Sighing a long hard breath, I stare at the bakery counter in Sally-Anne’s.
Ugh. I need to face him and pray Bennett pretends nothing happened.
It’s been one week since I was at Olive Owl where I detangled my body from a pair of muscled arms, naked skin, and an impressive endowment. I snuck out in the early hours of the morning before Bennett even woke.
I don’t do awkward, nor do I need to hear that it was a mistake. And it doesn’t need to be any one of those things, either.
Glancing up, I see my takeout order is ready, and I need to get moving. I have to open the salon and need to fold some fresh towels for the shampoo station. It’s nice having the ladies of Bluetop come to me to treat themselves to a little beauty escape. The gossip that comes from their mouths is legendary too.
I’m lucky that I love my job. All through college, I studied business—my parents’ request—while taking extra classes in beauty and hair at night. I’m a small-business owner and that alone is my focus lately. I can’t complain, but I want to save more money so I can move to a better location and offer more services.
I would love to make my parents beam with pride—well, more than when they talk about my brother the neurosurgeon. For now, I’m renting a small shop, and luckily, the loft-style apartment above the salon was a package deal.
Taking a deep breath, I appreciate the fresh spring air. I moved back to Illinois to enjoy four distinct seasons, plus my best friend is here and so are the blue wildflowers that crop up in April in the prairie nearby that for some reason make me feel calm and that this is the place that I need to be.
As I walk along the picturesque main street with my little bag of breakfast, my mind filters back to memories of Bennett’s playful tongue. The way he coaxed my mouth open for more searing kisses. His firm hands planting on my hips to guide my body to wrap around his as he carried me to his room. Flashes of moments where his hands roamed up my skin to tease my breasts before sliding down to circle my clit. It quickly became a blur, how fast we got naked before he was thrusting deep into me.
We didn’t say much, nor was it uncomfortable. In fact, it was the best I’ve ever had.
Damn it.
I can’t remind myself of that fact. It’s not like I have a textbook of previous partners to reference. It’s just, every guy I’ve been with now seems mediocre and very inadequate.
Shaking my head, I tuck all those thoughts to the back of my mind and look up to see the garbage bin ahead of me. No hesitation, I throw in the to-go cup of coffee, even though I didn’t take a sip.
“Wow, that’s cold-hearted,” a masculine voice from behind me comments. The husky voice that demands come for me in a velvety tone. Bennett circles around to land right in front of me. I’m not avoiding him but wasn’t quite anticipating him right now.
His glint-filled brown eyes meet mine and they won’t let me escape. I notice the subtle tick of his jaw, as if he wants to grin at this situation, but instead his neutral face makes me feel like he’s waiting for me to say something more. Ugh, his hair is perfectly in a wave today, highlighting the natural blond in the brown. People pay hundreds for hair like his. Why can’t he have a physical flaw?
I know I need to speak, and it better be drenched in that confidence that I pepped myself up with all week. “Hey, Bennett.” I bite my bottom lip but can only smile to myself.
“I think you still owe me a good-morning from the other week.” His eyes widen slightly, already informing me that he isn’t going to let me off easy.
Rolling my eyes, I scan the area and see it is a typical weekday morning in Bluetop—not very busy.
“I just thought it was for the best.”
Casual tone. Avoid his gaze. Stay strong. Yep, we can cruise through this convo.
A smug smirk plays on his lips. “That’s a shame, we have fresh eggs for breakfast.” He shrugs a shoulder and he doesn’t glance at me. “They’re happy, free-range chickens.”
“Good for them. But again, it was for the best,” I repeat.
His eyes return to me, and he gently nods in understanding. “Look, it was kind of unexpected—”
I hold a palm up to stop him and jump right in. “Totally. And please don’t think that I showed up that night with a mission. I really just wanted to offer my cond—”
He cuts me off. “I know. I mean, I’m sure you wear black lace panties on a daily basis.” He says it so straight-faced that I think he doubts my intentions… maybe because a grin tugs on his lips. “Relax, I’m playing with you.” He reaches his hand out to gently nudge my upper arm.
“Oh, right.”
We look at one another with equally comforting yet humorous looks.
His head tilts and he studies the contents in my hands. “Full disclosure, I remember everything from that night, and now I am deeply concerned that you had coffee from Sally-Anne’s.”
A short laugh escapes, then I pretend to look around and lean in closer to him to loudly whisper, “Shh, I always throw it away, but I don’t have it in my heart not to buy coffee from Sally-Anne when she asks.”
“Ah, you are slightly devious, and in that case…” He yanks the paper bag from my hand. “Let’s get some real coffee.”
Before I can protest, he indicates in the direction of Bear Brew and focuses his eyes at me until I step forward to join him.
