the right person.”
“Oh.” Murphy’s eyes widened slightly before she glanced away. “I’m sure she’s glad you’re helping with her son.”
I nodded. “Enough about them. Let’s take a tour.”
It was enough. Talk about Branson led to confessions I wasn’t ready to make yet.
Forgetting the ciders, leaving them to get cold, Murphy put her hand in mine, and we turned the corner so I could show her my home office with a red leather couch and fireplace. I liked to do my charting there on the weekend, I told her, and she listened intently as we made our way back to the living area with a dining table in the far corner.
Murphy spun around. “Another fireplace. So cool.”
“I have one in my bedroom too.” My voice was low, husky with want. I cleared my throat, trying to tame the desire running through my veins.
“You do?” Murphy’s eyes met mine, bright with excitement and sensuality.
“Too bad it’s not cold enough tonight to build a fire. Soon. By the time September comes around here, we usually see a frost.”
“I’m shivering at just the thought of it.”
; We walked slowly, something undefined burning slowly between the two of us. When we entered my room, I flicked on the light, but immediately dimmed it.
“A four-poster bed. Hmm, not what I was expecting.” She ran her tongue along her lips, now wet and tantalizing.
“It came with the house,” I said with a shrug.
“Nice.” She moved over to the bed and sat down.
“New mattress,” I said for some reason as I sat next to her.
I wasn’t sure who leaned in first, but in the next breath we were kissing in a furious frenzy. I worked at loosening the knot on Murphy’s flannel shirt, tugging to loosen the buttons, and she shrugged it off.
“Wow,” I said, leaning back to take in all of her in a red satin bra.
“Left over from my New York days,” she said. “I can’t afford this now.”
“Everything is going to change for you, Murph.”
I leaned over to press my lips to her neck, then worked my way down her clavicle, lingering on the line of smooth skin where her bra met her breast.
A small moan escaped her, and I tugged down the fabric and found her nipple. As her head fell back, I worshiped her other breast before she came up and shoved me down, yanking my shirt over my head and relieving me of my khakis.
Murphy grinned at me. “Commando, Doc?”
“It’s comfortable. Surprised you know that expression, little lady,” I said without thinking.
I wasn’t sure how she would react to that, but she laughed and worked her way down my body, kissing every inch along the way. Taking my length in her hand, she caressed me up and down and back up again.
“Rougher,” I grumbled, and she obliged.
It was my turn for my head to fall back, and multiple moans poured from me. I was so enthralled by her small palm working me, it wasn’t until her lips ghosted over my tip that I realized she’d leaned over me. She took all of me in her mouth, still using her hand, and I was going to explode. Soon.
“Murph, I’m not going to last.”
“Good,” she mumbled, refusing to back off.
On a load roar, I emptied myself into Murphy’s mouth, something my high school self never believed would happen. But my adult self was embarrassed by how quickly it had all gone down, and worse, before I took care of her.
Flipping her onto her back, I kissed her hard, tasting myself on her lips and not caring. “I believe in ladies first, Murph. Don’t test me again.”
Not waiting for a response, I crawled down her body, grabbing her cutoffs and practically tearing them off. Remembering her feminine scent from the other night, I couldn’t wait to dive in. This time, I took it slow, building her to a crescendo and then bringing her down, not wanting to end this too quickly. I was at my new favorite buffet, and planned to eat as many desserts as I wanted.
“Please,” she finally whimpered.
Sliding a finger inside her, I put pressure in the same place that had set her off a few nights ago, and she jolted off the mattress, calling out my name as her body spasmed.
“Ben, what are you doing to me?” she whispered when I made my way up to her, settling next to her on the pillows.
“Just the beginning, Murph.”
My hair fell in my eyes and she swept it out of the way, then placed a kiss on my lips. “I see you still refuse to cut your hair. How can you see to operate?”
Turning away from her, I hid a smile. “Promise not to tell?”
She nodded as her fingers drew figure eights on my chest, and I ran my palm up and down her thigh.
“I wear it back in a headband under my cap.”
Surprising me, she quickly turned over, yanking me so we were front to front, my hardening length poking her. “Stop. No you don’t.”
“I do.”
“If the guys from Pressman could see you now—fancy doctor, pretty boy, amazing lover.”
I scowled. “They’d laugh all the way home to their mansions.”
Squeezing my ass, she said, “Stop it. Don’t be like that. Own it. As for me, they’d run all the way home to tell their moms and dads how I ruined my life.”
“I don’t care. I’m the lucky one holding you now.” Sliding my hand down her back, I bumped my hips against hers, and we started to grind into each other. “I want you, but also want to take it slow.”
“Why don’t you have me slowly?” she whispered. “Oh God. Did I just say that out loud?”
Running my tongue along her bottom lip and then the top one, I said, “You did. And I think you were on to something.”
I reached behind me into the nightstand drawer to grab a condom from the new box I’d stashed there. “Ready for me, Murph?”
