"How much longer do you think we have to stay?" Ben asked.
"At least another hour," I said. "You're the best man and I'm the maid of honor. We can't leave before they cut the cake."
"Damn, I was afraid you'd say that." He relaxed his hold on me just a bit. "Think we could sneak off into the field for a quickie?"
I laughed and smacked his shoulder. "Behave yourself, Benjamin Sebastian Murphy."
Furtive movement caught my eye and I turned my head toward the back door of the party barn. My mouth fell open when I saw who was sneaking out the exit.
"Besides, it might be too crowded in that field. J.J. just escaped out the back door with someone we both know," I said.
Ben's head swiveled around but he was too late. "Damn, I missed it. Who?"
"Lee."
"Lee?" he asked, a blank expression on his face.
Seriously? "Lee, the assistant manager ofCrave," I explained.
His eyes widened. "Oh, shit."
I nodded, mirroring his expression.
Then, he grinned, his hazel eyes sparkling with humor. "J.J. is toast."
"What do you mean? Do you think he's going to hurt Lee? Because that's not cool."
Ben shook his head. "Oh, no way. He's not going to hurt her. He's going down. Hard."
I frowned at him, not understanding what he meant.
He laughed. "I guarantee you that we'll be going to their wedding by the end of next year."
"Oh." I considered it. J.J. had come into the shop a few times since we hired Lee and I hadn't noticed anything at the time. But looking back on it, there was definitely something to his words. The way J.J. looked at Lee. The way he talked to her.
"I'm not sure if I'm excited to see how this plays out or worried that it's going to be a drama fest," I said.
"J.J. is a good guy. I think it'll work out fine."
"Why?"
"If I could get you to fall in love with me, then he could do the same with Lee."
Okay, first of all, that was an incredibly sweet thing to say, but that wasn't what I was concerned about.
"I'm more worried about him not returning Lee's feelings."
"I don't think that'll be an issue."
I shrugged. "Then again, weddings make people horny. Maybe they're just going to blow off some steam."
Ben kissed me, hard and fast. "That sounds like a fantastic idea. Since the field is taken, what do you say we find a secluded closet?"
I had to laugh, my worries about J.J. and Lee fading. They were adults. What they did was their business.
"I think I know just the place," I murmured. "Follow me."
Ben held my hand as I led him toward the stairs. There was a chain across the entry to the stairway with a sign that said, "Employees Only". I ducked under it and darted up the steps. I'd been up here yesterday when we were setting up for the reception, and I knew of a spacious storage closet that was now empty since all the chairs were downstairs for the reception.
