Page 60 of Rebellious Hearts

Iwas getting ready, putting my earrings into my ears, when someone knocked on my door. We were getting ready to go tothedinner. The one with Richie where we were supposed to be a wedded couple.

Ben and Sofia.

God, it didn’t even have a terrible ring to it.

“Come in,” I called out.

I’d expected it to be the cleaning lady bringing me the extra towels I’d asked for, but it was Ben who walked into the bedroom.

“Oh,” I said. “It’s you.”

Ben’s eyes slid up and down my body, and I blushed, feeling self-conscious.

“Is this okay?” I asked, suddenly unsure.

I wore a navy blue knee-length dress with an A-line silhouette and I’d paired it with nude low heels and a cream blazer. My earrings and necklace were both a little boho, handmade and cute, and I felt like it gave my outfit a bit of a casual touch so that I didn’t look too much like I was just there for business.

“It’s more than okay,” Ben breathed, and he tugged on his brown leather belt, rearranging his pants. That only made me blush harder.

You’re still mad at him, you’re still mad at him, you’re still mad at him,I reminded myself. I couldn’t melt like this when he looked at me, no matter how much I knew exactly what that look meant and how it wouldfeelif I allowed myself to act on it.

“Not too much?”

Ben shook his head. “Just perfect.” He still had heat in his eyes and I forced myself to focus on something else.

“You clean up well, too.” I tilted my head a little. “Or should I say, youdress downwell.”

Yeah, maybe focusing on his outfit wasn’t going to take my mind off the dirty wild sex I wanted to have with him.

He wore a tailored navy blazer—how did we color-coordinate without even trying?—with beige chinos and a white button-down shirt that made him look crisp and polished. Ben always had this sheen to him, but with his brown suede loafers and belt completing the outfit, he lookededible.

“Do you think Richie will buy it?” I looked into Ben’s eyes instead of at his delicious body. His arms were muscular in his blazer sleeves, and the way the chinos hung off his hips…oh, my.

“That we’re together? With our dressing style matching, you bet.” He grinned at me and pushed his hands into his pockets, but his grin faded again.

“Listen,” he said and took one hand out to rub the back of his neck. “I want to apologize.”

I blinked at him, surprised.

“For what?”

“For getting too personal yesterday. I shouldn’t have done that—you clearly didn’t want to talk about your past and I kept pushing and… well, I know what it’s like not to want to talk about your past. So, I’m sorry.”

I shook my head, suddenly feeling guilty for how I’d snapped at him. I hadn’t expected at all that he would apologize for what had happened, especially as I could have handled it much better.

“I’m the one who should be sorry,” I said. “I could have told you I’m not comfortable talking about my past.”

Ben nodded. “Looks like we’re okay, then.”

“We are,” I said with a small smile before I glanced at my phone. It was still much too early for us to go to the dinner. Richie had sent us an address and according to the GPS it wasn’t very far out of town.

“Would you like something to drink?” I offered.

“That would be great,” Ben said, gesturing for me to walk to the living room first. “You can have a seat, I’ll pour.”

“Oh,” I said. “Thanks.” He was always such a gentleman and it always surprised me. He was so gruff sometimes that when his soft side showed it caught me off guard.

“What do you want?” Ben asked.