“You bet your pretty little ass I won’t do it again. Like I said, I plan on using every weapon I can against you, till I win.” He casually entwined his fingers with hers as the waiter laid down their menus. It was absurd how fucking right it felt to hold her hand. After they were alone again, he waited until she lifted the glass to her lips and took a sip before he added, “Including my magical knee.”
She snorted, which was unfortunate since she was in the process of swallowing. She inhaled the liquid, her face reddening as she set the drink down, coughing and cursing him in between breaths. “I. Will. Kill. You.”
He laughed, pressing a hand to his stomach as she glowered at him and wiped her mouth. He killed the laugh off quickly, but he couldn’t bring himself to regret the rare show of emotion. She stared at him as if he was a ghost, but he didn’t care.
That had been way too much fun.
“Keep trying, if you wish, but no one else has succeeded yet.”
“Oh, but I know things.” She gripped the table with her free hand and waggled her brows. It didn’t escape his notice that she hadn’t pulled free of his touch yet. “Lots of things.”
He cocked a brow and ran his thumb over the backs of her knuckles. “So do I.”
She laughed and lifted her glass again, and he realized he’d smiled more in this short timespan with Maggie than he had all the rest of the night, while he tried to be what he thought she’d want him to be. Now that he was relaxing, and being himself instead of a shallow copy of his father…
It was actually fun. Imagine that.
“To winning?” she asked, holding up her glass.
“To you losing,” he countered, clinking his to hers. “And us both being completely satisfied afterward.”
“Careful, you might blow your load a little too early with all that false confidence.”
He cocked a brow. “It’s adorable that you think it’s false. It really is.”
“You keep chasing, I’ll keep running.” She lifted a shoulder. “You’ll see who wins eventually.”
Yeah. Him. But since he wanted her more than he’d wanted anything in his entire life, and she was determined to keep him at arm’s length…
He probably should’ve let her keep running.
A few hours later, Benjamin had his driver stop the car in front of Maggie’s home. He opened the car door and got out, offering her his hand. She held on tight as she slid out, steadying herself on her heels.
Once she was good to go, she let go of him quickly.
He let her.
“Thank you,” he said, glancing down and adjusting his tie, “for giving me a second chance tonight.”
She smiled and helped him, tugging slightly until it was straight. The small, kind gesture made his throat tighten and his pants shrink. “You’re welcome. Turns out, once you relax, you’re actually a cool guy.”
“Because I was with you,” he said, forcing himself to stand still as she smoothed his jacket, even though every instinct within him screamed that he should grab her, kiss her, and show her why their relationship would be so much more enjoyable if they let loose a little bit more, this time without those strict rules of hers. “I had fun.”
“Me, too,” she said softly. So softly he almost missed it. “Benjamin.”
They fell silent, staring, almost as if they measured one another. The tension between them was impossible to ignore. Heart pounding, he reached out and ran his thumb over the curve of her chin, getting another hit of the drug that was Maggie Donovan. She shivered, gripping his jacket with a sigh. “You’re so fucking unique and beautiful that I’m not even sure what to say to you half the damn time.”
His words seemed to yank her from some sort of trance—the same trance he’d been stuck in. He hadn’t meant to say that out loud…but even so, it was true. She was gorgeous, inside and out.
In his world, that was as rare as the Hope Diamond.
“You can say whatever you want, Benjamin.” Stepping back, she tucked her hair behind her ear and gave him a shy smile. “I’ll see you at the office Monday?”
“Yes. Of course.” He shoved his trembling hands into his pockets and inclined his head. “I’ll leave once I see you turn the light on, so I know you’re safely inside.”
She nodded and headed up the stairs, her hips swinging naturally. As soon as the light turned on, she pushed the curtain aside and waved at him. He nodded back, and slid inside his town car. After he closed the door, the driver pulled away.
No sooner had he cleared the curb, than his phone rang. When he saw who it was, he stiffened. He’d called his brother that morning, but hadn’t gotten a hold of him. Apparently that was changing now. “Andrew. Thanks for calling me back.”
“No problem,” his brother’s deep voice said through the line. “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing. What makes you think something’s wrong?”
Andrew paused. “Well, you called me.”
“Yeah?”
“You never call unless something’s wrong.”
While true, it still hurt to hear. When had he become such a recluse that he forgot to pick up the damn phone and call his brother? “That’s not true. I called you last week.”
“For my birthday?” Andrew laughed. “Yeah, that doesn’t count, Ben.”