she’d made him believe it, too.
How could he not have had a thing for her?
“I know that reading people isn’t my thing,” Parker said, “but if that wasn’t the very definition of having a thing for someone, I’ll marry Kayleigh Jemison.” He nodded toward the woman he’d escorted down the aisle during the wedding ceremony.
Parker and Kayleigh had been at each other’s throats for as long as Benji could remember. But since Kayleigh was close friends with Parker’s new sister-in-law, he’d been charged with escorting her down the aisle.
“Speaking of having a thing for someone.” Benji chuckled.
“Me? Have a thing for Kayleigh?” Parker’s cheeks colored, though he dismissed the idea with a wave of his hand. “You must’ve fallen and banged your head.”
The wedding photographer beckoned them, indicating it was time to join the rest of the wedding party for some group shots.
Benji was thankful for the distraction. Still, he couldn’t help scanning the crowd, hoping to catch another glimpse of Sloane.
* * *
Sloane nibbled the gloss off her lower lip as she studied Benji from across the room. He took another sip of his beer, then laughed at something Parker said.
She could hardly believe that the incredibly sexy man whose muscular frame filled out his fitted tuxedo in ways that did wicked things to her was the shy, sweet little boy she’d once known.
When his gaze captured hers again, an inexplicable warmth settled low in her belly and her breath caught.
“Are you all right?” Her best friend, Delia, tilted her head. “If I didn’t know better, I’d say you were staring at someone at the bar.”
Delia turned to look over her shoulder, but was distracted as her father approached with her daughter in his arms. The two-year-old girl was as beautiful as Delia and generally just as sweet. At this moment, though, she was crying hysterically, demanding her mother.
“Evie, what’s wrong, sweetie?” Delia stood, taking her daughter into her arms.
“Your mother says she feels warm.” Richard Bennett said. “We were going to offer to take her home with us, but she’s insistent that she wants her mama.”
“It’s okay. Thanks, Dad.” Delia kissed the girl’s face and she seemed to immediately calm down. She leaned over and kissed Sloane’s cheek. “Sorry about this, hon. We’ll take up this conversation later. How long will you be in town?”
“I’ll probably head back to Nashville tomorrow, but don’t worry about me. We’ll talk later. Just take care of Evie.”
Sloane watched as Delia and Mr. Bennett made their way through the crowd. She sighed, eyeing her half-finished glass of bourbon punch.
With Delia gone, she felt alone—even in a room filled with people she’d known her entire life. Her family and the Abbotts didn’t run in the same circles. She just happened to have hit it off with Blake Abbott and his cousin Delia Bennett when they were in grade school. Blake was preoccupied, and Delia was on her way home with little Evie.
There was no reason to stay.
Sloane gulped the rest of her drink, returning the glass to the table with a thud. She stood, bumping into a solid expanse of muscle.
Benji.
He gripped her waist to steady her.
“Sorry, I didn’t see you there.” She took what she hoped was a subtle step backward. Just out of his reach, but still close enough to savor his provocative scent.
“It was my bad.” Benji revealed the sheepish smile that had been his trademark as a kid. He rubbed a hand over his dark brush waves.
Sloane couldn’t help smiling, remembering how obsessed Benji had been with perfecting them.
“It was good seeing you again, Benji.” Sloane turned to leave, but he placed his strong hand on her arm.
“You’re not leaving already, are you? I’ve been patiently waiting for a chance to catch up with you. My sister has been monopolizing your time all evening.”
“You know how we are when we get together.” Sloane smiled. “Not much has changed. We’re still basically those same two giggling teenage girls.”
“I’d say a lot has changed.” Benji’s heated gaze drifted down the length of her body, before returning to meet hers.
“I guess you’re right.” Sloane cleared her throat.
Some things certainly had changed.
Benji had always had a crush on her. There was nothing unusual about a little boy having a crush on his older sister’s best friend. Back then, she’d thought it sweet. But Benji Bennett wasn’t a little boy anymore. He was a grown-ass man and a fine one at that.
What she saw in his intense dark brown eyes wasn’t the misguided admiration of a little boy. It was lust, plain and simple. The same feeling that crawled up her spine and made her heart beat faster.
His confident smile indicated that he could sense her attraction to him.
Pull it together, sister. This is little Benji Bennett you’re gawking at here.
Benji had gone to college in Seattle, where he still lived. He’d started his own tech company in his junior year. A company he’d just sold for more than two billion dollars, according to Delia.
Benjamin Bennett was a catch by anyone’s standards—even before you factored in his healthy bank account. But he was her best friend’s little brother. And though he was all grown up now, he was just a kid, compared to her.
Flirting with Benji would start tongues wagging all over Magnolia Lake. Not that she cared what they thought of her. But her mother and grandfather still lived here. So did Delia, for most of the year. If the whole town started talking, it would make things uncomfortable for the people she loved.
Sloane tore her gaze from his and scanned the room. “I’d better go.”
“Don’t go. Please. Just one dance.” Benji held up a finger, his eyes warm and pleading, his smile sexy and sweet. Then he extended his hand. The same one she’d held when she’d helped him across the street on the way to school when he was five.
Sloane looked at him, then glanced around the space as she nibbled her bottom lip, her heart racing. No one was paying attention to them. The other guests were wrapped up in their own conversations and enjoying the open bar, courtesy of the Abbotts, owners of King’s Finest Distillery.
“I guess one dance won’t hurt.” She placed her hand in his much larger one and let him lead her onto the dance floor.
Benji walked to the center of the dance floor and held her in his arms. He swayed to Jeffrey Osborne’s smooth vocals on L.T.D.’s “Love Ballad.”
“God, your parents loved
