Chapter 3

That damn twang was going to be stuck in her head all night.

Normally, Darcy considered herself to be pretty open about music, but this was ridiculous. She knew she’d closed her eyes and dozed off, but she had a feeling just having the damn music playing in the background was going to be enough for it to stay with her for a while.

And dammit if some of it wasn’t just a little bit catchy.

With a stretch, she sat up and looked around. They had to be close to town—to the hotel—by now, right?

“Oh, good,” Ben said from beside her. “You’re awake. We’re home.”

Home? It was dark out, and as he pulled the truck to a stop, she saw they were indeed parking next to his house.

“What the hell, Ben!” she cried. “I thought we decided I was going to a hotel.”

“No, you decided. I never agreed,” he said nicely as he turned off the truck and stretched. “Damn, I didn’t think we were ever going to get here. C’mon. I’m sure you’re hungry. I know I am.”

“But…but…”

“I’ll grab your suitcase,” he said sweetly and then climbed out of the truck.

Damn the man!

When she finally got her hands on Savannah, Darcy was going to strangle her. She had done a decent thing—a good thing!—and this was her reward? Forced to stay in the snowy mountains of nowhere with a man who was…was…ugh. There wasn’t even a word for him.

But she’d think of one.

Of that, she was certain.

Grabbing her satchel, she carefully stepped from the truck and out into the snow. There was easily several inches—close to four—on the ground, and it didn’t seem to show any signs of stopping.

“Great,” she murmured. “Just great.”

Gingerly, she made her way through the snow—not an easy task in her cute little leather ankle boots that were never going to recover from this. The front entrance to Ben’s cabin had a dozen steps to climb to get to it, but as she looked around, she didn’t see any footprints in the snow in that direction. Where the hell had he gone?

It was dark, and she had no idea where she was supposed to go and… A light on the side of the house came on, and as she looked a little bit closer, Darcy saw Ben’s trail and immediately followed it. Actually, she used his footprints to help her protect her boots a little. As she rounded the house, she found Ben waiting for her at a ground-level door.

“I was wondering if you were going to follow or not.” He paused and chuckled. “Thought you might be stubborn enough to sit and freeze in the truck rather than come inside.”

“Well, since you were so gracious about coming to get me, I thought it was only right for me to come inside.” She gave him her most syrupy sweet voice and smile, but she knew he wasn’t fooled.

Once they were both inside, Ben closed the door behind them and locked it. “You can leave your boots and coat here,” he said, a no-nonsense tone to his voice now. “I’ll go and get a fire started upstairs.”

Darcy watched him go up the stairs with her suitcase and sighed. As much as she wanted to be angry—or at the very least annoyed—she knew she had no right to be. She might not like Ben or his obvious feelings for Savannah, but he had seriously come to her rescue today. She wasn’t that much of a bitch that she couldn’t remember that.

He’d traveled over a hundred miles in the snow—each way—to help her out. Right now, she’d be huddled on the dirty airport floor with hundreds of other people and hating every minute of it if it wasn’t for him.

“Great. Now I’ll have to apologize to him,” she said and sighed. She tugged off her coat and hung it up on the wooden rack he had on the wall. Then she sat on the bench just beneath it and pulled off her boots. They were soaked, and she could only hope they would dry out and not be completely ruined. Just as she was about to go up the stairs, her phone vibrated in her pocket. When she saw it was a text from Savannah, she momentarily thought about ignoring it.

But she couldn’t.

Again, as much as she hated the situation, she was thankful.

You okay?

It was a shame there wasn’t a sarcasm font she could switch to.

I’m fine. We just got to Ben’s.

Savannah’s response was a smiley face emoji. And as much as she wanted to go on a little rant, Darcy was hungry and figured she owed it to Ben to help with dinner.

We’re looking for dinner stuff. Talk to you later?

Without waiting for a response, Darcy slipped the phone into her pocket and made her way up the stairs. There was already a fire roaring in the massive fireplace, and Ben was in the kitchen.

“How long was I down there?” she asked, hoping she sounded casual and not bitchy.

Ben looked over his shoulder and smiled at her, and Darcy wanted to sigh. He was handsome—sandy-brown hair that was shaggy enough to look sexy, and the kind of dark eyes a girl could get lost in. Add a strong jaw that was a little rough with stubble right now, and Darcy almost had to smack herself to keep from reaching out and touching him.

Not a good sign.

“You weren’t down there long at all. I’m just efficient.”

I’ll bet you are.

Ugh. Could there be a worse time to start having sexy thoughts?

