At First Blush (A Well Paired Novel Book 1) by Marianne Rice (13)

Alexis stretched, a slow smile creeping its way across her face. Never had she been so thoroughly touched and kissed and loved. Turning to stare at Ben in his sleep, she frowned at the empty space beside her. It was still dark out, even though it was six. The sun would show itself soon, but in the meantime her apartment was incredibly dark and incredibly quiet.

She stilled, listening for signs of Ben in the bathroom or kitchen. Nothing. She didn’t have to get out of bed to know he’d left. As soon as she’d rolled over she felt the emptiness.

Of course he would leave. Why wouldn’t he? That’s what men did.

They hung out with her, wined and dined her at times, and as soon as they got their rocks off, they were gone. It wasn’t like she’d dated many men. Maybe one a year, and would only see him a few times.

With each new prospective boyfriend, she’d hoped he’d find her interesting. Worth more than a few dates. She was getting too old for this and the last thing she wanted to turn into was the town whore.

There hadn’t been much wining and dining…Ben hadn’t even sampled Crystal Ice. So he’d come three thousand miles for the stellar sex? Maybe. Doubtful though. A little piece of Alexis hoped he was downstairs or in the barn with her father, but she knew better than to wishful think.

Rushing through her morning duties, and not ready to wash off Ben’s scent, she filled Hemmy’s food and water dish, poured coffee in her travel mug, bundled up, and fled down her stairs, Hemmy at her heels.

Once outside the dog ran off to do his business and Alexis searched the barn and chicken coop. No signs of Ben. His car wasn’t parked out front or over by her parents’ house. He was gone. Just like all the others.

Only this time he took away the only piece of her heart she had left.

---

After her morning chores were done, Alexis took out her phone, making notes and listing questions for the contractors. In less than a week they’d be converting her apartment and the empty space next to it into a function hall. While there was little outside work to be done other than basic cosmetics, the interior walls needed to be knocked down, and additional electricity and plumbing installed.

Hopefully she wouldn’t get kicked out of her apartment too soon. She still had yet to decide where to move. Her old room at her parents’ place would be temporary. Very temporary. Alexis needed her space, and while she loved her parents, she would blow her top if she had to live with them twenty-four seven.

They spent every day together, a little space and privacy at night was needed. Needing to know how soon she’d be homeless, she sent a quick text to Ty Parker.

Ty had a few years on her, and since he played soccer in the fall instead of football, they never hung around the same social circles. Most of the soccer players at the time came from Woodbine, and Ty spent most of his time in the neighboring town. They knew each other though, as one does in a small town.

Alexis’s cell chimed as she stuck it in her pocket. Pulling it out again, she read the reply from Ty and sighed in relief. She sent him a quick thanks and pocketed her cell again. He thought it would be another few weeks before needing to tear down her walls. It would give her time to pack and look for a rental in the area.

There was no shortage of empty rooms during winter season. Some of the summer people rented out their cabins in the winter, but never had much business. Crystal Cove wasn’t near a ski resort and was out of the way to the snowmobile trails.

Many residents rode around their properties and on some of the tote roads, but the diehard snowmobilers went inland and up north where the trails were wide and groomed. Alexis made a mental note to stop by M. Button Real Estate after lunch.

Hemmy shook his massive coat of fur, snow and water flying all over the place, and she made another note to block out an hour to brush him down. She’d need to make sure her rental allowed dogs as well.

Rubbing down Hemmy with the oversized towel she kept in her stairwell, she let her thoughts drift to last night. Her body had been sore this morning when she rolled out of bed, and had she not been so hurt at Ben’s screw-and-run, she may have actually lavished in the aches and pains, the heightened sensitivity down there. Instead, she busied herself with the mundane.

Once the dog was as dry as possible, she followed him into the apartment and hung her coat on the hook. Her life was so routine it was pathetic. The winter blues, March Madness, whatever you wanted to call it, was here, slapping Alexis in the face as frequently as a politician tells a lie.

Last winter she’d survived just fine, spending her downtime with her nose in her computer researching everything there was to know about ice wine.

Some said the wine aged better with the years while other resources said only weeks or months was necessary to develop the sweet flavors. Patience had always been on her side, but she was giddy with excitement to try her new wine.

She’d sell some bottles this summer and keep the rest in the tasting room to age. The only way to know how long it would last was to taste it regularly. Which was a task she was more than willing to keep up with.

With her research done and her baby bottled, now she could work on marketing.

Alexis dropped to the couch, propped her feet on the ottoman and Hemmy jumped up next to her, taking up more than his share of space. She knew she should never have allowed him on the furniture, with his hair covering everything from floor to ceiling and his frame taking up more room than a man.

