Perfect. “So are we!” I add. Cole is fuming… and I’m turned on.
She has a death grip on her butter knife, and Jules, always the practical one, reaches over to dislodge it from her grip.
No one speaks. The only sound in answer to either of those proclamations is the scraping of Gabe’s chair as he storms out.
“Probably should have done that differently,” Bex winces. I’d have to agree with her but it’s too late to turn back now.
Anders, who has been Gabe’s best friend for over a decade, gives a sympathetic look to his wife. “I’ve got it, Baby Bardot. He just needs a minute.” And he follows Gabe out of the room.
Bex looks relieved for a moment before she registers what I said. “Wait, you two are also engaged?” She points between me and Cole, looking confused as hell.
“Yes!” I reply at the same time Cole says, “No.”
Her eyes narrow at me. “Benjamin. I willnevermarry you.”
I’m obviously fucked up because it sounds more like a challenge than a promise.
“That’s not what you said last night, Red.”
She’s irate, and that’s when it hits me, the weight of my miscalculation. Now it’s her turn to shove back from the table, storming to the doorway. Once she’s there she pauses, taking a deep breath before she turns back toward the room.
Her eyes find my Mom and Dad. “I apologize for my swift exit Mr. and Dr. Bardot. I’ll call you tomorrow—” She turns to Thea to say this and then reluctantly faces me. “And fuck you.”
Then she’s gone.
I throw back the rest of the wine in my glass. With more confidence than I feel, I say, “I love when she’s feisty,” and then I follow her out.
I slam the door behind me as I leave Jules and Thea’s house.
As anticipated, it’s only a moment before I hear the door open and close again.
“Go back inside, Benjamin,” I call over my shoulder. The last thing I want to do right now is talk to him. Not after he just embarrassed me in front of his entire fucking family. And his mom who is colleagues with all of the people who will determine my future success. I’m frantically searching for my car so I can escape this nightmare but I can’t find it anywhere.
“Red, c’mon.” His long legs carry him to me entirely too quickly. I couldn’t escape even if I tried.
And I am trying. But this fucking scarf is making me so damn hot. I’m extremely overstimulated and I need to be home with Ernest, not here with the man who sends my nervous system into overdrive.Where is my fucking car?!
Ben catches ahold of my wrist, turning me back toward him. I wrench my arm free, yanking my scarf off as well. A crease forms between Ben’s brows as he takes me in.
“You are sweating, Colette. Let me take you home.”
“I can take myself home, thank you.”
“I drove you here,” he calmly replies, taking the stupid scarf out of my hands.
Right. That’s why I can’t find my car.
My entire body deflates. I’m hot and numb and I really do just want to go home.
“Fine. But I’m not talking about this right now.”
“That’s fair.” Ben guides me by my elbow toward his car, opening the door and helping me in. I don’t have the energy to bat him away. In fact, my traitorous body melts into his touch. Once he’s buckled me in, like I’m a damn toddler, he brackets me in, leaning closer than strictly necessary. “I am sorry, for what it’s worth. I had this wild thought, looking at how happy Jules and Thea are, hell even Bex and Anders who have been sickeningly in love for so damn long. And I want that with you. I wanted to…” He shrugs. “Rip the bandaid off? Maybe you’ll never speak to me again after this, and that would?—”
I kiss him.
Mainly because I need him to shut the fuck up. But also because he’s—ugh, I don’t want to admit this—not wrong. I am the kind of person who would need a bandaid ripped off or I’d keep things with Ben just as they are for the rest of eternity.
That’s not what he wants, though. He’s been more than upfront about that from the time he waltzed back into my life.