All she had to do was nod, and I was on top of her. Kissing her mouth, I ran my hand down her side as I slid into home.
20
Murphy
“I should go home,” I murmured sleepily, curled into Ben’s side.
“You don’t have to.” He ran his hand down my back, sending shivers up my spine and causing goose bumps to break out all over my skin.
“I know.” The words came out a bit melancholy. This felt incredible, glorious, being cuddled with Ben in his big king-size bed with sheets that smelled exactly like his woodsy Vermont scent.
A little chuckle bubbled up my throat.
“What?” he asked, never missing a thing.
“You’ll laugh too. I just remembered always thinking you smelled so good at Pressman. When we would sit next to each other, I would sneak a sniff here and there. You always smelled so natural.”
He rolled on his side, sliding me the other way so we were face-to-face. “That’s because I didn’t wear all that expensive cologne like everyone else. Christ, I couldn’t stand the locker room after practice.”
As he twirled a strand of my hair in his fingers, I wished I could stay. A chill made me shudder, and Ben pulled the blanket over my shoulder.
Burrowing under it, I said, “I can’t believe how chilly it gets here at night. Even in the summer.”
“No humidity,” he said, brushing his lips over my cheek.
“In the city, we would roast no matter the time of day. We’d head home late at night after having dinner or drinks and the lights would be flashing, horns blowing, and the humidity was no joke. But it was okay. The city felt so alive. Electric, almost.”
As soon as the words were out of my mouth, I regretted them.
“I’ll bet it was,” Ben said evenly.
He didn’t stop rubbing my back or occasionally kissing my neck, but the air around us changed. I’d tipped my proverbial hat, which was why I had to leave Vermont. Eventually, I was going to move to a big city. Not New York, but somewhere I could make a name and a new life for myself.
“Shhh,” Ben whispered into my temple. “I can feel you thinking. Don’t do that. Enjoy this moment.”
Agreeing, I nodded, scrunching my nose as the ends of his hair tickled my face. “I still need to go. It’s a weeknight. Tomorrow, I work noon to five at the Bean, and I still have to finish up some details for Hunnie.”
“Okay,” he grumbled. “But I’m going to keep you in my bed one of these nights.”
“You’re pretty confident nowadays.” The words spilled out before I could stop them.
“I am.”
In the next second, he was thoroughly kissing me. His lips parted and my tongue entered his mouth. We’d already had a perfect evening, and if I wasn’t careful, he’d be inside me again and I’d be spending the night.
Ben was the one to finally break the kiss. Slapping my butt, he said, “Let’s get you home.”
Tucked into his Jeep, the world totally dark around us, I saw the clock flashing a few minutes after eleven on the dash. “I’m sorry you have to drive me all the way back to Colebury. Another difference between here and the city. There I could get an Uber or taxi or town car.”
Ben kept his focus on the road, but mumbled, “Whatever your fancy, right at your fingertips, huh.”
I wasn’t sure what his tone was laced with. Resentment? Jealousy? Or was it envy?
“You know, I’ve never spent the night at anyone’s place. Yours was the first I ever considered . . . staying all night.”
Not taking his eyes from the road, he said, “Murphy, you’re thirty-two years old. That’s not believable.”
“My mom would’ve had a fit if I were spotted coming out of someone’s place in the morning or vice versa, so I never did it. The thought of disgracing her was my worst fear for most of my life. And then I did exactly that.”
Glancing at me, he asked, “Were you happy then?”
Swallowing my pride, I gave him the truth. “No. I had this dream job and a fabulous apartment and all the salon appointments in the world, but no.”
“Are you happy now?”
His words took me by surprise. So blunt and to the point, but exactly what I needed to hear.
“I think so,” I said slowly. “Yeah, I think so.”
“Well, there you go.”
Ben reached over to turn on some music and began humming along to Dave Matthews Band.
“No classical?” I teased.
“Not this time of night. I need to get you home in one piece and myself back home the same way I left.”
“Sorry again about this.”
“Let’s make a deal—no more apologies. I do this drive all the time. Montpelier to Colebury, then back and forth again. Brenna likes the area for her and Branson. I’d like her closer to me, up by my parents’ place too, but she’s stubborn. It’s how I started popping into the Bean. Not like we don’t have coffee by me or at the hospital, but I like the vibe at the Bean. Zara’s good people. So, how did we get on this? Oh, right. No more apologies.”
“Done.” I agreed before he was barely finished talking. I’d never been so jumpy, interrupting every few seconds, but I wanted what he promised.
“Maybe I should’ve gotten one of those industrial lofts over by the Bean,” he said, “but Brenna talked me into the house. Now I do the drive.”
“I’m lucky I learned how to drive. Most kids in the city don’t learn. They don’t need to,” I told him. “Of course, we spent the summers in the Hamptons, and I learned there. I was so desperate to learn that my parents gave in to me. Don’t get the wrong idea, though. They hired someone to teach me. They didn’t bother themselves with it.”
Friendzoned (The Busy Bean) Page 15