“I have to admit, I have a fully stocked freezer, pantry, and refrigerator, but I didn’t take anything out to make for dinner before I left for the airport,” he explained as he stepped up to the kitchen sink to wash his hands. “There’s more than enough options for dinner, but it certainly won’t be anything gourmet.”

“I’d be fine with some sandwiches. I don’t expect you to wait on me. I’m just glad I’m not going to have to sleep on the terminal floor tonight.”

Drying his hands, Ben laughed. “I doubt you would have gotten much sleep.”

She smiled and felt even more tension leave her body. He had a great laugh and really great hands. Big hands.

“So that fireplace throws off a lot of heat, huh?” she said quickly, taking a step away from him to fan herself off.

Behind her, she heard Ben moving around in the kitchen, pulling open the refrigerator and then opening cabinets. “It does. It’s a great feature to have, especially in the winter.”

“I’ll bet.” Stepping closer to it, she couldn’t help but marvel at the stonework—it went from floor to ceiling. Immediately, her mind went to imagining it decorated for Christmas—lots of greenery and twinkly lights, candles, and stockings. It was big enough to hold enough stockings for a family of eight. Stepping back, she continued to admire it, and when she noticed light coming through where the flames were, she crouched to inspect it. “Does this fireplace have two sides?”

“Yup,” he replied and then walked toward her. “On the other side is the master bedroom. When my grandfather originally built this place, it was just the basement and this floor, and the fireplace was the primary source of heat. When I did the upgrades and renovations, I redid the stonework on both sides.” He smiled and motioned for her to follow him. “Come check it out.”

Intrigued, Darcy followed him and immediately stopped short in the doorway.

Holy decadent bed, Batman, she thought to herself. It was huge! Clearly, it was a king-size, but it was high and had this amazing four-poster frame that Ben must have made himself, because it was far too fabulous and unique to be store-bought. Slowly, she stepped into the room, and rather than look at the fireplace, she immediately gravitated toward the bed.

“Did you make this?” she asked softly, reaching out to touch the wood. It was dark in color and smooth as silk. The design that was carved into it was so intricate that all she could imagine was how long he must have worked on it. The hours, the days…months, she imagined, that Ben would have put into this piece. And suddenly, she wanted to see more of his work and cursed the times he had offered to take her to his workshop and she’d declined.

“I did,” he said. His voice was a little low and gruff and came from almost directly behind her.

With a shaky breath, Darcy looked over her shoulder at him even as she continued to stroke the bedpost. “How…how long did this take you?” Her gaze locked with his, and holy hell was it potent.

“Two years. Off and on between other projects.”

Was it her imagination or did he look at her lips? Self-consciously, she licked them and noticed how his gaze lingered there.

This wasn’t good. This was borderline inappropriate, and she needed to put an end to it right now.

“So, the fireplace?” Stepping away from the bed, she switched to a safer topic.

Ben cleared his throat and turned away. “Uh, yeah. The fireplace. It used to be a small, brick facade, but when I redid it, I went with the stacked stone and took it up to the ceiling.” He walked over to the fireplace. “And I did the mantel myself.”

Wood had never been something Darcy looked at, let alone admired, and for the life of her, she couldn’t figure out why she had such an overwhelming urge to touch the damn mantel. But she did.

Like a caress.

Like one would touch a lover.

Shit.

“What…what kind of wood did you use for this?” What? Did she seriously ask that? What difference would it make? She had no idea what the difference was between any kinds of wood.

“Mahogany,” he said.

“Oh, well, it’s so smooth and pretty.”

Stop. Stroking. The. Mantel.

“Thanks.” There was a slightly amused look on his face, and Darcy was pretty sure he knew she didn’t have a clue what he was talking about.

“Dinner,” she blurted out. “We should look into what we’re going to make for dinner.” And then she hightailed it out of the room. Between the wood-stroking and the giant bed, her mind was firmly in the gutter, and she needed to stop it. Right now.

Ben followed her to the kitchen, and together they began randomly looking for something to make.

“I can whip up some pasta, or we can do omelets, or even soup and grilled cheese sandwiches,” he suggested. “Any preferences?”

“Do you have bacon?”

He looked taken aback for a moment before he nodded. “I believe I do.”

“I happen to love bacon on my grilled cheese sandwiches. If you promise we can do that, then I’m completely on board with that and some soup.”

“You’re on.”

While Ben went to work on frying up the bacon and getting the sandwiches assembled, he directed Darcy to where he kept the cans of soup and the pots. While she was in the pantry picking what soup she wanted, she also did a quick mental checklist of any baking ingredients he had on hand.

“You’re taking a long time choosing a soup,” Ben called out.

