AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“You know you get motion sickness. What did you think would happen?”
She lifted her chin. “Maybe I was hoping I’d outgrown it.” When I snorted, she sighed. “Okay, fine. It was a risk I was willing to take.”
I eyed her. “Was it worth it?”
She eyed me right back. I was fishing for information, and she wasn’t falling for the bait. “Time will tell.”
That was a vague answer if I’d ever heard one. “You should know that Abernathy is just as unpredictable as his driving, so don’t get your hopes up.”
She opened her mouth then clamped it shut and held both hands up in surrender. “Can we have a truce, at least for tonight? I like your family, and I’d like to enjoy the evening.” She shot me a coy smile. “It’s the least you can do, considering your dog flattened me and made me look foolish.”
She had a point.Damn it.
“You didn’t look foolish. Although you do have grass in your hair.” If I stuffed my hands any farther into my pockets, I’d graze my socks with my fingertips.Don’t touch her hair. Keep your hands to yourself.
She groaned and ran her fingers through her locks. “Of course I do. Did I get it?”
“No, it’s there.” I pointed near her ear, and she, again, tugged at her hair. The grass remained.
Aww, hell.Gritting my teeth, I reached out and gently pulled it from her hair, and my fingers accidentally brushed her cheek. She inhaled sharply, and time stood still. For a moment, my siblings weren’t arguing in the background, and there was no resort proposal. It was just me and Claire, and for the first time, I wondered what could have been between us if she’d decided to stay in the Carolina Banks nine years ago.
Even though I’d only been a stupid kid at age twenty, I’d cared for her more than I’d ever cared for anyone outside of my family. But her presence in my life had an expiration date that loomed over anything that might have developed between us. So I’d kept her at arm’s length… where she’d belonged.
Where shestillbelonged. I stepped back, ending the moment. Her face fell, but I didn’t know what she expected. She’d said that nothing in the Carolina Banks had changed, and that was true—not the pull I felt toward her and, more importantly, the fact that she was only a temporary fixture in my life.
“The women are in the kitchen.” I turned on my heel and left her standing there.
***
Claire
I STARED OPEN-MOUTHEDat Bennett as he walked away.And people say women have mood swings.Whatever. I needed to find a bathroom to pull myself together. And maybe hide for a few minutes. Twice in less than twenty-four hours, I’d been knocked on my ass, first figuratively then literally.
Poor little Sophia. That was the worst part of all. She’d been so distraught about the whole thing. I hoped what I’d said had made her feel better.
I peered in the mirror and wrinkled my nose at the sight of dried dog slobber on my face. The sad thing was that it was the most action I’d gotten in months. Maybe I should skip ahead to the cat-lady phase of my life. It would be nice to have someone that happy to see me on a daily basis, even if they did have four legs and a tail.
I wet my fingers under the faucet and wiped off the dog slobber then touched up my makeup. I examined myself as best I could to make sure I didn’t have any other grass stuck on me. With the way my luck was going, though, it was only a matter of time before I ended up with a string of toilet paper stuck to my foot or somewhere even more embarrassing.
Maybe Bennett had been right. Perhaps I should have tried harder to refuse the invitation. Obviously, it was too late to bail out of dinner, but I’d gotten the message the universe was sending me—keep away from Bennett Ramsey. I would only stay long enough to not seem rude, then I’d make my getaway. Stephanie and I would go straight to the grocery store so we wouldn’t succumb to any other dinner invites. Not that I expected another one. Hell, I hadn’t expected this one. And as I’d suspected, Bennett hadn’t known.
Ugh. Why do things keep getting messier?Suddenly, I was glad Stephanie had sacrificed my sorry ass to save the wine. I was going to need it.
After taking a few cleansing breaths, I left the safety of the bathroom to find Hudson wrestling with a table in the living room while Bennett and Wes set up chairs. They moved with practiced ease, making me realize this wasn’t their first rodeo.
Even though there weren’t assigned seats, everyone naturally split themselves into the older siblings at the main table in the dining room and the younger ones at the auxiliary table in the living room, which seemed to be the Ramsey-Croft version of the kids’ table. My family had never been large enough to need one. Mrs. Croft, Lyra, and Carmen carried in mountains of food—several roasts, two whole chickens, mashed potatoes, green beans, the works.
Good God—does Mrs. Croft have an industrial kitchen back there? She probably needs one with a family as large as hers.
Mrs. Croft caught me gaping at the food and laughed. “We’ll be lucky if we have leftovers.” She surveyed the food one last time, her brow scrunching. “Oh, butter!” She disappeared into the kitchen one final time. Only when she finally took her seat did everyone start passing around the dishes.
“So, what brings you to the Carolina Banks?” Mr. Croft asked.
My gaze immediately swung toward Bennett, who was sitting next to his mother, as far away from me as he could possibly be while still remaining at the same table. He glowered at me. I straightened my shoulders. We’d agreed on a truce, which meant that I wouldn’t talk business at his family gathering. Though come to think of it, I’d asked for a truce, but Bennett hadn’t agreed. Still, I wasn’t going to be a jerk, even if he insisted on being one.
“I’m here on business,” I said simply.
Mr. Croft chuckled. “Not a lot of business going on during the off-season.”
