EARLY THE NEXT MORNING, Ben met Jake at the airfield. They were getting in their flight hours before the big training exercises next week. The grunts would have their final exams and then graduate from the program—at least, those who passed would. But his friend Brody was pretty good at making sure everyone did well on the course.
He’d become a different guy after meeting Mari. Calmer, and more centered in a way he hadn’t been before. And definitely friendlier. Before Mari, Brody had been a real hard-ass and few people could tolerate being in a room with him. But she’d brought out a hugely positive side to his character and personality.
Ben understood that. In a way, even though he was busier than ever, he felt more centered with Ainsley around. He looked forward to their time together, and in the mornings, waking up with her wrapped around him. It was good, so much so it was hard to think about anything but Ainsley.
Yet why was she hanging with him? He just didn’t get it. After their discussion the other night, he’d done more research. He felt like a fraud checking up on her family, but she’d made such a big deal of how she wasn’t like them at times, he had to know more.
Turned out “filthy rich” was a real thing. Her dad had started with nothing, and now he was one of the top fifty wealthiest men in the world. The world. From a business point of view, he had his hands in everything.
There had been pictures of Ainsley at debutante balls, and in tabloids on beaches in tropical locations. She was pretty in her teens, but she’d grown into a beauty. It was interesting that in all the pictures where there had been guys, even if she’d been linked to them in the copy, she stood apart. No kissing or even hugging.
It was weird that she had all of that and yet she seemed so unaffected by it. Not seemed—she was. They had a lot in common, from a strong work ethic, to believing in making the world a better place by giving back. She maybe did it on a slightly grander scale, but they did share that.
And being with her was easy. Never in his life had he found someone he could talk to about anything, but Ainsley fit the bill. They’d discussed...everything. From future plans for their careers, to favorite cartoons to family pets.
He grinned at that. She had definite opinions about cats versus dogs.
And then there was the sex. Heck if he’d ever had better than the night before. When he woke up, he’d watched her for a few minutes. Her teeth had worried her lip like she did when she was nervous about something. He had a feeling she was thinking about their relationship. Knew it in his gut, and as a Marine, trusting his gut was important.
He couldn’t find the right words to tell her, so he had to show her how he felt. When their eyes had met as she orgasmed, and then her heat squeezed him tight, never in his life had he felt so strongly, so passionately for a woman. One woman, and only one.
He’d meant the words he’d said. Only Ainsley. He couldn’t imagine feeling that way, whatever way that was, about another woman.
They were good. No, they were great. No idea what might happen in the future, but he was along for however long the ride lasted. He knew she was, too.
“Dude?” Fingers snapped in front of his face. “Earth to Ben. You in there?”
He’d been standing next to his truck in a daze. Thinking about Ainsley. He did that way too much lately.
“It’s the same training maneuvers we’ve been doing for weeks,” Jake said. “Are you nervous? You’ve got this, bro. What am I saying, you taught the rest of us how to do most of the maneuvers. Even came up with the fight roll. The Navy scrubs are still talking about that piece of awesomeness. No one is as good as you when it comes to this stuff.”
“Had no idea I had a one-man fan club,” he joked. “Nah. I appreciate your faith in me, but I wasn’t thinking about that.” The words slipped out before he realized what he was saying. Jake was smart, and there would be no getting around his admission.
“So, is it Ainsley?” And there it was. “That was a pretty serious look, dude. You guys seemed fine last night. Once you got her over the initial shock of flying, she was fine. Was she mad about me taking Bebe? It was the Brit’s idea. Kind of. I told her about the bike. She said she loved them, so yeah.”
The last thing he wanted to talk to Jake about was his love life. “Things are good, thanks. So what happened with you and the Brit last night?”
Jake frowned. “I drove her home on the bike. End of story.”
“Huh?”
“What?” Jake asked. “I guess she wasn’t feeling it. Didn’t invite me inside. We talked for a little bit, and then she said ‘Toodles,’ or whatever it was, and that was it. The end. The whole night I’d been getting a different vibe, but maybe she changed her mind.”
“Got no idea. She’s a sweetheart, though. Very protective of Ainsley,” Ben said, which was true.
“Yeah. A looker, as well. Kind of crazy with the pink-striped hair and the tattoos, but beautiful.”
So he thought she was pretty. It was odd that Jake didn’t get that far with her, especially since Ainsley had said Bebe might be into Jake. Ainsley seemed to be intuitive when it came to people. It was one of the reasons she was so good at her job.
But Ben wasn’t sure what to think. Most days he just felt lucky to be able to make Ainsley happy.
And he liked doing that—making her happy. Except for his mom and sister, he’d never been so preoccupied with taking care of someone. Well, not taking care of, just wanting her to have what she needed. She’d get mad if she heard him say that she needed taking care of.
“Man, you really do have it bad,” Jake said, waving his hands.
Jake would never let this go. He’d zoned out again.