Stepping into the kitchen, she raised two cans in the air and showed him. “I’ll admit I was a little overwhelmed at the variety. When you said you had a fully stocked pantry, you weren’t kidding.”

He laughed softly as he flipped the bacon. “I enjoy cooking almost as much as I enjoy eating. So I try to make sure I always have what I might be in the mood for on hand, because there is nothing worse than finding yourself in the mood for something specific and then not having it here.”

“Probably because you live so far from the nearest grocery store,” she commented. “I don’t think I’ve ever lived more than ten minutes from one.”

“I’m used to it, but I know the importance of shopping with a list.”

She put the cans on the counter and then pulled out a couple of pots. “Do you like to bake?”

Ben shook his head. “Too much measuring. When I cook, I tend to ad lib. I don’t like following recipes. It takes all the fun out of cooking.”

Interesting. “See, I’m the opposite. I love to bake. The precision of it and all the measuring…it works for me. But when I cook, I need a recipe. I mean, not for the basic stuff, but if I’m trying something new, I have to have something to follow.”

He nodded with understanding. “Were you checking out the pantry for baking supplies?” he asked as he smiled at her over his shoulder.

Such a sexy smile, she thought. Is he even aware of that?

Stop it!

“Busted,” she said and then actually felt herself blush.

Seriously, what is going on with me?

“I know there are cake mixes and cans of frosting in there.”

“And you also have a couple of boxes of brownie mix,” she added. “But I did notice the flour and the sugar and some other key ingredients I could use to whip something up from scratch. I’ll probably have to get creative since you don’t have anything other than chocolate chips, but it could be a fun challenge. I’ve never had to work blindly before—you know, without the traditional ingredients.”

“Is that what you want to do? Because I don’t expect you to do anything like that.”

“Actually, the baking wasn’t so much for you as it was for me. It relaxes me, and I just thought, you have this amazing kitchen, and I wanted to check it all out. Besides, I may concoct a fabulous new Christmas cookie!”

“Well, in that case, don’t let me stop you. But feel free to use any of the boxed stuff. I bought it, but I rarely remember to use it. So if it doesn’t offend you, please go right ahead.”

“I might. I know some recipes for cookies that require boxed cake mix. Maybe I’ll try them out.”

“Cookies and a snow day?” he said giddily, and Darcy knew he was being funny. “Ten-year-old me is very excited right now!”

That had her laughing. “I’m not making any promises, because I won’t have a whole lot of time to do much after dinner. But maybe tomorrow.”

“Beggars can’t be choosers, and I’m more than happy to wait.”

Ben went back to frying the bacon while Darcy poured their soups into pots and placed them on the stove. “What would you like to drink?” she asked.

“There’s beer in the fridge,” he said without taking his eyes off the frying bacon. “What about you? What would you like?”

Walking over to the refrigerator, Darcy pulled it open and studied the contents. She could just do water, but that was boring. There was always wine, but she’d had two glasses earlier, and that was her hard limit. She spotted several cans of Coke, a gallon of milk, and a bottle of iced tea. “I’ll probably just grab a can of Coke.”

And then they were back to the quiet.

Darcy had at least a hundred questions for Ben—about his work, about his cooking, about Savannah—but right now, she was enjoying working beside him to prepare a meal. It was a first for her. Other than her brothers, she had never met a man who enjoyed cooking.

When she noticed him putting the sandwiches together and getting them on the griddle, she turned on the burners for the soup.

“Would you mind if I went and changed before we eat?”

For a minute, Ben didn’t say anything, but his gaze raked over her.

She would need to splash some cold water on her face if he didn’t stop. “Where’s my suitcase?”

“In the guest room at the top of the stairs on your right. There’s a full bathroom up there as well.”

“Oh. Thanks!” she said with a smile. “I’ll be back in a few.”

She didn’t run up the stairs exactly, but Darcy knew she was moving faster than usual. Why? She had no idea. Maybe it was because she was starving and was anxious to get downstairs and eat dinner, or maybe she just needed a few minutes alone away from Ben.

There was a large sitting area at the top of the stairs with a picture window on the far wall that looked out over the property. Something about this house just…it called to her. In her mind, she envisioned a huge Christmas tree in front of that window that you’d be able to see when you pulled up to the house. It would be fun and festive and—

“There are clean towels in the bathroom,” he called up to her, and she snapped out of her holiday trance and remembered she only had a few minutes before their dinner was ready.

Stepping into the bedroom, she smiled.

It wasn’t nearly as magnificent as Ben’s, but his stamp was here too. The bed had to be one that he made, because it was unique. Again, not quite as magnificent as the one he had in his room, but still impressive. All the furniture in the room was in a lighter finish, and there was a rustic chic vibe that Darcy found oddly appealing.