Like Ben. Although they never sat together on the couch, their time being spent in the bedroom, a little in the kitchen.

She reached for her laptop and caught the bright blue bottle of Crystal Ice in the corner of her eye. Alexis thunked her head against the back of the couch and tilted her head, eying the untouched bottle. Wasn’t that why Ben came back to Maine? To sample the fruit of their labor?

A yellow piece of paper that she hadn’t noticed earlier stuck out from beneath the bottle. Moving Hemmy’s ginormous head from her lap, she got up and read the note.

She’d been in such a rush to get away this morning she hadn’t noticed the bottle or the note. A smile tugged at her lips. Maybe he wasn’t the jackass she thought he was. Then again, Brandon had emailed her during his first months in college. It was seeing each other face to face that changed. Unable to make eye contact and ignored emails and phone calls eventually led to animosity.

As the years stretched, the animosity lessened, Alexis realizing it was never love to begin with, only her first high school crush, and she eventually pushed the sad series of events to the back of her mind. It was only when she met Ben that she began to draw similarities between the men.

But the situation with Ben was totally different. He wasn’t her best friend. They’d only known each other for a month, and even that was a loose number. A few dinners and a bout of sex did not a relationship make.

She rubbed the note between her fingers, her gaze clouding with confusion. The turmoil in her chest could be easily avoided as long as Alexis kept her head on straight and her heart in check. Whatever this thing was between her and Ben was a casual affair.

Enjoyable sex and a mutual love of wine.

A knock on her rarely used front door sent Hemmy barking. “Easy, boy. You’re going to scare whoever it is away.” The door would be the new entryway to the function hall and the narrow driveway would be widened to make a parking lot for guests.

As the days passed and she had too much free time on her hand, Alexis was able to picture the function hall in all its glory as well as the landscape and new set up around the perimeter of the building.

A patio, a walkway leading from the main entrance and sloping down the hill toward the back of the building to the tasting room. A gazebo with stairs on one side and a path lined with flowers and shrubbery on the other.

Alexis opened the door to a man with a package. She peeked around him and read a courier company’s logo on the side of his minivan.

“I have a package for Alexis Le Blanc.”

Hemmy sniffed at the tall man’s crotch and she shooshed him away. “That’s me,” she said skeptically.

“Great. If you can sign here.” He tucked the box under his arm and held out his clipboard and pen. She signed and traded the clipboard for the package. “Have a good day.”

“Yeah. You, too.” She closed the door behind her and set the box on the counter, Hemmy’s nose doing a thorough inspection first, nudging it to her as if saying, Open it!

She dug around in her junk drawer for a pair of scissors and cut through the tape, opening the cardboard flaps. Layers of pink tissue paper greeted her, and a rush of something delicate, maybe lavender. Peeling back the layers of paper, Alexis was shocked to find pale pink lingerie.

Picking it up by its thin straps, she examined the material. It wasn’t overly trampy or see- through. The top part had an overlay of lace, just over the bust area and a lace trim on the bottom.

Alexis held it against her body, the hem resting a few inches below her crotch. Definitely not something to walk around the house in. She flipped it over and gasped. The back, or lack-there-of, consisted of crisscross straps, the pink material starting somewhere near her butt.

Hemmy stuck his nose in the box, causing it to fall to the floor. She let him play with the box but picked out the tissue paper first and discovered an envelope inside.

Nervous to read it, even though she knew who it was from, she slid her finger under the flap and pulled out the card.

The second note she read from him today. The first made her heart flutter. The second made her breathless. She clutched the soft, pink silk and the card to her chest, suddenly aware of her increased heart rate.

Hemmy barked, snapping the life back into her. She loosened the grip on her gift, rubbing it against her cheek. Hemmy barked again and the magic was gone.

Ben sent her something he’d expect one of his tall, thin California girls to wear. And that, she was not. If he had a problem with her sports bra and comfortable underwear that didn’t ride up her butt, he could…well, he could stick his head up his own ass as far as she was concerned. She couldn’t let herself fall for him; he’d hurt her, disappoint her. Better to not have loved…

Alexis was a far cry from a Playboy bunny and refused to be treated as one. Buying her impractical undergarments was not the way to her heart. He couldn’t conform her into one of his playthings. If Ben Martelli knew her at all, he wouldn’t have sent her something so ridiculous.

Flowers and sexy lingerie were for Grace, or even Hope, or the new girl Lily who ran the spa. They looked the part. Alexis liked her clothes comfortable, her steak rare, and her wine traditional.

