Rushing the Goal
Page 49

Her face scrunched up as she gave him a suspicious look. He wanted to regret asking her, but he didn’t. He didn’t mean it to get her back in his bed; he really did want to help her, and he understood not wanting to ask her brother for help. They were practically newlyweds. No one wanted to be under the same roof with that.
“I don’t know you. Why would I move myself and my child in with you?”
He scoffed. “You had sex with me, though.”
She balked. “Um… Yeah. So?”
“So you trust me. If you didn’t trust me, you wouldn’t let me between—”
“Jesus take the wheel!” she wailed, holding her hands up to stop him, which of course, he smirked at. “Maybe I just wanted sex. Maybe I’m a whore.”
He gave her a dry look, shaking his head. “Even I know that’s isn’t true. You aren’t like that.”
“How do you know?”
He grinned, taking a step toward her. “Because even though I’ve only known you six days, I’ve seen the way you are with your daughter. You’re a great mom. Great moms don’t sleep with random men. They are responsible, they are smart, and it’s okay, Lucy, you can admit you trust me.”
That stunned her, but she recovered quickly. Scoffing, she said, “Please, you were there.”
“Okay. Lucy, do you want another hug? You look like you need another one.”
He moved toward her with his arms out, and she laughed as she pushed him away. “Stay away from me, you and those hugs.”
“Dangerous, huh?”
“Yeah,” she breathed, shaking her head.
“But, hey, it led to a great night,” he said huskily, and her lip quirked as she looked away.
“Doesn’t matter. It was a mistake,” she said quietly.
He couldn’t agree with her if he tried. Last night was not a mistake, but she already knew that. “It was?”
She looked up, her eyes wide and worried, distress all over her beautiful face. He may have been kidding before, but he really did want to hug her. “Benji, I’m so busy, especially now since I have to find a way to run my business out of my brother’s house. I was supposed to hire a new designer this weekend, but that looks like it’s going to shit and I’m a fucking mess. Really. Also, I have a kid—”
“I don’t know what Angie has to do with us.”
“Um, no man wants a chick with a kid or a baby daddy to deal with.”
He snorted. “Your baby daddy is nothing to me.”
“He’s a dick. You don’t want to deal with that or my kid.”
“Again, he doesn’t matter. As a real man, I don’t care that you have a kid or a baby daddy. That baby daddy has no effect on me, and your child is an extension of you. Also, Angie is freaking awesome, just like you,” he said with a wink, but she didn’t look convinced.
“No one says that.”
“Or you haven’t met the right man,” he said, pointing at her.
Exasperated, she threw her hands up. “When did you become a smooth-talker? You’re supposed to be a huge dork.”
He grinned. “I am, with a side of sex god and smooth-talker.”
“Okay, just stop,” she said, holding her hand up and he laughed. “Jesus, Benji. I mean, yeah, last night was so good, but let’s be real,” she said, talking with her hands until she shivered and had to wrap her arms around herself. It was chilly out, and he was sure she had been more concerned with getting him out the door than getting a coat. At least she’d put on shoes. “It would just be a waste of our time. We are in two different places in our lives, and right now, things are not easy for me.”
He was listening, he was, but she was talking more for herself. Everything she said may be true, but Benji didn’t care. He wanted to try. It was crazy, but he had to do this. Something inside him was begging him to do it.
Shaking out of his coat, he reached around her and put it on her. His body was so close to hers, and even though it was cold, she made him burn from the top of his head to the tip of his toes.
She tried to stop him. “I’m fine—”
But he ignored her, closing the jacket, and then pulling away slowly. Tucking his hands in the pockets of his jeans, he met her gaze. “Maybe it hasn’t been easy because you don’t let it. You do this thing, finding every single reason possible not to be happy. Isn’t that exhausting?” When her eyes narrowed, he just grinned at her. “Aw, don’t get mad. I’m just making an observation.”
“An observation you can shove up your ass,” she mumbled, but she didn’t mean it. She was trying not to grin back at him.
“Always so snarky,” he said, tapping her nose, which made her eyes widen.
“What in the world?”
“What? You’re cute.”
She let out a frustrated breath. “Like I said, last night was awesome, I had a blast. But this, whatever you think it is, just isn’t a good idea.”
“I’m not asking for anything. Not yet, at least, and I don’t think us getting to know each other and spending time together would be a waste of anyone’s time, as long as we’re having a good time.”
She shook her head, sucking in a breath, and he smiled. “Benji…”
Taking ahold of her belt loop, he pulled her to him. He couldn’t handle the distance anymore. He had to touch her. Coming to a halt against him, she looked up at him, surprised, as his hands slid underneath his coat to her back. She shivered against his touch and then relaxed. But as soon as she relaxed, she tensed up again, glancing back at the house. But he moved a hand and took hold of her chin, bringing her face up to look at him. “No one can see us.”