“You can look and touch all of it later,” she reminded herself as she walked over and opened her suitcase. What she needed was to do some laundry. This was supposed to be a short trip, and even though it had been cut even shorter, it would be nice to have options.

Grabbing her toiletry bag, a pair of yoga pants, and a T-shirt, she quickly made her way to the bathroom. The first glimpse of herself almost made her gasp, but she recovered quickly. Her makeup was faded, and her hair was a mess, and she looked more than a little tired.

Awesome.

Stripping off her jeans and top, Darcy quickly swiped on some deodorant before changing into more comfortable clothes. Then she brushed her teeth and put on some lip gloss before contemplating her hair.

The last thing she wanted to do was look like she was trying to make an impression, and Ben had already seen her. With a sigh, she simply finger-combed the dark tresses and called it done.

“Perfect timing,” he said when he spotted her walking down the stairs. “Everything’s ready.”

“Well, damn.”

He looked at her curiously.

“I took longer than I thought. I wanted to help you.”

“Well, you could get the soup into the bowls if that makes you feel better,” he suggested with a grin.

“Done!” Within minutes, Darcy had the table set and drinks poured and was helping him set their sandwiches out. When they sat, she smiled at him. “Thanks. This looks great.”

He shrugged. “Just sandwiches.”

When she took her first bite, she moaned with pleasure—an eyes closed, head thrown back, holy-shit-this-is-fantastic kind of moan. Realizing what she’d done, she quickly straightened and looked at Ben with a sheepish grin. “Sorry. But this is way more than just a sandwich. What did you do to it?”

Chuckling, he took a bite of his sandwich before he answered. “Like I said, it’s just a sandwich.”

“No, no, no,” she corrected him. “This is not your run-of-the-mill grilled cheese. Trust me. I make them a lot. So spill it. What did you do?”

He shook his head and took another bite even as he continued to laugh.

“Come on! You have to tell me!” she begged, laughing with him. Picking up her sandwich, she shook it at him. “This has ruined me for all other grilled cheese sandwiches.” Then she took another bite and did her best to hold in the moan.

Ben took a pull of his beer and studied her. “Fine. Three kinds of cheese—American, pepper jack, and cheddar.” He shrugged. “I probably should have asked you before I put the pepper jack on there—some people don’t like anything spicy—but I love the combination of the three together.”

“And this isn’t ordinary white bread, either,” she observed. “It’s a lot sturdier.”

“It’s sourdough. With all the different cheeses, standard white bread gets a little too soggy. This holds up much better. Plus, I needed to use it up before it went bad,” he added with a wink.

“It’s brilliant. Absolutely brilliant. I never thought of grilled cheese like this. I’m totally going to try this when I get home.”

They ate in silence—normally the sign of a good meal—and by the time she had finished her sandwich and was halfway through her bowl of soup, she was stuffed. Pushing away from the table, Darcy placed a hand on her belly and sighed.

Ben was watching her every move. “Done?”

“I don’t think I could eat another bite. That was amazing. Thank you.”

If she wasn’t mistaken, he was blushing.

“I’m glad you enjoyed it,” he said, his voice a bit gruff.

“And since you did the bulk of the cooking, I’ll clean up,” Darcy said as she rose.

“That’s not necessary.”

“Oh please, you’ve done enough for me today. Just say thank you and let me do this.” In truth, she hated doing the dishes. Always had. She didn’t mind making the mess in the kitchen, but she preferred someone else cleaning up. But what she’d just said was true—Ben had gone above and beyond for her today. And although she had a feeling it had more to do with him trying to impress Savannah, that was no reason for her to be an ungrateful guest.

Damn.

She’d gotten so caught up in his sexy smiles and his incredible talent that she’d almost forgotten about that agenda of his. Well, good thing her brain kicked into gear. While she was stuck here with him, she was going to have to start a campaign to get him to leave Savannah alone. There was no way she was going to let Ben—or anyone—mess with her brother’s marriage.

* * *

One minute, she was laughing and smiling, and the next, it was like someone had flipped a switch, Ben thought.

Darcy had an extremely expressive face, and he knew when her thoughts shifted from doing the dishes to something else. She didn’t say a word, but the irritated glare spoke volumes.

Standing up, Ben picked up his plate and bowl and followed her to the sink.

“I said I’d clean up,” she said, and although it wasn’t said through clenched teeth, there was a definite edge to her voice.

“Well, I can’t help it. I’m used to cleaning up after myself,” he replied.

“Fine. Whatever.”

They worked together, and it took less than ten minutes for the kitchen to look pristine again. He noticed her looking around—for an escape or something to do, he wasn’t sure.

