Chapter Two

Ben

“What’ll it be, Ben?” one of my favorite bartenders, Leanna, asks.

“Like you have to ask.”

She shoves a lowball glass filled with two fingers of Wild Turkey at me with a smile. “You never know when it might be something else.”

I give her a wink.

The Stargazer is a little hole in the wall in downtown Boston. It’s my own little secret. There’s always a seat at the bar for me.

“You meeting someone?”

I nod. “Braden’s fiancée’s maid of honor. She and I need to put together bachelor and bachelorette parties for the happy couple.”

“You’re doing it on your own? No party planner?”

“Braden rented out this private resort near Ocho Rios, Jamaica. It’s big enough that we can have both parties there, and yeah, they have a planner, but I feel like I should be involved. Best-man duties and all.”

“Will you be able to get a stripper?”

I let out a chuckle. “Braden doesn’t want a stripper.”

She laughs heartily. “That’s what they all say.”

I nod, grinning.

I’ve already looked into getting a stripper. If my big brother thinks he’s getting out of bachelorhood that easily, he can think again. It’s going to be a proper party. Not just one stripper, but several.

I glance at my watch. Tessa’s late. I would’ve been okay with planning over the phone, but Skye asked me to try to get Tessa to meet with me in person. She’s had a hard time of it, and Skye thinks she needs to get out more.

I don’t know that I agree with pressuring Tessa to leave her place if she doesn’t want to, but Skye knows her better than I do and—

I jerk to attention when a woman sits down next to me.

It’s Tessa.

And it may sound cliché, but the woman takes my breath away.

I’ve seen photos of her. She’s a knockout for sure. But in person?

Man, photography doesn’t do her justice. Even the photos taken by Skye herself—and she’s an amazing photographer. Skye’s become a major influencer, largely due to the fact that she started dating my brother, but in short order, people recognized her for the talent that she is. Spectacular images.

But not when it comes to her best friend. Skye’s camera didn’t capture the subtle freckle on Tessa’s lower lip, the way her hair catches the light with plum more than mahogany highlights, the lovely warmth of her light tan complexion.

Tessa is wearing black leggings and a blousy black tunic. Black sandals on her feet, and her toes are unpolished.

Not that I would normally notice such a thing, but most of the women that I come across—except for Apple Ames, my ex-friend-with-benefits—have freshly manicured toes.

But what’s more noticeable than the lack of polish on her toes is the sheer beauty of them. I’m no fetishist when it comes to feet, but Tessa Logan has the most beautiful pair I’ve seen.

Once I’ve noticed her bottom half, I look up, into her eyes.

I’ve never been serious about a woman in my life, and I’ve always gone for a hot body over a pretty face.

But Tessa’s eyes…

They’re large, dark, and long-lashed… And my God…

They look so fucking sad.

A wave of empathy surges through me, and it almost makes me shiver. It’s an odd feeling—a foreign feeling. I know what Tessa’s been through, and in this moment, I would move heaven and earth to get that look of pure remorse and resignation off her beautiful face forever.

Those beautiful eyes were meant to show happiness, excitement, love.

“Thanks for coming, Tessa.” I hold out my hand. “I’m Ben Black.”

“I know you are.”

Leanna places a cocktail napkin in front of Tessa. “What can I get for you?”

“Just some sparkling water, please.”

According to Skye, Tessa’s favorite drink is a margarita. But also according to Skye, her assailant, Garrett Ramirez, laced alcohol with ketamine, which nearly cost Tessa her life.

I imagine she’s purposely staying away from booze.

“So…” I begin. “I thought we should, you know, talk about our plans for the respective parties. Make sure they can both happen on the same premises without any issues.”

“Yeah. Of course.”

Even her voice sounds sad. She taps her fingers on the wooden bar. Her nails are also not polished, but her hands are shapely and beautiful, with long fingers and oval nails cut short, filed smooth. She doesn’t wear a watch or bracelet or any other jewelry. Her hair falls in gentle waves around her shoulders and midway down her back.

“Why don’t you tell me what you’re planning?” I ask.

She shrugs. “Just the usual stuff. We’ll shower her with gifts.”

“No strippers?”

She turns and meets my gaze for the first time. “No. I don’t want any men there.”

“Is that what Skye wants?”

Her gaze narrows. “Yeah. She specifically told me that she and Braden don’t want strippers.”

I chuckle under my breath.

“What’s so funny?”