It’s only a thirty-second walk, and as soon as we step into the coffeeshop that opened in recent months, the smell of actual real coffee hits our noses, and I hear the sounds of an acoustic cover playing on the sound system. It’s mostly empty except for the table in the corner with a guy on a laptop.
Bennett orders a triple-shot macchiato, and he invites me to order too, my usual—latte with oat milk and a shot of hazelnut. The person behind the counter indicates that they will bring us the coffees when they’re ready, so Bennett and I take a seat at a nearby table.
“Always wanted to ask, why did you call it New Moon?”
I smile at the name I chose for my business. “I love the energy when it’s the new moon; something good always happens to me, and it represents change. People come to me, and when they leave, hopefully they feel a positive change.”
“Ah, that makes sense.”
“You seem in slightly better spirits, if I can say that?”
A wry smile forms on his lips. “I think I needed a few days, but in the end, we all knew it was coming and had a year to prepare for my father’s departure. Now life has to go on. Grayson just moved back, and Olive Owl is too busy not to focus on all of that. Plus, somehow I’ve been assigned to help teach my sister to drive.”
“Yikes, that’s no fun.”
We both say thanks as the coffees are placed before us, along with a little tray of packets of sugar, cinnamon, and chocolate powders. I sprinkle a little chocolate on top of my frothy milk.
He takes a sip of his drink and his eyes return to me. Suddenly, I feel warm and nervous, but the good kind.
“You didn’t need to leave.”
I smile to myself. “I don’t think breakfast in bed was in the cards. It wasn’t that kind of…”
“Ouch.” He leans back in the chair with a smirk that is devilishly cute. “Now I’m afraid that my performance was forgettable.”
Biting my inner cheek to stop my blushing face, I correct him. “No, it isn’t that at all. The rumors are all true, trust me.”
“Rumors? Fuck, this doesn’t bode well for me, does it?”
I chuckle softly. “Well, the fact that the rumor is that your bedroom skills are exceptional gets you points, but the fact that it comes from multiple sources doesn’t sit well.”
Lines form on his forehead as he lets that information sink in. “Don’t believe in the gossip, the multiple sources part, anyway. The other part, well, a fact is a fact.” A sheepish look forms on his face and he flashes his eyes at me.
“You’re definitely in a better mood.”
He leans in over the table and lowers his voice. “Can I at least say thank you?”
My eyes widen from his request. “For what?”
He sinks back into his chair with ease. “I don’t know, I guess you were exactly what I needed. Comfort sex is a new realm for me.”
I hum a sound as I finish my sip of coffee. “You’re welcome, I guess. And to be honest, I needed the moment to just not think. Life has been kind of busy.”
“Okay, so I was your escape?”
“Yeah, but it’s not like I do that often. Actually, I don’t do that at all. The one-night thing, I mean,” I ramble and play with the little stick of wood in my coffee. “Can we just move on from it? Neither one of us is looking for anything, right?”
“Yeah, I guess so.” He slides his cup to the side. “Not sure this is the moment in my life to start something.”
“Exactly, and I need to focus on work.” I look at him and his face goes blank. I clarify, “Yes, Bennett, beyond cutting and styling hair, there is bookkeeping, administration, marketing. It’s what we call owning a small business.” I give him a pointed look.
He breaks out in that grin that all too many consider charming. “I know, Kelsey. You’re a smart cookie and I think no less.”
I really like how honesty drips from every word of that sentence. Or that he may hold me in a higher regard than I thought. “Exactly,” is all I can chirp out.
“You make this too easy.”
“Did you think I would be lusting after you all week and now disappointed?” I challenge him, amused.
Now he grins at me, completely relaxed. “No, I’m just happy that it feels like we can still be friends after this? Right?”
“That we can,” I answer and look at my phone to see that I absolutely need to get moving to open New Moon for the day. “Since we’re all cool then I’m going to run off. I really need to work, and as you just downed three shots of caffeine then I am going to guess that you’re all pepped up for the day too.”
We both stand as this is our goodbye. But we end up in this awkward dance, trying to pass each other but running into one another, which causes our bodies to touch and a sudden thrum in my heart that feels heavy.
“Do we need to hug this out or something?” he suggests.
“Really?” I’m surprised by his seriousness of tone. “No, we absolutely don’t.”
It causes him to chuckle and glance away before he looks back to me. “Okay, message received, move on. I will only remind you of our indiscretion when I want to rile you up, because that seems like it could be kind of fun,” he teases me, and it causes me to ruefully shake my head.
“See you around, Bennett.” I give him a little wave then escape, because this conversation, as easy as it was, pumped up my blood pressure a little more than I anticipated.