“Would you like to watch TV? I’m sure we can find something that isn’t a weather report,” he joked and noticed she didn’t even attempt to grin. Okay, new tactic. He walked into the living room and simply turned on the television as he sat. “Personally, I enjoy home improvement shows or a good documentary, but I’m open to suggestions. Maybe we can find a movie or something.”

“I think I’m going to head upstairs. It’s been a long day,” Darcy said.

“It’s seven o’clock,” he said, his patience all but gone. Shutting off the TV, he stood and advanced on her, determined to get to the bottom of things.

They were stuck together for at least the next couple of days, and he’d be damned if he was going to put up with her attitude. He didn’t care if he pissed her off or if Savannah would be disappointed in how he was handling this. He was done bending over backward to be nice to this woman.

Darcy’s eyes went as wide as saucers as he got closer, and she reached behind her to grab the newel post.

“Did I say something wrong at dinner?” he demanded and was surprised at how level his tone was.

“No, why?”

He had to fight the eye roll that was threatening. “Have I done something to offend you? And I’m not just talking about today or tonight, but since I met you? Because I have to tell you, this whole attitude you keep throwing my way is getting old.”

Her mouth opened and immediately shut.

So there was something.

“Look, I have been racking my brain for days, and I have no idea what it is that I said or did, but whatever it is, I’m sorry. Can we move on?”

Her eyes narrowed as she looked at him, and he was certain she was going to let him have it—Darcy seemed like the kind of woman who wouldn’t hold anything back. But in the blink of an eye, her expression changed and went completely neutral.

“Would it be all right if I did a load of laundry?”

That was pretty much the very last thing he expected her to say. “Laundry?”

She nodded. “Uh-huh. Laundry. I have stuff I need to wash, and if it’s all right with you, I thought I’d do it now.”

“Now,” he repeated.

She nodded again. “If you don’t mind.”

To say he was confused was an understatement. She hadn’t accepted his apology, and she hadn’t told him what he’d done wrong, and until she did one or the other, there was no way he was going to let this go. He couldn’t. If there was one thing that irritated Ben more than anything, it was people who weren’t honest. And right now, he wanted her.

No! Not her. Her honesty.

Dammit.

He wanted her honesty!

“As a matter of fact, I do mind,” he said mildly and walked to the couch and sat back down. He knew the instant his smug expression got to her, because she stomped across the room after him.

“You mind? Seriously? It’s laundry! And I’m not asking you to do it for me. Hell, if you have some stuff you need washed, I’ll do it for you. And dry it. And fold it!”

Tempting offer. He hated doing laundry.

“I just did a load last night. But thanks.”

Fascinating. Again, it was the only word that came to mind when he watched her battling with whatever was going on inside her head. So many emotions played across her face as she towered over him and tried to look intimidating. He had no doubt she had honed this skill on her brothers, but he wasn’t buying into it.

And he certainly wasn’t intimidated easily. If anything, he could probably teach Darcy a thing or two about the art of doing it properly.

Slowly, he rose to his feet and watched as she refused to move except to let her head fall back so she could hold his gaze.

So maybe he was a little impressed.

“I want to know what your issue is with me,” he said, his voice low and deep.

He had to give her credit; she didn’t react. Hell, she barely blinked.

“You can deny it all you want, but I’m not a moron, Darcy. You were fine with me when you first showed up here, but by the end of that night, you had a definite attitude, and I want to know why.”

Still nothing.

“I’m not opposed to calling Savannah and asking her. I’m sure she’ll tell me.”

And there it was. The chink in the armor. Her shoulders slouched a bit, and her expression fell.

It was both rewarding and made him feel bad. Why couldn’t she just talk to him?

“Fine,” she finally said. “I have a problem with you.”

“Care to tell me what it is?”

“I’d rather not.”

He sighed as his head fell back. The woman was killing him. When he straightened and met her gaze, he said, “Look, you’re stuck here—in my home, might I add—for the next several days. Wouldn’t it be better for both of us if we cleared the air now? I mean, why not get it out in the open?”

She seemed to consider that for a moment before answering. “Look, can’t we just say we don’t…I don’t know…gel? Or get one another? And then move on? I mean, it’s crazy to expect everyone to like each other and get along or be instant friends. That’s not realistic.”

Now it was his turn to study her for a long moment before speaking. “I see what you’re saying, but here’s the thing. I think you and I did gel. And there have been several times where we got one another. You seem to be picking and choosing when you like me and when you don’t. Maybe that’s your thing.”

“Hey!”

He didn’t let her go on. “But I’m here to tell you that I think it’s bullshit. It’s a childish way to behave, and I’m not going to stand for it.”

