Crush - Kelsie Rae Page 0,47

With a shrug, she strides closer, then lowers her voice and adds, “I wanted to check on you, so sue me. Besides, Dr. Bennett assumed you wouldn’t mind if I crashed your party.”

Unable to hide my discomfort, I cringe. “You talked to Ben?”

“Not much. I just said that Emerson and Grant were bragging that he asked them to bring their little boy in for the calendar, so I offered to bring Sadie as an alternate.”

“So you meddled,” I surmise.

She grins. “Damn right, I did. And I regret nothing. Do you know that he’s been staring at you the whole time?”

My forehead wrinkles as I look around and see the warehouse practically empty––with one exception. “What’s he still doing here? I told him to leave.”

“Well, obviously he didn’t listen because he’s been here as long as we have, and I got here at least thirty minutes ago. You should’ve seen the emotions flashing across his face, Marcy. I could’ve popped some popcorn and watched for hours. He might not acknowledge it yet. In fact, he might not even recognize it himself, but that guy wants you. Bad.”

“Yeah, he wants me so bad that he called me by someone else’s name during sex. Good one, Dyl.” I don’t bother to hide my sarcasm; she can hear it loud and clear.

Popping out her hip, Dylan purses her lips and challenges, “Has he tried to talk to you yet?”

“You mean, about…our little incident?”

“Yeah.”

My throat turns to sandpaper, and I chance a quick glance at Ben before tearing it away from him. “He might’ve sent me a few messages.”

“And?”

“And I didn’t respond,” I grit out.

Patting Sadie’s back, Dylan starts to sway from side to side. “I think you should hear what he has to say, but that’s just me. Now, let’s get this thing started, and I demand you make this lil’ girl look cuter than her cousin.”

Laughing, I motion to the deep red backdrop that’ll be perfect for December’s picture.

“Right this way.”

Sadie is adorable, and it doesn’t take long before she gives me a heart-melting yawn that makes her face scrunch up and turn the same color as the backdrop. Without a doubt, it’ll steal the show away from her just-as-adorable cousin.

Satisfied that I captured it perfectly, I tell Dylan, “I think we’re golden. Thanks for coming today.”

“Anytime. Grady’s working, so it’s not like we had anything else to do, anyway. I’ll talk to you later, right?”

I know what she’s saying. She expects an update as soon as I have one for her. My nose wrinkles like I’ve smelled a dirty diaper, but I give her a grudging nod. “Fine. See ya later.”

“Bye.”

Her black leather boots click-clack against the concrete flooring as she disappears with her munchkin in tow, leaving me alone with the man of the hour. My skin prickles with awareness, but I ignore it and march toward him.

“How long have you been standing there?” I demand. My discomfort is making me particularly salty. Too bad I don’t really give a shit.

Ben’s broad shoulders lift into a shrug. “A while.”

I sigh. “I think the shoot went well, and we’ll have plenty to work with. Once I’m done editing, I’ll send over some options, and we can narrow it down.”

“Can we talk for a second?” It’s the desperation in his voice that makes me pause, questioning whether Krista might not have been too far off the mark with her initial assessment.

With my gaze glued to my feet, I drag the toe of my sneaker against the concrete floor and mutter, “I’m, uh, I’m not really sure what you want to talk about.”

Please don’t mention your wife.

“Maybe we could start with the fact that I’m an ass?” he offers, dryly.

I laugh, peeking up at him. “And?”

“And I’m so freaking sorry, Marce. After Kate died, I had sex with a lot of different women.” My eyes widen, but I try to smooth my features so that he can’t tell how much the thought of him sleeping with someone who isn’t me hurts.

He sees it anyway and grimaces before pressing forward. “I never felt a fucking thing for any of them. When you and I….” His voice trails off as he squeezes the back of his neck. “What we shared scared the hell out of me because it wasn’t numbing like the rest of my previous…encounters. It felt like the times I made love to my wife, which is the only explanation I can think of for why I––”

“Don’t say it,” I beg. My voice cracks