Cowboy Casanova (Rough Riders #12)(150)

afraid to tell him?


No. You’re not afraid of Bennett; you’re afraid he’d see right through you when you

lie to him.


So an hour later when Ben returned from his trip to town and plopped next to her on his

couch after his shower, she had a hard knot in her throat, wondering how she’d keep

this discussion matter of fact.


“You’re sniffling. You feel like you’re getting sick again?” he asked with concern.


“No. I was sniffing because you smell nice.”


He lifted a brow. “I’da showered sooner if you’d told me I was stinky.”


“You weren’t. I just like the scent of your soap.” That type of comment is not

keeping this neutral, Ainsley.


“Duly noted.” He grabbed the water bottle from the coffee table.


“So your mom stopped by while you were in town.”


He choked on his mouthful of water. “She did? Shit. Sorry about that. She probably was

a total pain in the ass.”


Ainsley had wondered how he’d react to Vi’s surprise visit. “No, she was great. We

talked about our backgrounds growing up with a father in service to God.”


That startled him. “Guess my grandfather was a real bastard. Kinda sucks that I was

named after him. Is your dad like that?”


“No. Just set in his ways. Your mom is an interesting woman. We have a lot in common.

I liked her. She asked me out to lunch.”


Ben harrumphed. “She’s a meddling woman.”


“Your mother was a lot warmer to me than Rielle.”


“Jesus. Rielle was here too?”


“Evidently she heard you were sick and brought over a basket of muffins to send you on

the road to recovery.” An edge of jealousy crept into her tone despite her intent to

curb it.


“Huh. That’s weird.” He pointed to a colorful ball on the chair. “What’s that?”


Why did he blatantly change the subject whenever Rielle was mentioned? “My knitting.”


“Knitting. You knit?”


“Yes. I had to have something productive to do while you were feverish and thrashing

around.” She crossed her arms over her chest. “Why? Do you think it’s a lame hobby?

” Not the right type of hobby for a sub? Are my hands supposed to busy tending to your

needs all the time?


Not fair.


Ben shrugged. “Not lame at all. You’ve never mentioned it.”


“We haven’t exactly spent our time talking in the last month.”


“Careful, angel, I might take that as a complaint. Especially when you’re the one who

doesn’t wanna talk about stuff.”


Ainsley rested her cheek on the couch cushion. She’d rehearsed this conversation in

her head and now was the time to have it for real. “Not a complaint, Ben. Just an

observation.”


“I don’t think I’m gonna like this observation, am I?”


“Probably not.” Her eyes searched his. “I like how it’s been between us the last

couple days, almost more than I did when we were Dom and sub.”


The wounded look on his face made her feel as if she’d sliced him in two. “You don’t