Page 46 of Only Lovers in the Building

“I find that hard to believe. You’re so . . . good.”

“Lily, you only see the good in people,” he said. “You should work on that.”

Lily cackled. “I’ll tell my therapist!”

“Your laugh is music,” Ben said. “Brad had that right.”

“Liar. It’s maniacal,” Lily said. Flattery would not get him off the hook. “Now, get on with the story.”

“All right,” he said. “There was this one woman I was dating casually.”

Lily reached for her glass of wine on the bedside table. “Here we go!”

“One night, we were together, and I forgot her name at the worst time.”

“Please don’t say it was during sex.”

“It was during sex.”

“Oh, Ben!”

“Her name is Kimberly,” he said. “I kept calling her Cora, a character in a novella I was translating. The project wasn’t coming together. I was stressed, tired as fuck, and on deadline. I should’ve canceled our date, but I’d canceled twice before.”

“Three strikes, you’re out.”

“Those are the rules.”

Would the women in his life always come second to his love for literature? Lily wondered. Had that played a hand in his most recent break up? Whatever the case, she would not find out tonight. Ben would not share the story of Belle/Bella, she was sure of it. Similarly, she wouldn’t bring up Darren. They were even.

“I’ve got ice cream,” he said. “Want to move this conversation to the kitchen?”

“Happily.”

If they were going to talk all night, while skirting the important issues, they might as well have ice cream.

Chapter Thirteen

They were on their best behavior all through the night. Come morning, it was a different story. Lily couldn’t lay the blame squarely on Ben: it was partly her fault. Forgetting where she was, she rolled over and flung her leg over him, taking his muscular thighs for the body pillow left behind in New York. Ben, who’d been sleeping like a log until then, stirred to life. His erection knocked against her knee. Instead of pulling away, she went full body-pillow mode and tightened her hold on him. She breathed in the scent of his soap mixed with the warmth of his skin, rubbed her cheek against the scruff of his chin, and on and on until he eased off her.

Breath heavy, lids low, he studied her face in the soft darkness, questioning her intentions. Her only intention was to stay stock-still. No sudden moves.

“Sorry,” she whispered. “I took you for my body pillow.”

Ben’s hands went to her face. “Is that your excuse?”

“I have no excuse.”

Her resolve had softened since yesterday. It occurred to her that she might be going about this all wrong. Miami wasn’t the city for rebirth and growth. It was the city to get messy. And why not see where this goes? her inner voice whispered. What’s the harm? You wanted chemistry, and here it is. You wanted romance? You’ve been served.

He brushed back her unruly hair. “We agreed it was a bad idea.”

“That was last week. We’ve grown so much since then. I’m a new woman.”

His laughter caressed her skin. “You’re making a new man out of me.”

“Am I?”

“Incrementally.”