Page 26 of Just a Plot Twist (Tate Brothers #7)

Benson

“I don’t know what I’m doing,” she says.

I’m not sure what she means. She’s on her knees on the blanket we’ve spread out on the sand. The fabric of her dress pools around her, with one side pulled up higher than the other because she’s grasping it in her fist.

She is stunning.

She’s breathing heavily, like we kissed until we were breathless.

We did not kiss.

My mind is backtracking, trying to figure out if I did or said something wrong.

I mean, I was straightforward. I indulged in my reckless thoughts and told her how I feel about her.

“I’m sorry if I overstepped.”

“No.” She reaches out a hand in my direction, her palm reassuring me. “I like you. But we’re so different.”

“In some ways,” I agree. “But that’s what makes things interesting.”

“What you were saying about me was…it was sweet and—” She hesitates, sinking down into a sitting position. “Well, I’ve loved being around you tonight and texting you.”

“Me, too, Claire.”

“We’ve had completely different life experiences, though,” she says.

“We have, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing.”

She chews on her lip, her gaze on her lap.

“Look, I’m not saying I have all the answers,” I say. “Or that I know what we should do. I just really like being around you. And I want to keep being around you as much as we can.”

At first, her smile is tentative, but when she searches my eyes, it grows. “I want to be around you, too.”

The moonlight hits the planes of her face, lighting her porcelain skin with a sheen that sears into my brain. I’d love to kiss her, but she’s right: We’ve had different experiences in life. I need to be patient and take my time with any sort of physical relationship with her.

I don’t want to say goodbye to her, but she looks a bit spooked.

I stand, brushing the sand from my legs onto the beach. “Are you ready for me to drive you back to your car?”

“Sure, yes.”

She moves as if to stand, but I step to her side.

“Whoa, let me help you.”

I help her up and to the car, my arm around her waist, and my other hand at her elbow .

It was a good night. I can be myself around her, but I also want to be more than I already am—it’s both comfortable and exciting at the same time.

The drive is quiet, but I steal glances at her and, in the semi-darkness, catch her gaze flicking to me at the same time. A pluck of warmth settles over me.

I’ve never come close to going out with a woman since my divorce. I can’t rush this. It’s a good thing we didn’t kiss when our lips were an inch apart.

It’s good I didn’t press a kiss to her neck. Or her shoulder. Or that place where my bowtie hung down against her golden, velvety skin.

I shake my head, a quick and violent reset. “Want to listen to some music?” I ask, pointing to the buttons on my sound system.

She smiles. “Your ride, your tunes?” she jokes.

“How about it’s my ride, and I’m letting you pick the tunes?”

“How diplomatic of you,” she says. She does a fist pump and then punches through the satellite stations, settling on a country station playing some classic Travis Tritt.

I almost protest her choice of music. I don’t listen to country very often, but I told her she could pick the tunes. Besides, it fits her. And it’s fun music, which is exactly what we need right now.

Fun. Laidback and casual. Not like the beach, where everything in me was tumbling down a one-way lane to…a whole lot of feelings I can’t be having.

“So, what are you going to tell your kids about the…” She lowers her voice in a whisper. “…gala?” Her smile is amused.

“There’s so much I could say. ”

She whistles. “Right? The swans and falling flat on our butts. And my grandparents are…” She gives a little shudder. “Complex people.”

“One of the biggest things that strikes me is that they’re unapologetically themselves.”

“Um, yes. True.”

“They are who they are, and they want what they want,” he continues. “And they’ve made their marriage work for sixty years, quirks and all.”

She hesitates. “Grandma and Grandpa do have their quirks. And they are still in love.”

“There was something else that came up tonight. Peter Schiller, the president of Foundations was there, along with his wife Mandy.”

She raises a brow and twists her mouth to one side.

“Peter’s also my father’s best friend, although it sounds funny to describe him like that.”

“You look like you’re about to give me bad news.”

I grunt. “There’s evidence that Peter’s readying himself to break his contract with the company. Illegally.”

“Oh, no.”

“We’re not sure, and please keep this confidential, but it looks like he’s going to start his own company, which is in breach of contract. He’s not supposed to be able to do that until he’s waited a year after leaving Foundations.”

“Did you talk with him tonight?”

“Briefly. I didn’t find out any info but there was a vibe.”

She’s quiet for a long time and then: “That’s too bad for your father.”

I nod. “He’s had a hard time getting ready to retire. ”

We arrive at the remodeled colonial event center, and Claire says she’s fine to walk herself to her car, but I give her a look before scrambling out to help. She has a terrible track record this last week or so.

We make it to her car. I open her door for her and instead of climbing in right away, she leans towards me.

“Thanks for all your help tonight, Benson.” We start hugging even before she finishes the words. I run my fingers down a soft tendril of hair before smoothing it over her shoulder.

“I’m glad I came,” I say. “And not just because I got to carry you out of the ballroom.”

She draws back, searching my eyes.

“I mean that. I could get used to it.”

“I liked it too…a little bit.” Her cheeks pucker as she smiles. “If I forget all of the embarrassing parts.”

I tug her closer and plant a barely there kiss on her temple, the warmth of her skin tantalizing my lips. “I’m sorry you were embarrassed.”

“Maybe it’s more the realization that I should have just used my crutches like a normal person.”

I hesitate and she laughs. “I know you agree.”

“I do. But, like I said, I like taking care of you.”

She shudders in my arms. I want to kiss her. But then my standing fears resurface. This isn’t even a proper date. It was an impromptu…thing…and she deserves more consideration than that.

Besides, it’s been nearly twenty years since I even kissed anyone besides my ex. It’s not something I take lightly—her lack of experience notwithstanding .

She takes a step back, letting her arms drop to her sides. “Thanks again. For everything.”

I wait until she’s started the car and turns to drive back to Longdale before I head home.

The drive is long. My body is exhausted, but my mind is wide awake.

It’s full of the over-the-top opulence of the extravaganza. And how everything about the evening was tied to Claire.

I miss having someone by my side. I miss taking care of a woman and being taken care of by her. Watching out for someone and laughing with someone? There’s nothing like it. I want the inside jokes and the total trust that she has your back and you have hers. Always.

And then it slams into me all over again, like it has ever since Danica left. Sometimes “always” doesn’t actually mean always.