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“Thanks again for looking after me last week. I feel like if you hadn’t been here, things would have been a whole lot worse.”
He shrugged again in that cool guy way, a lazy lift of one shoulder. Her eyes became transfixed on his broad hands, long tapered fingers, thick veins raised and coursing through the tan skin as he began to dry a glass. She was so drawn to them she barely heard his response.
“All part of the job,” he grunted.
“The job?”
“Uh… I’ve had first aid training before, so I knew what to do,” he said, coughing discreetly. His expression became sheepish, his cheeks adorably pink and she decided there and then that he was one of the best-looking men she’d ever seen.
“Well, thanks again,” she said, smiling at him. She spotted his eyes lock onto her dimples, her stupid dimples that made her look like a child.
He frowned deeply and grunted, “Don’t mention it,” before turning away. Like he was used to women swooning over his lovely green eyes and attractive forearms. She didn’t miss the way he looked her up and down before his eyes flitted away, dismissing her with a confidence she hadn’t seen on someone other than Taylor.
It's time to change that, Kayleigh 2.0 reminded her.
*
Chapter 4
“I would like to return the favor. You’re new in town, right? I could, like, show you around? Or not, I mean, whatever. I don’t even like this town, so…” Her sweet voice trailed off and Ben turned back to face her. Her words replayed in his ears.Really? The Kayleigh I know onlinelovesthis town. So much so that she even made me want to live here.
His eyes took in her peach hair in choppy waves down to her shoulders, the new bangs framing her oval cheeks that made her look even more adorable. Her dark red-slicked mouth was playing havoc with his insides. Did she know how many times in the last few minutes he’d thought about sliding his tongue across those harlot lips to see if she tasted as sinful as she looked?
She appeared different from yesterday. She wasn’t the soft, gentle woman he knew. She was hard, snarky and a little edgier than he’d thought. He’d been so thrown off when he met her, awed by her that his silence and awkwardness had potentially come across like indifference. But now she matched his aloof behavior, maybe even liking it. Surely if she didn’t, she wouldn’t have made the offer hanging between them?
If she liked him indifferent, then indifferent he would be, if it meant he got to spend time with her. They hadn’t had much chance to talk but he hoped that would change.
“I guess, maybe.” He raised his shoulder again casually and let it drop. He bent down and began putting the beers in the fridge.
“Oh my God, what happened to you?” Kayleigh exclaimed.
Ben bolted upright at Kayleigh’s shocked tone. Taylor had come out from her office. He had only greeted Taylor through the door this morning when he arrived, he hadn’t actually seen her yet. Now he spotted her split lip, bruised cheek and bandaged fingers. She looked like she’d been through the wars, and Ben’s stomach twisted at the sight, but the pain in Taylor’s eyes was the saddest thing.
“Last night after you both left, Dale came back,” Taylor said. From what Ben gathered when he was questioned last week, Dale was Taylor’s ex-boyfriend who was stalking her and was the one who had attacked them when Kayleigh was injured in the crossfire.
“He wasn’t happy about me and Beau’s relationship and wanted to hurt Beau. Luckily, before anything really serious happened to us, Blake turned up. But Dale had a knife and wouldn’t stop going after Beau, so Blake didn’t have a choice, he…he shot him. Dale’s dead,” Taylor finished on a shuddering breath.
Kayleigh gasped, her hand covering her mouth and she pulled Taylor into a tight hug. “Oh my God, that’s awful! Are you okay? Where’s Beau?” she asked, running her hands over Taylor’s shaking arms.
“I think I’m still in shock, it hasn’t sunk in yet. I feel sad about Dale but after everything he’s done… I’m just glad it’s all over now and no one else will get hurt. After all this time, I just want to get back to work and move on. And Beau, he’s…” Taylor trailed off and avoided Kayleigh’s eyes before biting her lip.
“He’s okay?” Ben asked.
“Yeah, he’s fine. But he’s left, he needed some space after everything,” Taylor replied miserably.
“He’ll be back, he just needs time.”
“I don’t know if he will, Kayleigh.”
“Then you need to have faith. Trust me,” Kayleigh commanded.
Ben smiled as Kayleigh comforted Taylor. Seeing the two of them together reminded him how Kayleigh really felt about Taylor. That it didn’t matter how he acted or how much time he spent with Kayleigh, she was never going to fall for him. He had to figure out whether he was okay just being her friend or if he would always want more. Staring at her now, the soft lighting in the bar glowing in her silky peach hair, bouncing off her stormy eyes, she ensnared him, there was no denying it.
Taylor turned to him. “How was your first night, not scared off after all that, are you?” she joked weakly, her heart not in it. Kayleigh turned and headed for Taylor’s office where she stored the bike helmet that no longer sported the cute Barbie sticker he’d spotted yesterday.He watched her go, her black lace dress flouncing around the backs of her knees, teasing him. When had he found the backs of someone’s knees sexy before? God, he needed help.
“Not at all. Looking forward to getting stuck in and working with you both,” he replied.
Taylor smiled at him, but it didn’t quite reach her eyes. “I’m glad.”
