Page 5

BENNIE

“I see you and my brother get along quite nicely,” Tabor said as I stopped next to him and Sin.

I smiled at him and nodded. “He’s a nice guy, and a good priest, too.”

“Did you get to talk to him about the things you wanted to talk about?” Sinclair asked.

“Yes, actually. I didn’t think our conversation would lead down that road, but I’m glad it did.”

“That’s good to hear. I’m glad he could help.” Sin rubbed my arm and smiled at me gently.

“Did you only talk about yourself, or also about him?” Tabor asked before taking a sip of his beer.

“I mostly talked about myself. I didn’t really ask about his personal life.”

“Mm, maybe you should before you get too comfortable around him.”

Those words earned him an elbow into his side from Sin. “Tay,” she said with a warning undertone.

“What? I’m just saying. We all know my brother isn’t a saint, and that can scare people away. Especially innocent ones like Bennie.”

I raised a brow. Although I was more conservative when it came to certain things in my life, I wasn’t innocent. Not sexually, for that matter. “A priest who’s not a saint?”

Sinclair placed a hand on Tabor’s chest, gently pushing him away from our little circle. “You’re said enough for tonight. How about you help Archer putting Luca to bed? She’s tired.”

Tabor looked at her, amusement flashing in his eyes. A grin tugged at the corner of his mouth as he looked at me. “Just a warning, darling,” he told me with a wink.

I watched as he kissed Sin’s head, and when he left, I looked at her with a raised brow. “Do I have to be concerned now? Did I open up to someone I shouldn’t have?”

Sin let out a heavy sigh and shook his head. “Of course not, Bennie. I wouldn’t have introduced him to you if I thought he was a bad guy. Tabor’s just trying to make his brother look bad.” She smiled at me, giving me the comfort I needed after hearing Tabor’s words.

“Okay but…why would he say something like that? He can’t be so bad, can he? He’s a priest, after all.”

Sin pursed her lips. There clearly was something she didn’t want to tell me, and while it intrigued me to know, I wouldn’t push her to tell me. Maybe it was for the better. Even if I told him that I would want to go out with a hot priest, I didn’t really mean it.

I just got out of an abusive relationship, and I was still trying to get my life together, wanting to live peacefully for now.

“He’s a good man, and my sole purpose was to get you to talk to him and see if he might be someone you could trust. It sounded like it helped talking to him.”

“It did. But, also…” I stopped and furrowed my brows as I recalled Joska’s words from earlier. “He was contradicting himself. And questioning his own religion.”

“Give me an example.”

“Like, when I told him that I wasn’t sure if I could trust God to not make me sick again, he said he wasn’t so sure that I could.”

Or something along those lines.

Sin watched me closely, trying to find the right words to say to me. She wanted to help, but being an atheist herself, there wasn’t really much she could help me with. There was something she wanted to tell me, but she looked unsure.

“Tell me,” I said, hoping she could open up about whatever she knew about Joska, but didn’t want to tell me.

“I’m not so sure that I should.”

I was about to nudge her again, but in that moment, Joska walked up to us, interrupting our conversation. I let everything Tabor and Sin said slip away, thinking it probably was for the best not to dig deep into this man’s personal life when I only needed for him to be a priest to me.

“Ladies,” he said, smiling at the both of us while putting a hand on Sin’s back. “Sorry to interrupt, but I came to say goodnight.”

“You’re leaving already?” Sinclair asked, turning more toward him.

“Yes, I’ve had quite the day today, and I’m getting tired. It’s best if I leave, but tonight was fun. Thanks for the invite.” He leaned in and kissed her cheek before he turned to look at me. He smiled and reached into his pocket, pulling out a business card. When he handed it to me, I took it from his hand and read what was written on it.

Joska Kovacs

St. Augustine’s Church

Boulder, Colorado

On the backside, there was one single phone number.

I raised a brow and looked at him. “Is this your number or the church’s?”

A smirk tugged at his lips. “Guess you’ll have to find out.” He placed his hand on my waist and leaned in, kissing my right cheek, then the other. Our eyes met again when he moved back, and I felt my face heat up.

He clearly didn’t have to do or say much to make my body react to him. I wasn’t sure how I felt about that.

“Talk soon,” he said, his voice low and way too sexy for a damn priest.

“Yeah, uh…sure.”

I was flustered. Shit.

Not now.

Not him.

Joska left, and I stood there with my heart beating loudly in my chest.

“That was hot,” Sin said, looking rather surprised herself. “I’m not so sure I want you to see him as more than just a priest.”

“I’m not so sure either,” I breathed, my voice barely audible.

I looked at Sin with my brows furrowed, and my thoughts running wild. I was left speechless by that simple interaction, and, clearly, so was she.

“I mean, he’s a good guy. And he’s single, so…”

“I can’t date a priest. Not one who just made me question my faith even more.”

“Well, maybe you made him question his,” she said with a shrug.

It did seem like I had, even if it hadn’t been my intention.

I sighed and ran a hand through my hair, looking down at the card Joska had left me with. “How old is he, by the way?”

“Forty-five.”

“Damn.”

“Is that a good or a bad damn ?”

I shrugged. “Honestly, I can’t say. At the moment, nothing makes sense anymore.”

Sin laughed softly and wrapped her arm around my shoulders, pulling me into a tight hug. “Let everything sink in for a while. You don’t have to make any decisions just yet.”

“Thanks, Sin.” I hugged her back, feeling her unconditional support.

I could always rely on her, and whenever I needed to talk, she was right there listening. She even put me first at times, pushing her four handsome men to the side just to listen to me whine about my problems.

But then, if I had to handle four men at once, I would want space too at times.

Even if it was a dream to be in a relationship like hers, one man was more than enough.

And it would turn out that Joska was more than just a handful.

***

Monday’s were fun for me.

I got to see Dad again at the shop, and I got to listen to him talk about the things he did all weekend. He was a member of a motorcycle club, and while I wasn’t part of that world, I loved how much he loved it.

He had always been into big and loud bikes, and though he had been around the clubhouse for years, he never committed to being a member. Only after I moved out of the house he decided to take the next step and accept the leather cut he would wear proudly.

The contrast between his job as a tailor and his hobby as a tattooed, bearded, and leather-wearing biker guy was big, but if that’s what made him happy, no one could take it from him.

This morning, I brought croissants and coffee for breakfast, and we ate it before opening the shop. He told me about the trip he went on with a few of his brothers from the club and thought he didn’t tell me why the trip was for, he seemed to have fun.

“Are you going to introduce me to some of those guys soon?” I asked, smiling at him.

“I’m not so sure you want to meet them, sweetheart. They live in a whole different world.” His voice was raspy and deep.

“So? You live in a different one now too since you’ve joined that club. And they sound like good men.”

“We’ll see, Bennie.”

I smiled at him. “Okay. Are you done?” I asked, pointing at his paper plate in front of him. He nodded, and I cleaned up the table we had standing in the back of the shop. “I want to ask Sinclair if she wants to come over here for lunch later. Would that be okay?”

“Of course. We can order in,” he suggested.

“Great. I’ll let her know.”

Dad was a fan of Sinclair. He always called her his third daughter, and to be honest, I wouldn’t have minded having another sister. We both adored her, and so, I made sure to text her later to invite her over to spend lunchtime with us.