“What are you talking about?”
“You’re in love with her, aren’t you?”
Ben coughed. “I don’t know what you’re talking about. We’re just having fun. Like you said, end of story. Besides, what would I even know about that? Love. We’re both married to our jobs, you know how it is.”
“Right,” Jake said. “Well, I’d like to stay alive if you don’t mind. Today isn’t the joyride we had last night. So, head in the game, Marine.”
Head in the game.
Focus was important today.
And he absolutely was not in love with Ainsley. They’d only met a week ago. Besides, he didn’t do love. Wasn’t even sure if he knew what it was.
Yep. That was his story and he was sticking to it.
* * *
AINSLEY STEPPED OUT of her car and that’s when she looked down.
“Shoot.” She had two different shoes on. This had to stop. Business was booming and her head was in the clouds constantly thinking about Ben.
The man was so handsome and wonderful. And his body, he...
Focus! You have two different shoes on and you have to meet one of your top clients in four—she glanced at her watch—make that two minutes.
She only had one option. She pulled her yoga toe slippers out of her workout bag.
Whatever.
They were bright green, but at least they matched. Better than having one navy Manolo and a black Louboutin.
What was I thinking? That was the problem, she wasn’t. She’d been all dreamy-eyed and still high on her orgasmic bliss from the night before.
And now she was meeting with one of her biggest clients wearing yoga slippers.
So professional. This wasn’t junior high, where she’d doodle a boy’s name on her binder with hearts and flowers. She didn’t have time for this crap. Didn’t have time for relationships and...who was she kidding?
Ever since she’d seen Ben standing in that toy aisle, she’d been a goner.
Great. Just great.
She quickly loaded up the dolly with the boxes of presents wrapped over the weekend. Normally, Bebe hired a courier service to deliver the gifts, but Craig had wanted to speak with her.
“Ha, maybe if he sees me in these completely inappropriate shoes he’ll think twice about hitting on me again.” With this guy, she always walked a fine line of letting him think she thought he was cute, but making it clear that she never dated clients. It was one of her most important rules. To which, he often reminded her, they had dated.
Arg.
After waving hello to the receptionist, she pushed the dolly with the presents to Craig’s office. He wanted to store everything there until the company Christmas party, where he could play Santa—minus the red hat and beard—and dole out the gifts.
Be nice.
It was tough. They had gone out together before she started her business, and she quickly discovered that he was as bad as any of the men she’d been out with, but he was really good at hiding it.
And the only reason he wanted to be the one to give out the presents? So that he looked nice.
Because he really wasn’t.
He was ruthless, and even mean, at times. There were bosses, people who liked to make themselves feel important. And then there were leaders, people who made those around them believe in themselves. If ever she was the owner of a large company like this, she would want to be the latter. To be a colleague, someone who wasn’t afraid of the hard work or getting in there when things were tough.
That was one of the reasons she and Bebe kept things tight with the company. They sometimes hired extra staff, but for the most part they did everything themselves. She could always count on Bebe, and Bebe could absolutely always count on her.
Although, this might be the last holiday for that. Even Bebe, the hardest worker Ainsley had ever met and the keeper of the budget, had said they should consider hiring at least a few part-time regular staff to help with deliveries and shopping.
But Craig. He was one of those guys who wanted to always be the most important guy in the room. She bet his employees hated him, which to her was a true judge of his character.
Yep. Definitely not her type.
Before she could get to the door, it opened and the man of the hour waved her in. “You can set those boxes in the corner,” he said as she shut the door.
Any other person would have offered to help with the boxes. Not Craig. He stood there and watched as she lifted the heavy boxes off the dolly.
An image of Ben fixing her hot chocolate leaped to mind. He was always ready to lend a hand, or help out whenever she needed. He’d been such a blessing since they’d met.
“Okay, I think that’s it,” she said. “All of your executive gifts are there. The staff gifts will be delivered later this afternoon by the courier. Bebe checked and everything is on the truck, so you should be good.”
“Great.” He leaned back on his desk and crossed his legs at the ankle. He was a handsome man in an Armani suit, but his attitude made him ugly to her. He had no soul. “So I was talking to your dad the other day.”
Here it comes. Why were these guys always talking to her dad? She glanced down at the dolly so he couldn’t see her roll her eyes. “Um. Great. So I’ve got a busy day, if you’ll excuse me.”
“He was telling me about the family Christmas party. They didn’t feel right inviting me last year, since we’d broken up the year before. But now, you know, I was hoping that wouldn’t be an issue.”
Ugh. What kind of person invited himself to a party where he wasn’t wanted?
Craig.
“I’m not sure what you want me to say.”
“I was hoping I could come as your date. Your father said you weren’t seeing anyone.”
She shrugged and pasted a smile on her face. “Sorry. Dad’s wrong, and doesn’t always listen. I am dating someone. I have for some time now. It’s very serious, so I’m not sure what Dad was thinking when he told you that.”
