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His eyes turned a darker blue as he shook his head. “You wouldn’t be able to, even if you wanted to.” His expression gentled as he smiled. “No matter how great we might be in bed together, I couldn’t and wouldn’t offer you the job based on that. I will admit that it’s about wanting to spend more time with you. But it’s not just about more sex.”
When he checked his watch again, her heart started to pound. They were running out of time before they were supposed to be back at her dad’s place. Ria had promised to make them breakfast so that they could all make the most of the morning together before she and Bentley had to head home.
“I don’t know, Bentley. I mean, of course, I’d like to spend more time with you, too. But how realistic is it?”
He raised his eyebrows. “I don’t know. You tell me; how realistic is it?”
She got the impression that he thought she was trying to find a way out of it. “I’d love to do it. But when?”
He closed his eyes and blew out a sigh. “That’s a good question. It’d be a while yet. I’m flying to New York tomorrow; I have meetings with distributors until Thursday. The following week is going to be crazy busy.”
Alyssa nodded. “And I have my first day on site with a new client tomorrow. I’m moving into my new place next weekend. I …”
Bentley squeezed her hand. “Okay, so how about we tell the folks that we kicked around the possibility, but we both have hectic schedules at the moment so, we’re going to keep in touch.”
Her gaze flew up to meet his. “I’d like that,” she said without hesitation.
She loved the small smile that played on his lips as he leaned toward her. She met him half-way and melted against him as he kissed her.
When he finally lifted his head, his smile was bigger. “I’d like that, too. We both have busy lives we need to get back to, but I’d like to think…” His smile faded.
“What’s wrong?”
He gave her a rueful smile. “Honestly, I was just remembering something that your dad told my mom after her first visit here.”
Alyssa frowned. “What did he tell her?”
“Don’t look so worried. It’s nothing bad. Your dad’s a smart man. That first time she came here, Mom was only supposed to spend a couple of weeks before coming home to Napa and getting on with her life. When the two of them met, they knew they wanted to see each other again, but didn’t know how. When Mom left, Russ told her that he knew that they might both get wound so tightly around the axle of their own lives that they might not see each other again; that one or both of them might decide that it wasn’t going to work, that it wasn’t worth it.”
He cupped his hand around the back of her neck and leaned in to press a kiss to her lips. “I think we have to take that chance, too. I want to see you again; I know that already. But with the lives we live, it might not work. So, I think we should see how time treats us before we try to figure anything else out.”
Alyssa knew what he meant. If they were going to try to take this thing between them any further, they were going to have to tell her dad and his mom at some point. It made sense that they should wait a while first. If they forgot about each other oncethey got caught back up in their busy lives, there’d be no point in them involving their parents.
~ ~ ~
Bentley drummed his fingers on the rail of the deck as he stood beside Russ, looking out at the lake. This morning had gone well. At least, it had gone well in terms of hanging out with their parents. He liked Russ, and it was obvious that Alyssa got along well with his mom, too.
Things were going less well inside his head. Standing here with Russ, he wanted nothing more than to tell the man that he was interested in his daughter. He bit down on the inside of his cheek; that was just crazy.
Even if she wasn’t Russ’s daughter, Bentley had come here thinking that this was his time to start having some fun, to start dating around some. He was finally at a point in his life where he could go out and start enjoying himself more – play the field a bit. So why was he so interested in finding a way to spend more time with Alyssa?
He winced, feeling guilty, when Russ asked, “So, what do you think of Alyssa?”
He swallowed, wondering how he could answer that honestly. Luckily, he didn’t need to come up with anything.
Russ laughed. “Don’t worry, I can see that the two of you get along well enough. What I meant to ask was about the whole audit thing. I’d hate for you to think that youneedto bring her in – that I expect any favors or anything.”
“No! I don’t. I think it could be a very good idea. I already told her that Willow and I had talked about it.”
Russ held his gaze for a moment. “You said that earlier. I guess … I’ll just come clean with you; I do better with straight talk. The way that you suggested giving it some time before you guys make any decisions, it seemed to me that you might not be keen on the idea.” He smiled. “I just don’t want you to feel under any pressure, or like there’s any obligation. It’s not like she needs it; from what I understand, she’s doing very well.”
Bentley nodded rapidly. “It sounds that way. From what she told me, she’s worked with some impressive clients, and from the companies she has on her waiting list, she must’ve done a good job. I wasn’t putting it off because I’m hesitant to work with her.” That wasn’t entirely true, but not in the way that Russ was thinking. “We simply decided that it was better to wait, given that we both have pretty packed schedules for the next few weeks.”
They both turned at the sound of Alyssa and his mom laughing in the kitchen. Bentley couldn’t help smiling; his mom’s laughter had taken some getting used to. It wasn’t a sound he’d heard much over the last few years – not until she met Russ. But it was Alyssa’s laugh that seemed to reach inside him and take hold of him. That was a sound he would love to get used to hearing.
Russ turned to him with a smile of his own. “It seems like they’ve hit it off.”
Bentley nodded. “Yes. Although, Mom had already told me how much she loves Alyssa.”