“Nothing, nothing.”

She raises her eyebrows. “You’re going to have a stripper at the bachelor party, aren’t you?”

“I didn’t say that.”

She shakes her head. “Fine. Do what you want. I’m not having male strippers at Skye’s bachelorette party.”

The way she phrased that makes me think it’s more about Tessa’s preferences than Skye’s, but given what she’s been through, I can’t blame her for being cautious when it comes to nearly naked men. I’m not sure how to respond, so I take a long drink of my bourbon and then change the subject. “Okay. So if we have the parties that Friday night, how do we get everybody together at the end?”

Tessa looks down at the bar. “Why would we do that?”

“Isn’t that what Skye and Braden asked for?”

“Oh.” She wrinkles her forehead. “Yeah, you’re right. At midnight, we’re supposed to bring the two parties together into one big party.”

“Yeah. So…any ideas?”

She draws in a breath, holds it for a few seconds, and then exhales slowly. “We really could’ve discussed this over the phone.”

She’s not wrong. And now I feel like a dick for setting this up.

A man clad in jeans and a T-shirt walks into the bar. He takes a seat next to Tessa.

In a flash, she hops up off her stool and moves closer to me.

“You okay?” I ask quietly.

She swallows. “Yeah. Fine.” She slides into the empty seat on my other side.

My God, she’s skittish. And of course I understand why.

I turn to her. “You want to get out of here?”

She frowns. “And go where? This was your idea.”

“We could go back to my place, or yours.”

Her eyes widen into circles.

That was the wrong thing to say.

“Or to…someplace where we can have our own table.” I glance around the bar. “I see an empty table in the back.”

She nods and hops off her stool again.

“Leanna, could you bring her sparkling water to that table in the corner?” I gesture toward it.

“I’ve got it right here.” She slides it across the bar to Tessa. “Sorry for the wait.”

Tessa thanks her, picks up her water, and I follow her to the table. She sits down, and then she glances over her shoulder and all around the bar, becoming aware of her surroundings.

I clench my jaw. That asshole did a real number on her.

I’d like to pound him into next week, and I don’t even know the shithead. He’s out on bail right now, I’ve heard, but he was let go from his architecture firm. Out on bail, out of work, facing trial for rape… He’d better stay the hell away from her.

I’m not one to talk to women about serious stuff. Hell, I’m not one to talk to anybody about anything serious. I’m usually the one who’s the life of the party, telling the jokes, getting the crowd excited.

But for some reason, I want Tessa to talk to me.

“You doing okay?” I ask.

“I’m fine.” She takes a sip of her sparkling water and wipes her lips with her cocktail napkin.

“Are you hungry? They make a good burger here.”

She doesn’t reply, simply shakes her head. Her lips tremble a bit. They’re full and dark pink.

So sexy.

I recently took a break from my alternative sexual lifestyle and ended my long-term friends-with-benefits relationship with Apple. Some things from my past have resurfaced, and the last thing I need is to be focused on a woman.

But Tessa Logan—Tessa Logan, with her sad eyes—has my groin reacting.

Easy, I say to myself. I am the last thing she needs right now.

It’s been a long time since I’ve had this intense of a reaction to a woman. Have I ever?

I don’t know much about her except that she’s an accountant. And, of course, what she went through with that asshole architect.

“You want to tell me anything about yourself?” I ask.

She blinks. “Why would I want to do that?”

“I don’t know. Maybe make yourself a little more comfortable.”

She draws in a breath again, holds it for a few moments. “You know all about me. You’re Braden’s brother. You know from him, and he knows from Skye. So you know what happened to me.”

I absently reach forward to lay my hand over hers, but she pulls her hand back quickly.

“I’m sorry,” I say. I’m fucking this all up.

“I don’t like to be touched.”

“I get that. I respect that. I was just trying to offer you some comfort.”

“I don’t want any comfort.”

“I won’t do it again.”

“Let’s just do what we came here to do, okay?” Then she sighs. “Look. I’m not trying to be rude. I’m not a rude person. I just… Just tell me what you have planned. I’ll work around it.”

“I need to know what you have planned as well.”

She gnaws on that gorgeous, full lower lip.

And I realize…

She doesn’t have anything planned.

“Nothing’s final yet,” she says. “I’m flexible.”

“Okay. I can work with that. The men and I will have a golf game in the afternoon. The private resort has an amazing golf course. We’re going to play nine holes. Then we’ll have dinner, catered by the resort. We’ll roast him. And boy, do I have a lot of stories.” I smile.

