“Is this like the apron and lace and stilettos fantasy?”
He shook his head. “No.”
Studying him, Darcy hoped he would explain a little bit more.
“It’s better,” he growled before leaning in and kissing her. It was deep and wet and over way too fast when he lifted his head. “I’ve had a hard time getting things done on the sculpture today because I kept picturing you here. Everywhere I looked, I could see you.”
When he said things like that, Darcy had no idea what to do, what to say. All she knew was she was cursing the fact that they were still dressed.
“I know it’s dirty in here, and there’s sawdust all over the place, but…” His gaze met hers—hot and intense. “Let me. Just let me, Darcy.”
Far be it from her to argue.
* * *
Three days. Darcy had been in his home for three days, and neither of them seemed to be in any rush for her to leave. Ben’s first thought was that he should be a little more alarmed by that, but really, he wasn’t. He liked having her there. He liked having someone to talk to when he was done working for the day and to share meals with.
He liked how she was already putting her stamp around his home—from the baked goods all over the kitchen, to her romance novels on the nightstand and coffee table, to her clothes scattered on his bedroom floor.
And he’d be a complete liar if he said he wasn’t enjoying the hell out of the sex.
Slowly, his hand moved across the wood to do some fine sanding on the deer bust as a smile crossed his face. He’d gotten less sleep these last few nights than he’d had in a long time, and yet he’d never felt more energized. The sculpture was almost finished, and he had already completed some rough sketches for his next project.
And the one after that.
Something about the time he and Darcy were spending together had unleashed a new wave of creativity in him. A couple of weeks ago, he had been feeling sluggish and ready for a break, but now Ben had a vision of the work he wanted to do, and he was excited to get it started.
His phone beeped with his daily alarm to check his emails. As promised, Darcy had set it up for him—twice a day rather than once—and he found it very helpful. And he had made sure he told her that too. And thanked her. She had beamed under his praise, and he had to admit, making her smile was one of his new favorite things, and it made him feel lighter as well.
Taking a step back from the piece, he studied it. This had come naturally to him—taking a block of wood and turning it into something. Sculpting and breathing life into a piece was what made Ben tick. And for so long, it was all he’d allowed himself to do. With the loss of his parents almost six years ago, the responsibility of being the head of the family and taking care of his two younger brothers fell on his shoulders, and he took it seriously. He worked when he didn’t want to. He persevered when he wanted to give up. And mostly, he made sure he filled his time with enough work that he didn’t have time to grieve or think about all they had lost.
Ben had gotten so used to having this single-minded focus on survival that what he was feeling right now felt strange and more than a little out of character for him. The survival instinct—that need to keep working to ensure financial security for himself with extra padding for his brothers—was still strong. That hadn’t changed. What was changing was how he also desired a life outside of work. Outside of his home. All day, he had been thinking about places he wanted to show Darcy but couldn’t because the roads weren’t fully cleared yet. If he lived closer to the city, they’d be fine. But this far out, most of the roads weren’t suitable for driving.
He wanted to take her to dinner. Maybe a movie. He wanted to take her to the first gallery he had ever displayed his work at. Or to meet his high school art teacher who still kept some of Ben’s work in his classroom.
Yeah. Ben wanted all those things and more.
But he couldn’t have them.
Though neither of them talked about it, they knew her time here was temporary. And honestly, Ben didn’t want to think about when she’d have to leave. Turning, he looked out the window and sighed. The snow had stopped early yesterday morning. The temperatures were still well below freezing, and he knew the roads weren’t safe, but eventually, that was going to change. Darcy had a life in North Carolina. On the other side of the country. Far away from him.
They had talked about it last night over dinner—her life. Her family. From what he could tell, her family meant the world to her. And other than Riley and Savannah, most of them lived in the same small coastal area. She had gravitated to her hometown after college and had been working toward finding a career that had to do with the business end of the arts. She knew what she wanted to do, and she liked living near her family, but those two things weren’t working out for her. She knew if she really pursued her career in the art field, she’d need to move. And while she was open to it, she also seemed to have issues with it—like she’d been willing to work at other odd jobs strictly because of logistics. Not that he understood that. Ben had always known what he wanted to do and never wavered from it. It was mildly fascinating to listen to her talk about all the jobs she’d had over the last several years.
All of them involved organizing and administration. She was damn good at it. Every time he walked into his office, he was amazed. Today, she was working on setting up his new software. They hadn’t had any mail delivery in days, and she had been able to do everything she needed to do online. It didn’t matter to him at all. She was welcome to do all the computer crap. He was much happier in his workshop. And his next assistant—temporary or otherwise—would benefit from all of Darcy’s hard work.
Just the thought of someone else in his home, in his office, bothered him. He’d done it before—normally under protest and out of necessity—but now, after having Darcy here, it was even more unappealing.
“Better get used to it.” He sighed. No matter how much he didn’t want to think about it, the snow would eventually melt. The temperatures were going to warm up, and the roads were going to clear.
And Darcy was going to go home.
To her life, her family.
And in time, maybe she’d forget about him.