Her men…she hadn’t a clue. She didn’t have a type. But if she did, it wouldn’t be an Italian who had a thing for fast cash and faster cars. She found a shopping bag from the cabinet and tossed the tissue paper and pink silk in it.

Needing a shower, she stripped on her way to the bathroom and attempted to ignore Ben’s scent as it washed off her body. When she was clean and wrapped in her flannel robe, Alexis headed to the kitchen to make a cup of tea. A flash of pink caught her eye and she scrunched her nose as she eased her way toward the bag she’d carelessly tossed aside before her shower.

A corner of silk hung outside the bag, taunting her with its delicate pattern and elegant shine. Looking around her apartment to make sure there were no witnesses—not that there would be—she crouched and caressed the fabric between her fingers. Soft, delicate, smooth as glass.

She peeked over her shoulder and was satisfied with Hemmy sound asleep on his doggy bed.

Clutching the lingerie to her chest as if hiding an exciting secret, she fled to her room and shut her door. Biting her lip, Alexis dropped her robe and slid into the soft silk. It felt incredible against her skin. Like a creamy, warm bath, whatever the heck that meant. She risked a look in the mirror and swallowed. Hard.

She didn’t look like an imposter or a tramp. The nightgown clung in all the right places, yet hung tastefully from her curves as well. The perfect balance of accenting her figure and providing comfort. Maybe she could do the sexy thing.

High school was a long time ago. She’d been hiding her curves for too long. It was time Alexis let her hair down—maybe only figuratively since it would only get in her way at work—and take some time to rediscover herself.

Even hit up a book club or two.

If she wanted Coastal Vines to be seen, she needed to start getting her face out there as well.

Just not alongside Benito Martelli’s.

He was a royal ass. He didn’t need his brother and sister to tell him. Again.

“You’ve known about this for five months and you’re just now telling us you got some girl pregnant? Mom and Dad are going to shit.”

“Thanks, E. I appreciate the support.”

Eamon was supposed to be the screw-up in the family, the younger brother, the playboy, not Ben.

“Let me get this straight,” Adrianna scowled over her wine, “you’re not even dating this girl?” She let out a litany of curses and insults in Italian. Being a mother of two, he expected more support from his sister. Some tips on the pregnancy thing.

Maybe meeting at Apollo’s Sports Bar wasn’t such a great idea.

“This is good. Even Nora’s staying out of trouble these days.” Eamon laughed into his beer.

No news was typically good news as far as their baby sister was concerned. Nearing thirty, and still bouncing from job to job, boyfriend to boyfriend, Nora had yet to commit to anything, even her family.

She’d spent a year in San Diego, a year in Los Angeles, even a year in San Francisco. They thought she’d be happy there, but last summer she moved up to Seattle, only coming home on holidays.

Or when she ran out of money.

“I’m doing everything I can to make sure Felicia and the baby are taken care of.”

“She moving in with you?”

Ben nearly choked on his beer. “Uh, no. You’ve met Felicia. Could you live with her?” He’d run into his brother once when out with Felicia a ways back. When she took in Eamon’s work jeans and boots, she’d snubbed her nose at him. They were pretty much over after that.

“How are you going to take care of a baby if you’re not together? Don’t tell me you’re going to be the kind of dad who sends a check every month but has nothing to do with his child,” Adrianna barked.

“Easy.” Ben covered his eyes with his hand and steadied his anger. “I have a few weeks to figure everything out.”

“Time is not on your side, Benito.”

Great, the full name. With their parents out of the country, Adrianna stepped in to be the mother hen. She was good at it. Too good.

“No matter what this woman is like, that baby inside her is yours. She’s a Martelli. My children’s cousin.”

“You’re sure the kid is yours?”

Leave it to E. “Yeah. The timing is right. We dated about a month.”

“Only a month with a woman and you couldn’t keep it in your pants,” Adrianna tsked. “Mama raised us better.”

“Says the sister who had a gunshot wedding and a baby seven months later.”

“Some day, Eamon, I hope you find true love. Jacob and I were dating for a year before we got pregnant.”

“Really, Anna? Before you did the nasty?”

“Enough, you two.” Ben sipped his whiskey sour, knowing he’d need something strong for this conversation, and rested his elbows on the table. “I could use your support, Anna, your advice. No, there’s no chance of Felicia and I getting back together—”

“Thank God,” both his siblings said.

“So what do I do besides pay for the medical bills? There isn’t anything I can do until the baby is born anyway.”

“That’s not true. Despite your feelings for the woman, the baby inside her is part of you. Go to her appointments. Listen to your child’s heartbeat. Talk to her.”