Disappointment creeps through me when she doesn’t return my smile.

“Then,” I continue, “we’ll pop open the champagne, toast the groom, and…”

“The stripper…”

“Strippers,” I say.

“More than one?”

“I’m sending my brother off in style.”

She rolls her eyes. “Okay. And then we’ll be getting close to midnight at that point?”

“Yeah. That’ll take us up to midnight.”

She nods. “I don’t have anything planned for the afternoon.” She purses her lips. “I don’t have anything planned at all, actually. You’ve probably figured that out. But I thought we would spend the afternoon on the beach. Relaxing.”

“You could book massages and facials for everyone.”

Her eyes light up. “Yeah, that’s a good idea. Why didn’t I think of it?”

I could answer for her, but she doesn’t really want me to. She didn’t think of it because she hasn’t put any thought into this. She’s been focusing inward lately, and there’s nothing wrong with that.

She takes her phone out of her pocket and makes some notes. “Beach day. Massages and facials. Then dinner. If you guys are having dinner at the resort, where should we have dinner?”

“It’s a large resort. They have two separate dining rooms plus two outdoor dining areas.”

“All right. Just tell me where you’re having yours, and I’ll arrange to have mine somewhere else.”

I nod. “Good enough.”

“Then after dinner, we’ll give Skye her gifts. And then I don’t know what the hell we’ll do until midnight.”

“You could go dancing,” I suggest. “There’s a DJ, and you could arrange for him to work one of the ballrooms. You guys can dance, have a drink. Toast the bride.”

She makes more notes on her phone. “Great. Sounds good.”

I can’t believe this. I’m planning the bachelorette party.

Who would’ve thought?

“Hey, Ben!”

I turn toward the voice I recognize.

Apple Ames strides back toward our table. Naturally blond, Apple colors her hair black and wears long flowing dresses in dark colors. She’s heavily tatted and pierced and doesn’t look at all like the hotel heiress that she is. That’s what I like about her.

“Oh, sorry,” she says. “I didn’t realize you were with somebody.”

“No problem.” I rise and give her a hug. “This is Tessa Logan. Skye’s maid of honor.”

“Oh, hi. I’m Apple.” She reaches out with her right hand.

“Nice to meet you,” Tessa says, but she doesn’t return Apple’s handshake.

Apple pulls back, the brightness in her face dimming a bit. I could explain Tessa’s preference to not be touched, but it isn’t my place. If Tessa wants to tell her, she will.

But she doesn’t.

“You want to join us?” I ask Apple.

“No, that’s okay. I’m meeting some friends. Good to see you both.” She smiles and walks away.

“That’s Addison Ames’s sister,” Tessa says.

I return to my seat. “It is.”

Addison Ames is the woman who gave Skye her big break as an influencer. Long story there, but the relationship didn’t end well.

Tessa grabs a wallet out of her small purse and takes out a few five-dollar bills.

I scoot the money back toward her. “Please. It’s on me. Leanna’s got my tab up at the bar.”

“All right. Thank you.” She stands. “If we’re done here…”

I suppose we’re done. But something inside me doesn’t want her to leave.

Not yet.

“Tessa…”

She raises her eyebrows at me.

“Skye asked me to have you meet me. In person.”

“I figured as much.”

“I’m sorry. I should’ve told you when I called. We’ll do the rest of the stuff over the phone if you want. The last thing I want to do is make you uncomfortable.”

“I’m perfectly comfortable,” she says. “But if we’re done, I’d like to go.”

“All right.” Though I desperately want her to stay.

I would never hurt a woman. In fact, I got out of the BDSM lifestyle because I no longer wanted to hurt women, even if we both got pleasure out of it.

But Tessa doesn’t know that. Right now, to her, every man is a threat.

And while I understand it’s justified, I wish there were something I could do to ease that fear in her.

I stand. “Would you like to…go on a walk sometime? Tomorrow is Saturday. And for once, I’m not working this weekend. Braden and Skye are in New York. We could—”

She gestures for me to stop. “Thank you, but no.”

Then she turns, and within seconds she’s disappeared into the ladies’ room.

I’ve never had a woman practically running to get away from me before. What a brilliant fuck-up, Ben. If we weren’t going to be forced to see each other again because of Braden and Skye’s wedding, I doubt I’d ever see Tessa Logan again after tonight.