Chapter 73 73
There was a big part of her, however, that wished there was something else. She never did well with the idea of possibilities left unexplored. The night she kissed Justin, she’d already spent many nights imagining what came next, of what it would be like to have his hands all over her, to share the same bed with him. When he’d cut it short, she couldn’t help but feel as though she’d been robbed of something. That was difficult to let go.
She glanced over at Justin as he fiddled with his phone map while navigating the snarl of traffic leaving the city. His profile was endlessly enthralling. She could’ve sat there and studied his strong, dark brows or his uncannily straight nose for hours. That would only lead to the examination of his perfect lips, the way his angular jaw was accentuated by his well-groomed scruff. It would be so nice to trail her finger along the line from his ear to his chin, kiss him again and see if he wanted to explore their unfinished business.
But what if he’d only used Adam as an excuse, a means of covering up the fact that he hadn’t wanted to kiss her at all? If she tried anything a second time, he might be honest with her. That would be brutal.
He turned and narrowed his focus on her for an instant, making her heart leap into her throat. “Everything okay?”
She nodded, swallowing back a sigh. “Oh, sure. I was just wondering how long the drive is.”
He looked back over his shoulder and sped up, changing lanes like a man who wasn’t about to let anyone get in his way. The scent of his cologne wafted to her nose, making her lose her bearings.
“Five hours. Four and a half if I can get out of traffic.” He reached across and patted her on the leg, the width of his palm and fingers spanning her thigh. “Sit back and enjoy the ride.”
She stared down at her lap, the place where he’d left an invisible scorching-hot handprint. Five hours? Alone in a car with Justin? She’d be on fire by the time they got there.
__________
The only time Justin had mixed business and pleasure was right now—taking Sherry away for the weekend. Time alone in the car with her had quickly illustrated that being with her made things muddy, messy, and it was about to get even messier when he finally told her what he wanted from her in exchange for introducing her to Sunny Side. Nothing was clear-cut and that made him nervous. Considering the game he was playing with BenTel stock, getting close to Sherry was dangerous. It wasn’t just playing with fire. It was tantamount to walking a tightrope over an active volcano.
But the fire was so tempting—her sweet smell, the way she pulled out her ponytail and redid it when she was thinking about something. He’d struggled to keep his eyes on the road. The deep blue turtleneck she wore was maddening. His brain wouldn’t stop fixating on trying to remember the exact arrangement of freckles on her chest. And then there were the jeans.
Sure, he’d held the car door to be a gentleman, but he’d committed every curve to memory, frame by frame, as she’d climbed inside his car. Finally at their destination, he turned from the main road and stopped between the pair of towering stone pillars flanking the entrance to his estate.
Cold air rushed in when he rolled down the window to punch in the security code. Thankfully they'd arrived before the snow, and by the looks of it, it was going to be heavy. Silently, the wrought iron gate rolled aside, granting entry into his retreat, a world that intentionally bore no resemblance to the one they’d left behind in Olkfield.
The massive house stood sentry at the head of a circular parking area. “Wow,” she muttered, leaning to the side and peering out her window as he parked the car. “It’s so gorgeous, Justin. And huge.”
Surely Sherry had been to impressive estates, but she seemed quite taken with what he had to offer her for the weekend—pristine grounds, crisp, white clapboards wrapping the spires at each corner of the house, a wide sweep of stone stairs leading to the front door, flanked by hand-leaded windows. His pride swelled. He couldn’t help it. He’d impressed her and he was glad that he had.
“The house was built in the twenties. I had it completely remodeled when I bought it three years ago. I figured it was a good investment and I wanted a getaway that would always be here. Something I could depend on. Something comfortable.”
Justin snatched up the keys in his hand and climbed out of the car. He didn’t make it around in time to open Sherry's door for her, but he was able to grab her overnight bag before she had the chance to do so. He wanted to at least do some things for her. In fact, he’d purposely called the house’s caretaker and asked him to give them a wide berth this weekend. There would already be his cook and housekeeper around.
“Seems like a lot of space for one person,” Sherry said, as they made their way to the front door. “How often do your parents come to visit?”
Family was such an integral part of Sherry's life. It was probably impossible for her to fathom an existence that didn’t revolve around it. He hoped to have that soon after he got married and had children.
“You’d be surprised.” He opened the door and ushered her inside, placing their bags on a bench in the spacious foyer.
“A lot, then?”
He shook his head. “No. Not much at all. Especially not my dad. My mom will come for a weekend once a year, but she’s antsy the whole time she’s here. I think she probably learned that from my dad.”
As hard as Justin liked to work, he had seen his dad take it too far. He made a point of relaxing when he came up here, but that almost exclusively involved getting his hands dirty. Very dirty. He’d have to show Sherry his collection after they'd talked.
Sherry turned and frowned. “Don’t you get lonely up here?”
He did. Although Justin was so accustomed to being alone, he was smart enough to know that most people didn’t live that way. Especially not a Bennet.
“I won’t be lonely this weekend. That’s all that matters right now.” He chided himself the instant the words were out of his mouth. Why couldn’t he answer, “no”?