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“I like it,” he says. Lifting a hand, he gives a strand of my shoulder-length waves a gentle tug.
Another tiny pulse of something I'd rather ignore zips through me.
“Don’t even think about it,” I say, pushing away from him and holding up a finger in warning.
He pushes his hands into the pockets of his chinos. “Don’t think about what?”
“Flirting,” I say as I wheel my suitcase toward the front door. “No lines about me tripping on purpose so I can fall into your arms or anything else cheesy and completely not true.”
“Oh, I know you’d never fall into my arms willingly,” Ben says as he follows behind me. “That’s one of the things I like about you. You’re a challenge. And I like challenges.”
Ugh. I don’twanthim to like challenges. Or to like me. And yet I can’t ignore the way his words make my skin prickle with heat.
“But for the record,” he continues, “I was only going to ask if you were okay.”
I roll my eyes. I’ve had enough interactions with Benedict King—he owns Oakley Island so he’s been very involved in the renovations of Gran’s house—to know that he’s a shameless flirt and, from his reputation, a total player.
Still, a tiny voice in my head whispers something about how I, too, like challenges.
I ignore the voice.
I glance over my shoulder at the front lawn as I knock on the giant double front door, only hesitating when my eyes catch on the sign affixed to the freshly painted white siding.Genevieve’s Bed and Breakfast.
Gran would be so proud of this place. So proud of the three of us, though my sisters did the lion’s share of the work. I blink back sudden and very unwelcome tears, wishing my time alone on this porch hadn’t been interrupted.
Especially byhim.
Benedict reaches around me and opens the door, his arm brushing against me as his low voice rumbles, “You don’t have to knock, Sadie. It’s a place of business. You can just walk in.”
Goose bumps break out across my skin, and I frown. Benedict King does NOT deserve my goose bumps.
“It’s not technically a place of businessyet,is it?” I say as I follow him inside. “They aren’t open until?—”
“Sadie?!” Eloise barrels into me, cutting off my sentence and pulling me into an enormous hug. “What are you doing here? I thought you couldn’t make it!”
“Surprise?” I hug her back long enough to appease my excessively affectionate little sister, then shrug out of her grasp. “Change of plans,” I say.
She eyes me curiously. “Did something happen?”
I wave away her concern, hoping she doesn’t see just how close she is to the truth. “Is it really so hard to imagine I would rearrange my schedule so I can be here to celebrate this enormous accomplishment?” I motion around the front room of the house which does, as expected, look completely amazing.
Eloise’s gaze turns shrewd. “Yes, actually. I know you love me, Sades, but I also know how married you are to your work.”
If she were Merritt, this would be an intentional guilt trip. As it stands, it’s just sweet Eloise stating a fact. One that absolutely floods me with guilt.
“How’s your car?” she asks. “Did it make the trip okay?”
My gaze skirts to Ben. I don’t love the idea of him knowing my car is a pile of garbage, not when he probably has a dozen different cars at his disposal. “I flew, actually.”
“You flew? But that was probably ex?—”
“Not expensive at all,” I say, cutting her off. “My work schedule cleared up last minute, and I got a great deal.”
Lo looks like she’s going to argue, but she doesn’t say anything else. I have a feeling if Ben wasn’t also standing with us, she might.
“I’m really happy to be here for the grand opening,” I say, and at least this much is the truth.
“Speaking of …” Ben steps up beside me and hands Eloise an envelope I never even saw him holding. Is the man some kind of magician, pulling paperwork out of his fancy dress shirt?