He cleared his throat and folded his arms across his chest. Crud, if I lose this account because I couldn’t be nice for ten minutes, Bebe is going to kill me.
“I did mention it to my dad, but you know how he is. He’s so busy he forgets. If you want to come to the party, that’s fine. But I have a date, uh, thanks anyway.”
“Who?” The man was just rude. He was trying to trip her up.
“Does it matter?”
He just stared at her.
“His name is Major Ben Hawthorne. He’s a Marine helicopter pilot and basically the most amazing man I’ve ever met. We’re exclusive and have been for some time.” Okay, it was only since the weekend, but that was definitely some time.
“Oh.” His face was scrunched up as if he was confused and her words did not compute. “I thought Marines were ground troops—since when do they fly helicopters?”
Oh, wow. He thinks I’m lying. I hate this guy.
“They have pilots and navigators, and also provide support for other branches of the military. You can look it up. They share services with the Naval airbase here.”
“Huh.”
Maybe she’d made it through that thick skull of his. “Thanks again for using our service, Craig. Let us know if you need anything else. Have a nice day.” And with that, she took the empty dolly and strode out in her yoga shoes, feeling proud of herself.
So what that she was a bit too infatuated with Ben? Still, thinking about him would have to be relegated to certain times of the day. Like between the hours of eight and ten o’clock at night or something.
Her phone rang, and she pulled it out of her skirt pocket. It was her mother calling.
Not today. She just couldn’t deal. Her mom and Megan had been texting since early in the morning. They wanted her to come up to San Antonio a day early before the party for some event.
But she already had plans with Ben. She’d sent them a text letting them know that she had a prior commitment. They just didn’t listen.
Ever.
Maybe I should get a new phone and I won’t tell my family the number. Never mind that this number was on all of her business cards.
She called the office.
“Thank God it’s you and not your mother. She won’t stop calling. I almost took her head off the last time.”
Ainsley couldn’t help but smile. “She’s a nuisance, no argument there. Sorry, but I needed a buffer. I’m trying to avoid them until at least, I don’t know, Sunday?”
“What’s going on?”
Even though her friend couldn’t see her, she shrugged. “Dad’s trying to get me in town a day early, probably to meet more awful eligible guys. Anyway, I have plans. Told them that many times. Just help me. I don’t care what you say. Make them stop.”
Bebe cackled. “I bet Megan told them you were dating the Marine.”
Ainsley slid into her car and slammed the door. Then she banged her head on the steering wheel. “No. Please. I’ve been trying to keep that news in a protective bubble. You know them. They won’t mean to, but they’ll destroy this. They don’t like it when I’m happy. And I’m really, really happy right now.”
And there it was. She was giddy almost. Couldn’t wait to see him that night. That was wrong. She didn’t need a man. She was a strong, smart woman.
But damn if she didn’t want him.
Bebe laughed again. “Girl, you know they want what’s best for you. But I admit, they can be some dysfunctional twits at times. I thought your mother liked Ben.”
She sighed. “In theory. She certainly likes what he represents. Honor, duty, loyalty. Oh, yeah, and he’s superhandsome. But you know how my dad is. He can be such a snob when it comes to how much someone makes. Net worth, stock portfolio...those things don’t matter to me at all. But my dad just doesn’t see it the same way. I was hoping to take Ben to the party and let Dad meet him. I mean, Ben’s terrific. How could my dad not like him? They could even talk fishing and sports, and all that stuff.”
“Kiddo, maybe that’s exactly how it will be.”
Ainsley gave an unladylike snort. “Right. Because my dad’s so open and accepting of people. I do, I love my dad, but seriously. And you’d think my dad, since he came from nothing, would respect a guy like Ben. But he’s just so...ugh. You know.”
“Well, you won’t know until you talk to your dad.”
“I tried to at lunch the other day, but it was difficult since he brought me a date to the club. Oh, I don’t know what to do. They have to stop trying to interfere in my love life.”
Bebe cleared her throat. “They can’t do that unless you let them.”
Hmm. Wasn’t that the truth?
Bebe had a point. It was time for Ainsley to set her dad straight. “You’re right. I’ll drop off the Wilsons’ gifts and then call the house.”
They hung up and she turned on the car. She breathed deeply several times and did a neck roll. As she was about to drive away, her phone dinged.
The message was from her sister.
She swiped it open to read the text.
Dad won Business Mag’s Man of the Year award. Banquet Dec. 22, NYC. Private jet. Please call Mom to confirm.
That was a huge award. One of the most prestigious in the country. She was proud of her dad.
But why now? She sighed.
Because the universe really doesn’t like you.
She didn’t want to disappoint Ben by backing out of accompanying him to his CO’s next event, but this was Man of the Year.
He’d understand.
Yep. Hopefully.
Then why did she feel so guilty?