It’s a few days later and I’m at Olive Owl with a flat iron and brush in hand. A twenty-something-year-old woman is looking cute in a short white dress and Converse sneakers for her sunset engagement photos. A few more pins in her hair and a touch more blush on her cheeks and she is ready to go.
I’m sure she and her fiancé will end up with photos in all the usual spots—the end of the green field, the back of the patio overlooking the fields, or the haystack behind the barn. All will be beautiful shots too.
With a final spray of hairspray, I tell her how beautiful she looks. She smiles ecstatically before bouncing out of her chair and heading off. Packing up my stuff, I wonder if Bennett is around. I didn’t see him when I arrived, only Knox, and he acted no different with me, which means Bennett didn’t tell him about our night.
I ignore my curiosity as I make my way to the restaurant part of the bed-and-breakfast, and it’s there the mystery is solved, as Bennett is there lining up wine glasses. He glances up and greets me with a smile.
“Hey there, all good with the bride-to-be?”
I slide my bag off my shoulder and place it on the barstool. “Perfect as can be. Busy today?”
“Yeah, a couple drove up for a wine-tasting. Want some water or something?” He grabs a bottle of wine, pops the cork, and begins to pour.
“I guess water would be good.”
He quickly grabs a glass and fills it with water from a pitcher with fresh mint then hands it to me as I meet him halfway to collect it. As he does that, the bottom of the glass hits the perfect line of red-wine-filled glasses, causing one to tip and spill all over me, which makes me freeze in place.
“Shit, I am so sorry.” He quickly sets the drink down and grabs a towel.
But looking down and I see my white t-shirt is now stained red, and the fact that red wine should be room temperature is a fact that my nipples completely ignore.
“This isn’t ideal.” I’m supposed to meet my parents later for dinner and I don’t really have time to stop at home to change. Nor do I want to reek of wine, regardless that it’s one of the Midwest’s finest.
Bennett is about to blotch the towel on me but pauses when he realizes that his hands will land right on my bust. “I actually don’t think a towel will do much… I guess I owe you a shirt.”
“Don’t worry about it, I just, uhh…”
“Want a fresh shirt? I can lend you one of mine.”
Slowly I nod in agreement. “That is probably a good idea.”
“Okay, just pick whatever you want from my middle drawer in my room,” he offers.
I raise a brow. “What’s in the top drawer?”
It causes him to break out in a grin. “Nothing you haven’t seen before.”
“Right.” My lips close together.
“I will take care of this, and you go on, the door should be open.”
I give an appreciative smile before moving in the direction of his place.
It all seems simple enough, except flashbacks of that night keep appearing in my head. When I reach his room, I’m surprised at how clean it is or how it smells fresh.
Peeling off my t-shirt, I’m left standing in a bra and jeans. I quickly venture to his middle drawer to look for a shirt. I notice all shirts are either white, black, or gray. The token forest green sticks out, and I figure he’ll notice that one is missing the most if I forget to return it, and for some reason, my mind feels like it’s the best choice.
“I’m so sorry.” Bennett’s voice startles me, and I slowly turn to face him, still half naked. When I notice his eyes slowly assessing me, then I know he won’t apologize for the fact he walked in on me in this state.
“It’s really okay. It happens. I mean, I’m covered in shampoo by the end of the day most of the time.”
He scratches his chin with his thumb as he licks his lips. “I know, you had a peculiar smell that stayed on my sheets for a few days. Kind of exotic or citrus-based.”
“Oh, that’s my essential oils. I normally put a few drops of frankincense and orange blossom on my pulse points,” I explain and step closer to him, noticing that his eyes are assessing me in jeans and a bra.
“Now you smell of our 2014 vintage. It was a good year,” he quips and winks.
“Yep, sticky red wine,” I simply say, and I definitely return the need to scan his body, my eyes stopping at a situation that is escalating under his zipper.
He steps closer. I step closer. I know where this is going.
Oh, no. No. Maybe yes. Okay, yes.
Probably not a great idea. But I don’t seem to care.
“What if I don’t want to waste a drop of exceptional wine?” he asks slowly.
I laugh under my breath. “A little too late for that.”
His smoldering look is making everything inside me melt and every nerve between my legs come alive.
“Not too late at all, because I can lick every last drop off of you.” His eyes are firmly set on me, filled with hunger.
It’s incredibly hot.
I step closer and I turn on my sultry voice. “You know, you completely soaked my bra too.”
“Even better.” His fingertips touch my obliques, and he yanks me forward in one swift movement, causing our bodies to meld flush in the middle.
My fingers play with the fabric of his shirt. “Might have slid down to between my legs too.”
“I was hoping you would say that.”
Before I can think, his fingers entangle in my hair, guiding my head back as his mouth completely devours me in a crashing kiss.
And I have no hesitation to return the sentiment.