“Or him,” Eamon interrupted.

“Or him.” Anna rolled her eyes. “Those are precious moments you’ll regret later in life if you miss out on them. Talk to Jacob. He can tell you how special it was for us.”

“I don’t need anything to be special for us. I’ve made it clear to Felicia we’re not getting back together. But she’s insistent.”

“You still need to be part of the prenatal appointments.”

That meant limiting his trips to Maine. He’d ask Felicia for a print out of doctor’s appointments and work around them. Flying to the east coast took up a lot of time. He could work on the plane, but most of his job required him to meet with clients, visit companies, make phone calls.

And now he needed to attend doctor appointments.

First, though, he had a red eye flight to catch. He’d call Felicia when he returned and figure out what to do about the rest.

---

Maybe he should have called first. There was no sign of life coming from Alexis’s apartment and no one answered when he knocked on the downstairs door to the tasting room, or the front door to her apartment. Her car was parked in its usual spot so she had to be somewhere near.

Unless she was out with someone else…no, he wouldn’t think that way.

He took the path around the building, up the hill toward the front. She never used the door that faced the field, only the one through the tasting room. Most likely because that’s where the parking had been. The area was a mess, but he could see where the crew had zoned out the new parking area.

Ben took in the new arched doorway and peered through the windows, grinning at the construction zone inside. What was once Alexis’s kitchen was now an empty space, holes in the wall where cabinets once stood were patched and cans of paint primer scattered around.

From what he could see from the one window, the future function hall had been gutted and newly framed. Fast progress since he’d been here a month ago.

Hemmy hadn’t greeted him, which meant Alexis wasn’t around. Ben tromped through the fields, now a mess of mud, and noticed the expanded chicken coop and fenced area next to it. There weren’t any signs of other animals yet.

A loud engine greeted him as he rounded the barn and a laughing Alexis hopped down from the passenger seat of a work truck. A tall, linebacker looking man stepped from the driver’s seat and Hemsworth jumped out behind him. Ben’s stomach hardened as a burning sensation took over in his chest. The man was twice the size of Alexis. He dwarfed her, yet the three of them appeared happy together.

Never had Alexis directed that kind of carefree laughter his way. At least, not since she learned about his initial marketing plan for her winery.

His legs moved too fast, not giving him enough time to plan his words. “Alexis,” he barked.

Her head snapped back in surprise, her eyes widening in shock. She touched her throat and turned toward the beefy guy.

“Ty, I’ll be right in.”

The linebacker eyed Ben, giving him a once over and nodded toward the function hall. “I’ll be in there if you need me.”

“If you need him?” Ben growled. “Does he think I’m going to hurt you?” She called him Ty. He had to be the same contractor he’d contacted last month. Even so, he didn’t like his initial reaction at seeing Alexis with him.

“You would have to matter to me to hurt me.” Alexis picked up a stick and tossed it across the yard, Hemsworth chasing after it.

Her words stung. “I don’t matter?” Their night together meant something to him. What, he didn’t know. He wanted to call her every day. Hear her voice before he fell asleep and first thing each morning when he woke, but he couldn’t lead her on until he told her about the baby. Besides, between work, spending more time at Martevino’s and researching baby care, he didn’t have much time.

“I’m busy, Ben. So if you could tell me why you’re here…” She picked up a ball her dog had found and chucked it further than the stick had gone.

Ben took her shoulders in his hands and turned her toward him. “Did I do something wrong? You got my note, right? And the packages?”

He’d stopped at a boutique outside of Portland the morning he regrettably left her bed, and had a simple yet sexy piece of lingerie delivered to her via courier. The following week he sent her a fruit bouquet, thinking she’d appreciate the practicality in it rather than flowers. And not once had she called, texted or sent a thank you note.

Business meetings took up too much of his time one week and it wasn’t until last week that he sent her a case of his family’s wine. The really good stuff.

“Yup. Got them. Your secretary has nice taste. Thanks.”

“My secretary had nothing to do with those gifts.” She shrugged off his hands and stormed away toward what used to be her apartment. “You’re seeing him? Ty?” The words flew out of his mouth before he could stop them. Somehow he knew it wasn’t true but needed the reassurance.

Alexis stopped in her tracks and smacked his arm. “You’re an idiot.”

“I’ll agree with you there. Mind telling me what I did that pissed you off?” He didn’t know how to handle Alexis when he was in California. If he told her how he really felt, if he made too much contact with her, he was sure she’d push him away. But maybe he was wrong? The woman was as easy to read as Mandarin Chinese.

This time when Hemsworth returned with the ball he took it from the dog’s mouth and chucked it into the blueberry field.

