A Mess of a Man (Cruel & Beautiful #2)(57)

“I don’t …” and before I can answer, he kisses the rest of my words and thoughts away.

When he lets me go, he runs his thumb across my lower lip and says, “When I first saw you, I thought of sunshine. But now I believe you’re the brightest star in the heavens. You sparkle like them—you know how they do on the clearest of nights? So distinct you think you could almost reach out and touch them. That’s you, Sam.”

He’s just stolen away every word from my brain.

“Shall we go?”

I nod in stunned silence.

We walk down to the pool together and when I get there, I make myself busy with checking on things. Martin and Julia soon arrive, and Jenna and Cate follow. Nick comes next and his eyes are filled with questions, which I do my best to avoid. But he soon gets me alone and I finally confess that Ben and I were seeing each other but had some issues, which we have now resolved.

“Oh, so you and Rhoades are an item?”

“Yeah, I guess you can say that. We didn’t broadcast it, though. We both wanted to keep it quiet.”

“Can I just say something? The dude is a major ass.”

“I’m sure he was to you. He’s the jealous sort. Or maybe I should amend that. Now that he knows you and I are not together, he’ll be fine to you.”

“I see,” Nick says, though I can see he’s still skeptical. I don’t care. He can deal with it. I give him some things to take care of and he wanders off to handle them.

I’m just about to find the food and beverage manager when Jenna and Cate approach me.

“You’re Samantha Calhoun, right?”

“Yes, and you’re Ben’s sister, Jenna. It’s nice to meet you.”

We shake hands and she says, “And this is Cate McKnight, my bestie, who Ben also considers his sister.”

“Yes, he told me about you, Cate, and I’m so sorry for your loss.”

Both women’s eyes nearly bulge out of their sockets. Then they look at each other for a second before Jenna asks, “He told you?”

“Yes. I’m sorry. Maybe I shouldn’t have mentioned any of this.”

“No, no, it’s just that he doesn’t usually talk about it to many people. Wait, how long have you two been seeing each other?” Jenna asks while Cate watches.

The heat rises from my neck and shoots straight out the top of my head. I would pay for someone to bring me a fan to stand in front of right now, because I sure do need it.

When I don’t answer right away, Jenna says, “Oh no. He’s not …”

But I don’t let her finish. “He’s … we’re … together.” I’m not sure what she was truly implying, but I have a damn good idea. And for whatever reason, I want to protect him at all costs.

She cocks her head and we lock gazes. For a long time. “I love my brother. Very much. So does Cate here. They’ve both been through an extremely difficult time. Last year was, well, I won’t go into it, but let’s just say I don’t want my brother to get hurt. I know what his reputation is around town, and that it’s not very good. But the fact that he’s told you about Drew says a lot to me.”

Cate cuts in. “What’s she’s trying to say is that he acts tough, but losing Drew …” her eyes fill and I sweep my eyes for the nearest napkin. I pick one up and hand it to her. “Thanks. Ben doesn’t give himself much credit. But without him, I wouldn’t have survived. He’s got the biggest heart but hates to show it. Please, don’t hurt him.”

My hand presses to my chest because it suddenly aches for Ben. And when I look at Cate, I blink repeatedly to force the tears back. The pain these two people endured when they lost the man they loved so much must have been gut wrenching, and still is, from all accounts.

Jenna’s back like they are tag teaming me. “To be perfectly honest, I’m not sure he would survive getting his heart broken. And then I’ll be forced to kick your ass.”

Swallowing to get rid of the giant nugget that’s formed in my throat, I say, “I’m not in the habit of breaking hearts.” I let out a rueful laugh. “I’m usually the one on the receiving end of the breaks. I’m pretty sure Ben’s is safe with me.”

Both women smile at me and that’s when the subject of our discussion shows up.

“Ah, I see you’ve met my Sam.” And he puts his arm over my shoulders.

“Yes, I see you’ve changed your mind?” Jenna smirks.

“Where have you been hiding her, Ben?” Cate asks.

He ignores his sister leaving me to wonder what she meant and answers Cate. “Here and there.”

“I wish Drew were here to see this.”

There is weariness in Cate’s eyes, but Jenna’s already talking.

“You need to stop that and bring her over for Sunday dinner.”

There is some sort of challenge in Jenna’s words.

“I will,” he says as he leans down to kiss my cheek. I look up at him and smile back. He seems so much happier now than he was earlier. I’d like to think it’s me, but I don’t want to get my hopes up.

The rest of the employees start trickling in and soon the party is in full swing. Food and drinks are flowing, and the band we hired is playing. People are dancing including Ben and me. It’s a great time and I’m even having fun getting to know Jenna and Cate.