Ah, he knew that would be the final straw. While Sydney was never outwardly a bigot, Benson knew – his ex-wife had been piled with so many “surprises” that she just wanted out. And, intruth, so did Benson.I begged her to stay.But it was more out of fear of the unknown than an undying love for her.
Liam knew all this. Just like he knew that Benson was an absolute man-ho once he had moved into his current place and was no longer beholden to what Sydney liked and wanted.Men. Women. People who were neither, and everything in between.He had probably fucked them. He was drunk (and later, high) half his weekends, but the latter was more a result of the stressful divorce and his midlife crisis than anything else. He met Liam after sobering up and coming to terms with who he was. Everything had been good…
“If you keep glancing at him,” James said halfway through dessert, “I’m gonna slap a blindfold on you. The unsexy kind.”
Benson had no idea he had been staring at the back of Liam’s head again. “Shut up.”
He hung back to chat with a few people in the bar, but it was Liam he was waiting for. As soon as everyone else left, Liam approached, as if he knew he was being summoned.
“Everything good?” he asked.
Benson finished the last of the soda water he had ordered at the bar. “Fine. She came by my place a couple of days ago.”
Liam didn’t ask what that meant. “You two good?”
Benson winced. “We need to talk.”
Liam perched on the stool next to him. “Here?”
“You got somewhere you need to be?”
“No.”
“Then come with me.”
There was a secluded sitting area out by the parking garage, where only a few people would walk by with keys jingling in their hands. Benson had walked. Liam had probably Ubered. Short of dragging his ex back to his place – again – Benson would rather chat here. He only had a few things to say, anyway.
“She’s very understanding,” Benson said once they stood in front of each other in the alcove. Although there were two chairs there, neither moved to have a seat. “I’m not used to that when the truth comes out.”
“How long did you think you could get away without saying anything to her?” Liam chastised. “Did you think she wouldn’t figure it out?”
“You never told her. That dinner was her first time hearing about yourinclinations.”
“You complicated things, sir.”
Benson hated the sarcastic way Liam called himsir,and that had been true in their relationship, too. “Whatever. That’s not the point.”
“All right. What’s the point, Ben?”
He had to glance away before he stared too long in those glistening eyes that always seemed to see everything in the room. Liam had the cunning ability to absorb everything around him. That included “vibes,” as he called them. Within two minutes in a nightclub or someone’s private party, Liam could tell his fiancé if they should stay or go. Which was much needed, because as much as Benson could party once he got into things, his initial reaction to any gathering wasfucking leave.
“I’m in love with Eden,” Benson confessed, “and I’m going to keep dating her as long as she’ll have me.”
Liam visibly swallowed, which gave Benson a little more confidence. “I see. I’m happy for you, then. You deserve to be in love, Ben.”
Despite the crack in his voice, Benson didn’t feel confident. “But?”
The little twitch at the corner of Liam’s mouth was… infuriating. Or, at least, that was hot blood rushing through Benson’s veins as he beheld it.Infuriatingly annoying.He wascompelled to clear his throat.Infuriatingly hot.Of course this man still had “it.”
“But I’m not going to give up that easily. I am also pretty wild about Eden. To the point that I’m thinking of all the places I want to take her…” He lowered his voice, leaning forward. “All the things I wannadoto her.”
“Oh, fuck you.”
“I’m serious. I’m not gonna break up with her just so you can have her. We’re either all-in on an arrangement or she’s gonna choose one of us.”
“Don’t be absurd.”
“About what?”