Her eyes went wide again. “You’re not going to stand for it? Who the hell are you?”

“I’m the guy who saved your ass today and opened his home to you rather than letting you sit and stew in a crowded airport for days. And besides that? My house, my rules.” He crossed his arms over his chest and waited to see how she’d respond to that.

The obvious reaction was going to be outrage. Possibly name calling. Ben was prepared. Hell, he even welcomed it. The sooner she got out what was pissing her off, the sooner he could relax and focus on the things he needed to—like the book and the backlog of work waiting for him in the workshop.

“I’d tell you what I think of your rules, but you’re a smart guy, Ben. I’m sure you can figure it out.” And with that, Darcy turned and walked down the stairs to get her satchel.

Um, what just happened? he wondered. How was it possible that she somehow managed to get the last word without answering him? Again?

He could follow her, but that would be so obvious, she was probably expecting it. So he quickly thought outside the box.

And went up to the guest room to wait for her.

He didn’t have to wait long. Five minutes later, Darcy came strolling in, looking at her phone. It was obvious she didn’t see him reclining against the pillows on her bed at first, but when she did, she screamed.

“What the hell?” she cried, her hand fluttering to her chest.

“We weren’t done talking,” he said, tucking his hands behind his head and grinning. “So I figured I’d wait for you.”

Hanging her head, she sighed. “Are you always this stubborn?”

“Yup. Just ask Savannah. When we first met—”

“You know what?” she quickly interrupted. “I believe you.” Tossing her phone on the corner of the bed, Darcy moved around the room plugging in chargers and getting her devices hooked up. It didn’t take long, and soon she was back to staring at Ben.

“There’s a simple solution to all of this,” he reminded her.

Whatever it was, she really didn’t want to talk about it. Maybe that’s why it was bothering him so much, because it was obviously a big thing for her, and for the life of him, he didn’t remember doing anything that would cause this strong of a reaction.

Finally, she straightened and looked him in the eye. “Fine. Just remember, you asked.”

Ben instantly sat up and swung his legs off the bed.

“For starters, I am very good at what I do.”

He looked at her as if she was crazy. He didn’t remember critiquing her—out loud—about her work skills.

“Before I even had the chance to get started, you implied that I couldn’t possibly be qualified for this since I’m not Savannah.”

“That is not what I said, Darcy. You asked me—”

“And I think your crush on Savannah is completely inappropriate.”

He instantly jumped to his feet. “Excuse me?”

“She’s a married woman. A happily married woman with a child, and your feelings for her are wrong!” she shouted.

And then she began to pace.

“And on top of that, they’re inappropriate.”

“What the hell are you talking about?”

“Seriously?” she asked sarcastically as she stopped and stared at him. “You’re going to stand here and deny that you have feelings for her?”

“Of course I have feelings for her! Savannah and I are friends, Darcy. Good friends. If you read anything more into that, then that’s on you, not me.”

“Spoken like someone who’s trying not to look guilty,” she said snarkily.

“You know what? You’re crazy! Genuinely crazy!” Ben said as he moved away from her. “I don’t know where you got any of this, but you’re wrong. And honestly, when did I ever say I had a crush on her?” He paused but not long enough for her to reply. “And you want to know what else? It doesn’t matter. We’re friends. That’s it. Nothing more.”

“Uh-huh. Sure. Whatever.”

Raking his hand through his hair in frustration, he put plenty of distance between them, because he was on the verge of strangling her. “Why don’t you tell me what was so inappropriate?” he prompted, using air quotes for emphasis.

“It was everything,” she said without hesitation. “The way you talk about her… It’s just so damn obvious!”

“Really?” he deadpanned. “It’s obvious? For who? Because you’re the only one who thinks that.”

Rolling her eyes, she immediately returned to pacing. “Look, I already knew you were going to deny it, but please stop. Savannah is a married woman and you just…you just need to back off.”

“You’re infuriating, you know that? You think you have all the answers to everything, and God forbid—” He gasped mockingly. “You’re wrong.” The bored look on her face told him that he wasn’t getting anywhere with her, and knowing that continuing to protest would add fuel to her fire, Ben decided he would go another way. “Have you already talked to Savannah about this?”

The look of surprise on her face told him she was ready for more denials. Good. He enjoyed keeping her on her toes, even if it was over a completely ridiculous topic.

“Uh, no. I had planned to, but then the whole weather thing happened, and I haven’t had the opportunity.”

He nodded. “And your brother?”

Another eye roll. “Why would I do that?” She huffed with irritation. “Look, can we just do this book thing and then you can…I don’t know…go away?”