But Ben didn’t want that, couldn’t allow it. This time they had together may be short, but he wanted Darcy to remember him. Looking around the shop, he remembered how they had talked about his work and how she described it. Other than his grandfather, no one else had ever grasped what he did. Not even his clients. They all wanted what they wanted and didn’t really care about how he made it happen. If anything, it made Ben want to create something specifically for Darcy—because he knew she’d appreciate it and understand all the thought and sweat and labor that went into it.
Standing, he went to look through his wood supply as thoughts for a design swirled through his head.
She might have to leave him, but he wanted her to take part of him with her.
Chapter 6
“I’m a little concerned that you’re so chill about this. Wasn’t it you texting and calling me and freaking out a week ago?”
Darcy sighed as she got comfortable on the couch. “I was wrong,” she said simply. “I jumped to conclusions, I guess. Ben’s a good guy, and if you saw his home, you’d realize there are worse places to be stranded. The view out his back door is amazing.”
Anna Shaughnessy chuckled. “Isn’t it all covered in white right now?”
That made Darcy laugh too. “It is, but it doesn’t diminish the beauty. There’s a lake, and the way the snow looks covering the trees… I’m telling you, it’s like something off of a Christmas card. I didn’t think places like this actually existed.”
“So when are you coming home?”
She totally wasn’t ready to leave yet.
Not by a long shot.
“Ben’s house is out in the boonies. We haven’t seen a
plow come through yet. I’m not going to look at flights until I know the roads are cleared. But I promise that as soon as I have a seat, I’ll let you know. How’s your mom? Your dad? Everyone good?”
“Everyone’s fine. Bobby’s coming to visit next weekend. Your brother’s thrilled,” she deadpanned.
“I can imagine. Is he staying with you?”
“Uh-huh. He said he wanted to have some quality time with Kaitlyn, but I have a feeling he’s really coming to make sure Quinn is being a good dad.”
“Oh, for crying out loud.” She laughed. “Still? I thought the two of them buried the hatchet? You and Quinn have been together for years now. Isn’t it time for them to stop with the animosity?”
“You would think, but they’ve been this way for too long. Quinn’s already planning on us having a date night and leaving Bobby here to babysit.”
“Yikes.”
“Then I slapped him upside the head for thinking using our daughter as punishment was okay.”
“Not cool. Not cool.”
“Exactly.” Anna sighed. “But back to you. I take it you and Ben are getting along now?”
Squirming on the couch, Darcy cleared her throat. “Um, I think so. I mean yes. Yes. We are.” She shrugged. “I mean, he came and got me in a blizzard and…and he’s letting me stay here, and he’s crazy talented. You should see the furniture he’s made. It’s insane! And you know—”
“Oh my God, you slept with him!” Anna cried excitedly. “Right? Am I right? Oh, I am so totally right!”
“If my brother is anywhere within a ten-mile radius of you right now, I’m going to kill you,” Darcy hissed.
“Relax,” Anna said mildly. “As if I’d say something like that out loud if Quinn was here. Please. You think I want that grief?”
All Darcy could do was groan.
“Sooo,” Anna prompted. “Come on. You have to give details.”
“I am so not giving details. Ever. As a matter of fact, right now, I would welcome a tree crashing through the roof and effectively ending this call.”
“Nice try, but details,” Anna persisted with a giggle.
“Come on. No. Just no.” Shaking her head vigorously, she wished there was a way to get her sister-in-law off the phone.
Anna went quiet for a moment before saying, “Fine. I’ll let this go for now. But when you return, we’re having lunch—alone. I’m not inviting my mom or Zoe or anyone. And you are going to tell me everything.” She let out a girly squeal. “And I’ve seen pictures of Ben. He’s a hottie.”
“Oh my God, you did not just say that!”
Anna let out a slightly devious laugh.
“You’re killing me.” Darcy sighed wearily. “Seriously killing me.”
“It’s what big sisters do,” Anna replied happily.
And that one simple statement made Darcy relax. Anna was now her sister because she was married to Quinn, but they had been sisters long before that.
“So, whatcha doing right now? Thinking about the sexy sculptor?” Anna giggled.
“You are so lame.” Darcy sighed again. “Lame, lame, lame.”
“That’s me,” Anna said. “I have to go. I need to get your niece down for her nap. Stay safe and be careful,” Anna said seriously. “I know this is like a little break from reality. For the both of you. I don’t want you to get hurt.”
Darcy nodded and then realized she’d have to speak. “I’m fine. I promise. And, Anna?”
“Yeah?”
“I love you.”
“Love you too, Darce. Call me when you know when you’ll be home.”
“I will.”
Putting her phone aside, Darcy sat back and let out a long breath.
She looked at the clock on the wall and saw it was almost dinnertime. Whatever it was that Ben was working on, he had been like a man possessed for the last twenty-four hours. She’d barely seen him.
And she missed him, dammit.
