“Yeah.” She nodded, every movement stiff. “Right. Of course. Follow me.”
“You’re coming back, right, Audrey?” Emerson asked. I could’ve kissed her for that.
Audrey shook her head with a sad smile. “I’m going to call it a night. But you guys have fun! And thanks for letting me crash your party.”
“Are you kidding?” Grayson chuckled. “You brought the party. You can be on my beer pong team anytime.” They high-fived.
“Beer pong?” Ben gazed at her curiously, as if he didn’t recognize her.
“Yeah.” She laughed. “It was a lot of fun.”
She glanced at me, and I could see the concern, the regret there. And then I watched as she walked away with another man.
After they were out of earshot, Chase leaned in and asked, “Isn’t the house half yours?”
I gnashed my teeth.“Yes.”
“You guys might want to come to an agreement on having guests.”
No fucking shit.But that was the least of our problems. And I had a feeling that as much as we wanted to avoid reality, our bubble had just popped.
Chapter Thirteen
“What are you doing here, Ben?” I asked once we were inside the house. Outside, the fire blazed bright, the party still going strong.
He crossed his arms over his chest and leaned against the counter. “It’s good to see you too, Audrey.”
“I’m sorry.” I shook my head, eyes darting toward the backyard, wishing I were there. And he were…anywhere but here. “That came out the wrong way. I’m just…surprised to see you.”
“Not happy?”Did he want me to answer that honestly?
When I didn’t say anything, he stepped closer, sliding his hands down my arms so that he was holding mine. “I came to check on you. Your dad died, your back went out, you’re dealing with this house. And seeing as you haven’t responded to any of my calls or texts about the case…” He blew out a breath. “Well, I’ve been worried about you. I figured you could use some help.”
I took a few steps back and ran my hand through my hair, needing some space to think. As always, Ben had charged in and tried to take control of the situation. While it could be an asset at work, it was beginning to grate on me when it came to my personal life.
“That’s…nice,” I said, choking down the word. “But I’ve got it under control.”
He tilted his head to the side. “You sure about that?”
No.“Of course.” I forced a smile, hating that I felt the need to lie.
With Ethan, I never lied. He might not like what I had to say and vice versa, but our interactions were always genuine. Well, at least if you ignored the fact that I was lying to myself—about the house, the future, my feelings for him.
“Hey.” Ben soothed. “You okay?”
I held a hand to my head, pressure building between my temples and not from the wine I’d consumed. “I have a headache. Why don’t you come by in the morning, and we can catch up?”
“Come by in the morning?” He chuckled. “I was planning to stay here.”
Here?I tried to hide my shock. He’d flown all the way out here; I supposed it was the least I could do. But still… Ben staying here? It seemed like something he would think was beneath him, even as nice as the house was.
“Oh.” I shook my head. “Right. Well, there’s a guest room upstairs you can have. It’s not the Four Seasons…”
“Audrey.” He placed his hand over mine. “I’m sure it will be fine.”
“Sure. Right.” I led him toward the stairs, ignoring the prickle of awareness on my spine as he followed me. I could feel his eyes on me, watching me.
“Here you are.” I paused beside a door at the end of the hall and switched on the light. It looked out over the front of the house, and it was clean. “Bathroom’s down the hall.”