What happened next couldn’t be helped.

Hell, Ben wasn’t even sure he would have if he could.

He laughed.

Like an honest-to-goodness hearty laugh.

The look of pure indignation on Darcy’s face just made him laugh even harder. Did she have any idea how insane all of this was? How ludicrous?

“What’s so funny?” she demanded, and that just made Ben laugh even harder. “Stop it! This is serious!”

Again, he just kept laughing.

Couldn’t seem to stop.

His entire body hurt from it.

“Dammit, Ben! Stop!” Darcy stomped her foot, as if that was going to intimidate him enough to calm down. Then she started walking toward him. She wasn’t tall by any stretch of the imagination. He’d put her at five foot four tops. And when she looked up at him—and he was six foot—she should have been the one intimidated.

But she wasn’t.

He was all set for her to start yelling at him again, and this time, he did try to stop laughing. It was almost down to a chuckle when she shoved him. Hard.

“Hey!” he yelled, and then it struck him as funny again.

“You want to keep laughing? Well, you can laugh someplace else. I’m done.”

Another shove.

Actually, she was pretty damn strong for being so small.

“And if you think for one minute I’m going to let someone like you—or anyone—break up my brother’s marriage, you’ve got another think coming,” she was muttering behind him.

And that’s when it stopped being funny.

Although she did manage to get one more shove in before he could turn around and say anything.

“You know what?” he snapped. “That’s enough.”

She didn’t look the least bit fazed.

“It doesn’t matter what I say, you’re not going to listen, and you’re certainly not going to believe me. Obviously, there’s nothing I can do about it, and honestly, there isn’t anything I want to do about it. You think you know something? Fine. Go call Savannah and talk to her, and when you realize you were wrong, you can apologize. But for now, we are going to have to agree to disagree.”

“No, we’re—”

“Yes, we are,” he interrupted. “I’m not going to keep having this argument with you for the next couple of days. I refuse. So if you want to keep it up, then you can do it alone, because I’ve got nothing left to say on the subject.”

“Because you know I’m right,” she said smugly, crossing her arms over her chest.

“Agree to disagree,” he said just as smugly, mimicking her pose.

He could practically see the steam coming from her ears.

“I…you…”

“The way I see it,” he began reasonably, “you can stay up here and pout for the rest of the night. No big deal to me. But it’s still early. We could go downstairs and watch some TV and relax and put all of this behind us. That’s what I’m voting for. And you did mention wanting to bake.” He gave her a lopsided grin in hopes of lightening the mood. “You can make as big of a mess as you want, and I’ll do the cleanup.”

For a minute, he thought he had her. Her entire body seemed to relax, and there weren’t daggers shooting out of her eyes anymore.

She took a step toward him, and it was just enough that he took a step back. And before he knew it, he was out in the hallway, and she was in the guest room and…

The door was slammed in his face.

* * *

It had been a long time since a door slam had felt this satisfying, Darcy thought. But she didn’t allow herself the luxury of relishing the victory. Instead, she marched over and grabbed her phone as she plopped on the bed. Doing a quick scroll through her contacts, she stopped and hit Send.

“Hello?”

“Three days! I have been waiting to talk to you for three days! Didn’t you get my text?”

Anna Shaughnessy yawned loudly before answering. “Yes, I got your text, and I’m sorry I didn’t call. Kaitlyn has the flu, and Quinn is freaking out about getting it, and I think I’m teetering on it. It’s a whole…fluey thing.”

“Ew.”

“Tell me about it,” Anna said wearily. “Let’s just say I didn’t know such a small person could vomit that much.”

“I could have gone my entire life without that image in my head.”

“Sorry. So what’s going on? What are you freaking out about?”

Darcy told her everything, and by the time she was done, she was breathless. Falling on the bed, she sighed. “And can you believe he had the nerve to stand here and deny it? To my face? I mean, why? Why would he do that?”

“Um, maybe because he’s telling the truth?”

That had Darcy sitting straight up again. “What? How can you even say that? Weren’t you paying attention to what I told you? He was practically gushing as he talked about her!”

Anna was quiet for a minute. “Question—do you have any friends who are guys? And who are just friends?”

“Of course I do. What does that have to do with anything?”

“Do you laugh with them?”

“Sure. I mean, sometimes we joke around and get silly and—”

“And when you talk about them or describe them to people, do you maybe, you know, compliment them? Say only good things? Or perhaps gush?”

Uh-oh. Um… “I do. But this was different. I’m telling you—”

“Darcy, I believe what you’re telling me. And I think maybe you just took it all a little out of context. They’re friends and you’re her sister-in-law, so he was maybe just praising her because the two of you are related.”