“He’s getting old and has a hard time finding things lately.”

“We can help him later if he needs it. So tell me why your panties are in a twist.”

“Very mature. Classy even.” Alexis spun away from the apartment and marched toward the barn. He followed in her wake, unable to keep his gaze off her butt.

Her coat wasn’t as bulky as the one she wore in February. Her head hatless, her hands free of gloves. Yet the stonewall she built around her heart was harder to break through than the winter gear.

He closed the barn door behind them and leaned against the door, waiting for a response. She stood in the middle of the barn, her arms crossed, her body stiff and angry. They continued their stare down until Alexis caved.

“I’m not like the women you date…or sleep with.”

“Don’t I know it.”

“See?” She whipped her coat off and chucked it on a side table.

“See what?”

“The fancy gifts. The jetting across country on a whim. The charming Italian words you whisper while having sex.”

“I don’t talk in Italian during sex.”

“Uh, yeah you do.” She blushed and hid her head behind a bottling machine.

“No one has ever told me that before, so I’d say you’re the first. The only one.”

“No. I don’t think so.” Alexis toyed with levers and moved to piles of empty boxes, an obvious attempt to keep her hands busy and something in between them.

“Why can’t you believe that?”

“It’s in your Italian-Irish nature. You’re a…ladies man. You say words women want to hear and they fall into little puddles of wine at your feet, licking their way—never mind.” Her voice wavered while her hands fidgeting with the cuffs of her sleeves.

Ben appreciated her nerves, her insecurities. It meant, despite what she said, she did care. He did matter. And he didn’t think Alexis had much experience talking about her feelings. Growing up in the Martelli household, one did not hold back their feelings. Ever.

Expressing how he felt—anger, frustration, compassion, confusion, tenderness, although that didn’t happen often—was in his genes.

“Alexis.” He moved closer, still allowing her to keep the barrier of stacked boxes between them, and softened his voice. “There’s something between us we can’t deny. I want to keep seeing you. Sending you gifts makes me…happy. I enjoy finding things I think might bring a smile to your face.”

She looked up, her body tensing. “Your secretary?”

Ben shook his head. “I told you. My secretary would have sent roses. A bottle of Pinot Grigio.”

“I liked the Chianti.”

“I hoped you would.” He traced her ear with his fingertip, dragging it across her cheek, ending on her lips.

“Do you usually send women lingerie?”

Ben’s finger stilled on her mouth. It was always touch and go with Alexis. Knowing she’d prefer straight-up honesty over a bullshit answer, he continued outlining each curve of her lips. “I’ve never sent fruit to a woman before.” Her eyes narrowed and he returned her scowl with a cheeky grin. “This Ty guy?” He couldn’t help it if his voice cracked. If Ty meant something to Alexis he’d…hell, he didn’t know what he’d do.

She didn’t hide her amusement at his nerves and nipped at his finger. “You confuse the hell out of me, Benito Martelli. I don’t know whether to trust you or—”

“You can trust me, Alexis. Whatever our differences, I’m not a liar. I’m an arrogant businessman, I’ll admit, but I don’t cheat or steal from my clients. And I don’t lie, cheat, or steal in relationships either.”

He caught himself in his lie, his throat thickening. No, not a lie. The thing back home with Felicia wasn’t about a relationship, but if he wanted to move forward with Alexis she should know about the baby.

When he could figure out if they were going to move forward, he’d tell her. It wasn’t likely anything would come of their affair, though. Neither wanted a long distance relationship. Or at least Alexis hadn’t said anything about it. They had nothing in common other than their love of wine.

Yet something about the woman lured him in, pulled at heartstrings he thought were only written into Italian operas.

“That’s good to know,” Alexis said. “So what brings this surprise visit to Maine? Come to get your wine?”

“I’ve been thinking about how I want to sample this ice wine of yours.” He stepped around the barrier and grabbed at the loose fitting flannel shirt, tugging her into his body.

“Oh? Over dinner with Shane and Claudia, perhaps. You three seem to get along quite well.” Alexis’s lips lifted into a half smile, her eyebrow arching in jest.

Ben’s cheeks hurt from smiling so hard. “Is that what you want?” He liked playing the flirting game with Alexis. She wasn’t the coy type yet picked up on the fun banter rather quickly.

“If that’s what you want.”

Leaning into her, pressing his lips firmly against hers, he stayed motionless until his heart toned itself down from warp speed. “I want you to be happy,” he finally said against her lips.

“I’d be much happier if,” Alexis slid her hands under his sweatshirt, clutching at his back, “if you didn’t have all these clothes on.”