Need Me (Broke and Beautiful #2)(40)

Chapter 14



HOW HAD EVERYTHING changed so drastically in five minutes?

She’d been standing there, conversation flowing freely between her friends, letting the ease of it suture her wounds for the night. Ben had been like a strike of lightning, knocking her emotional floodgates down like bowling pins. Fight for her. He was in Bloomfield to get her back. It wasn’t an easy thing to believe, when she’d never been entirely convinced he was interested in her beyond sex. But guys, especially guys who looked like Ben, didn’t fly seven hundred miles for sex. Even if the sex was mind-blowingly hot. Even if the mere suggestion of sex when Ben was walking beside her in the deserted parking lot of Calhoun’s was enough to make her sweat. Sex. Ben. Sex. Ben.

Enough. She was still mad as hell, and he wasn’t about to get off lightly. The things he’d said back in the bar, out loud in front of everyone, no less, might have made her pathetic heart squeeze, but that was neither here nor there. How could she maintain her self-respect if she gave in so easily? He’d been ruthless with her feelings, and despite how he made her feel, Honey wouldn’t be able to trust him yet. No, he’d have to earn it from her.

“How much have you had to drink?”

She paused in the act of fishing her keys out of her purse. “One shot of tequila.”

“I’ll drive.” He held out his hand. “Just to be safe.”

Protesting would have made her seem childish, so she shrugged and tossed him the set. “Are you sure there’s no alcohol still floating around in your system, Captain Hangover?”

He caught the set in midair. “It wouldn’t surprise me. It takes a lot of whiskey to stop seeing your face when I walked into that bar Friday night.”

Her footsteps faltered. “You’re just going to bring it up like that without warning?”

“Yeah.” He pulled her to a stop. His warm hand on her arm felt too good, especially after the fresh reminder of what he’d done, so she pulled it away. Ben looked as if he wanted to reach for her again, but he put his hand back down by his side. “Yeah. I’m bringing it up now. I want everything out in the open. If you need to scream and throw blunt objects at my head, do it now, so we can get back to the way you looked at me the day you sat in the front row of my lecture. I need you to look at me like that again, Honey. Like I haven’t disappointed you yet or proven I’m just another bastard who isn’t worthy of you. Okay? So, yes. I’m bringing it up.”

“Oh. Okay, then.” Her pulse went a little insane, making her feel light-headed. How the hell was she supposed to stay mad at him when he said things like that? He’s only been here ten minutes, Honey. Where’s your pride? She gestured to the rusted, sky-blue pickup truck behind him. “This is me.”

He stared at her hard a minute before walking to the passenger side and opening the door for her. His hard body only left her a sliver of room to climb in, telling her Ben knew exactly what he was doing. It didn’t matter if she was mad or hurt, their physical attraction had an obnoxious way of bypassing everything else. With a lift of her chin, Honey nudged him out of the way, put her foot on the truck’s runner, and pushed herself up.

“Oh God. Ouch.” The words slipped out involuntarily, her abused thigh muscles nearly giving out on her as she heaved herself onto the seat. Ben’s hands were on her immediately, assisting her.

“Honey?” His gaze raked her, obviously checking for injuries. “What’s wrong?”

She blew a breath out toward the car’s ceiling. So much for keeping her pride. Her legs were shaking like a newborn deer’s. “Did anyone from the supergroup fill you in on why I came home?”

His lips quirked gorgeously, probably over her description of their friends. “Yes. Well, I got most of it out of Abby before Roxy hung up the phone on me. I’m not very popular with your roommates at the moment.”

Honey felt a flash of gratitude for two dynamic girls having her back. “Did Abby keep switching from English to Italian? She does that when she’s riled up.”

“I’ve never been so impressed while being yelled at.” Looking genuinely concerned, he cupped her knee, and every inch of her skin heated. Drastically. “I thought you were coming to help out with your brother, babe. I didn’t know that meant physical labor. What have you been doing?”

“Nothing I didn’t do every single day growing up.” She let her head fall back against the seat, flexing her foot when she felt a cramp forming in her calf. “New York has ruined me. I’m a certified Yankee now, and you showed up before tequila could numb the pain.”

He made a sympathetic noise. “I’m sorry. Will it help if I tell you I’m taking your place starting tomorrow?”

“What?” Her head popped up. “You can’t.”

“Why is that?”

“You won’t be able to work the tractor.” She gestured to his clothing. “I’m beginning to doubt you even own a pair of jeans. Or a T-shirt. You can’t farm in a button-down and wingtips. No, it will never work.”

His smile only got bigger the more she protested. “I guess we’ll see, won’t we?”

Honey could only stare as he closed the ancient, creaking passenger door and went around the front bumper to the driver’s side. In a million years, she’d never expect to see Professor Dawson climbing into the bucket of bolts that served as her family’s truck. But there he was. Starting it up just as naturally as he did everything else.