“Maybe…” Oh. No.

“Did you even talk to Savannah, or did you just pounce on Ben?”

“I kind of hinted at it, but she was pretty oblivious.”

“Then why are you obsessing about this? Is Ben a pain to work with?”

“Yes!”

“Really? How?”

“He refuses to listen to my suggestions, he argues with me a lot, and…and I can tell he was annoyed with the whole thing!”

Anna sighed. “Didn’t Savannah warn you of this? That he wasn’t easy to work with? I mean, even I remember her saying that about him a time or two.”

“Okay, fine. Yes. She warned me, but—”

“Has he been rude to you in any other way?”

“No.”

“Okay. And it sounds like you cleared the air with him tonight.”

“Sort of.”

“If you haven’t, then you need to. He opened his home to you, and he came and helped you out so you weren’t stranded at the airport.”

“I would have survived.”

Anna chuckled. “Let me ask you something. Where are you right now?”

“Um, at Ben’s.”

“No, more specifically, where are you right now in Ben’s house?”

“In the guest room.”

“And where are you sitting?”

“On the bed.”

“Did you take a shower yet?”

“No.” It didn’t take a genius to see where she was going with this. “Okay, fine. This is a million times better than being stuck at the airport. I won’t be sleeping on the floor, I can shower, and I have privacy. I get it.”

“Have you even thanked him?”

“Believe it or not, I did.” Or at least she thought she did.

“Darcy…”

“I think in one of our conversations I did. But there’s been a lot of things on my mind.”

“Where is Ben right now?”

“Downstairs. But it doesn’t matter where he is. I’m going to stay up here tonight and maybe—”

“Start fresh in the morning?”

Sighing, Darcy said, “Yes.”

“Good girl.”

“But what do I do, Anna?”

Anna sighed. “You know you may have to face the fact that you’re wrong here, don’t you? There’s a good chance his comments were innocent, and you read more into it than there is. And then what are you going to do? Are you going to apologize to Ben? To Savannah?”

Maybe.

Or not.

“I don’t know,” she replied honestly.

“Sleep on it. And keep away from Ben for tonight. I think that’s best. A good night’s sleep will put everything into perspective. Personally, I…” Anna paused and then cursed. “Darce? I have to go. Kaitlyn’s throwing up and Quinn just ran by me with her.”

“Gross. Fine, go, and I’ll talk to you soon. I hope she feels better.”

“Me too. Thanks. Bye!”

Turning the phone off, Darcy put it on the nightstand and sighed.

And then cursed.

What if I’m wrong? she wondered. What if I misinterpreted the whole damn thing? What if I’ve been acting like a crazy person to a really nice—and attractive—guy?

Maybe this is why I can’t seem to find Mr. Right—because I’m crazy.

These were questions she just couldn’t answer right now. So rather than sitting there obsessing, she decided a nice soak in the tub sounded like the perfect thing to do.

Standing up, she stretched and walked across the hall to check out the bathroom again. Flipping on the light, she saw it was a fairly standard soaker tub. No jets or anything special, but the thought of just sitting and relaxing made her very happy. She started the water and then went to get her things.

Five minutes later, she had a pair of pajamas and a clean pair of underwear with her, a book, and two amazingly fluffy towels. Closing the bathroom door, she stripped, clipped up her hair, and tested the water. Perfect temperature, she thought, and groaned with pleasure as she settled in.

It felt glorious, and it was doing wonders in helping her release some of her tension. The last thing she wanted to do was move from this position. It had been a stressful day, and this was the first time she felt herself relax. If the tub had jets, she’d contemplate sleeping in here. But it didn’t and she couldn’t.

She wondered if Ben’s bathroom had a soaker tub. His bedroom had been pretty spectacular, and she wished she had gotten a glimpse of the rest of his space.

Stop thinking about Ben! she admonished herself, because it opened the door for all kinds of thoughts, and in her current position, most of them were sexy. With a sigh, she forced herself to carefully pick up her book. It didn’t take long to realize that it was a mistake—a couple who hadn’t seen one another in years find themselves snowed in together over Christmas…

“Great. What is the universe trying to tell me?” Part of her wanted to chuck the book across the room, but she really was a sucker for a holiday romance. And under normal circumstances, she’d find the whole snowed in together trope to be very romantic.

“Screw it. I’m reading.”

When she felt the water starting to cool, Darcy forced herself to pop the drain and climb out. Within minutes, she was out and dried off and slipping into her pajamas. She pulled the clip from her hair and shook it out. Tomorrow morning, she’d take a shower to help wake herself up, and then she could put the effort in to look decent. But for tonight?

Why bother?