She’d eaten dinner alone last night—not a big deal. A sandwich was all she’d made, and then she’d eaten it in the office while she worked some more on the book stuff. It was finished, and they’d emailed the files to the publisher, but she was a stickler for details and just wanted to review the work they’d done. When it was pushing eleven and Ben hadn’t come in, Darcy had decided she was going to call it a day and go to bed. Without him there with her, she hadn’t felt right about getting into his bed, so she went up to the guest room.
Somewhere around two a.m., Ben had crawled in beside her and woken her up with light kisses and caresses before making love to her. It had been slow and sweet and so intimate that it had brought tears to her eyes.
Never before had she been so thankful for the darkness.
When she had woken up this morning, he was gone. He’d come in for lunch, but she could tell he was distracted—grabbing a sandwich and giving her a steamy kiss before leaving again.
Maybe it was time to start looking at going home.
The last thing Darcy wanted was to be in the way. It wasn’t a good feeling, and it was something she’d battled her entire life. With such a big age difference between her and her brothers, Darcy always felt like she was in the way.
Right now, she and Ben were having fun, but he had a job and a career and commitments. There was no way she could expect him to entertain her all day or put his life on hold any more than he already had. So maybe it would be best if she didn’t wait for him to ask her to leave. Maybe it would be better for both of them if she sort of left gracefully, before things got awkward.
God, she would hate if Ben turned to her and asked her to leave. Or told her they were over. Jumping to her feet, she shook her head and willed the tears that were burning her eyes not to fall. No. She didn’t want to think of him saying that to her.
Even though she knew it was inevitable.
“Great. Now I’m depressed,” she murmured. She walked into the kitchen and grabbed a handful of cookies before pouring herself some milk. Taking a bite of one, she grimaced. In her concocting stage, she had made a bourbon maple bacon cookie. Because bacon. Unfortunately, she had used way too much bourbon and realized after that how much she disliked the taste of the drink.
“Ugh, why did we keep these?” she said as she walked over and dropped the cookie in the trash and then went back and did the same with the remainder of the batch. She guzzled the milk as she made her way to Ben’s office to try to get the taste out of her mouth.
At the computer, she began searching flight options. There had been a plow down the road earlier in the day, but the temperatures were in the single digits, so everything was still pretty frozen and slick. As she scanned her options, she made a mental note to look for flights that left in, say, two days. And midday so the sun would be out the entire time Ben was driving. Or maybe she should consider having a car service pick her up or an Uber.
Did they have Uber up here in the mountains?
She’d have to Google that too.
“What are you doing?”
Turning in her seat, Darcy found Ben standing in the doorway. “I didn’t hear you come in,” she said calmly, even though her heart was ready to beat right out of her chest.
Slowly, Ben advanced into the room. He sat on the edge of the desk, blocking her view of the computer. “What’s going on?”
This was not the way she wanted to do this. At all. “Um, I was seeing what the flights were looking like. The roads have been cleared—somewhat—and I know you’re busy with work and…I don’t know…I need to look into getting home. The book stuff is done, and your office is organized and…” She shrugged. “Everyone’s freaking out that I’m still here.”
“Everyone?” he asked levelly, arching a brow at her.
“Pretty much. I’ve talked to Riley and Savannah, my dad, Anna, and that’s not including texts from them
plus Aubrey and Brooke.” She shrugged again. “I mean, it’s nice to be missed and all, but I do need to get home.” Darcy couldn’t even look at him as she spoke.
“I see.”
Then he didn’t move or say anything else. It got to the point where it was awkward, and as much as she tried not to, Darcy couldn’t help but squirm in her seat. With nothing left to do, she finally looked up at him, and her heart kicked hard in her chest. The intensity with which Ben was looking at her was overwhelming. Swallowing hard, she cleared her throat. “So, um…”
Ben stood, reached for her hand, and yanked her to her feet. Even when he was aggressive with her, he was always gentle. This time? Not so much. She gasped as her chest hit his, and her eyes flew up to meet his gaze.
“What’s. Going. On?” Ben enunciated each word slowly, his eyes never leaving hers.
“I…I told you…”
“I don’t think so.”
Now she felt a little defensive. Why was he giving her so much grief? He should be happy she was getting out of his way so he could work without worrying about entertaining her.
“Rather than arguing it out in your head,” he said in a low voice, “why don’t you just say it to me?”
Darcy’s eyes narrowed, and she tried to pull away from him, but Ben was having none of it. He banded an arm around her waist and held her close.
“Fine. It’s obvious that you’re busy. You’ve got work to do, and you don’t have to keep normal hours or anything. And honestly? I’m bored. I have nothing to do now that all the work stuff is done. I’ve baked enough cakes and cookies and bread for a dozen people, and now…” She shrugged. “I have nothing left to do. You’re not my babysitter, and I don’t expect you to drop everything to entertain me. The roads are clear, and flights are starting to get back to normal, so…”
“So?”
Why? Just why?
“Look, what is your deal?” she demanded, lightly stomping her foot.
Ben looked mildly amused at her question. “My deal?”
“Yes. Your deal. We both know I have to go home eventually. I don’t know why this is such an issue to you. All I’m doing is—”
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