Your One True Love (The Bennett Family 8)

Chapter Twenty

Caroline

On Halloween morning, I decide to kick off the day with an early run and manage to rope Daniel into joining me.

“Whoa, I didn’t know your physical condition is this good,” Daniel complains. We’re both sweating and panting when we enter his apartment, but this was a fantastic run. I love the boost of energy after a thorough cardio training.

I finish stretching in his living room, but Daniel grabs his smartphone, leaning against the bar counter separating the living room from the kitchen area, slipping into what I like to call his “business mode.” Despite it being Saturday, he’ll be caught up in a meeting the entire day, and we’ll meet directly at his parents’ house this afternoon.

His expression turns grim the longer he looks at the screen.

“Nope, you’re not allowed to frown this early in the morning. What can possibly have gone wrong already?”

He scowls. “Remember I said I’m putting all celebrity events on hold? Well, it’s proving to be more difficult than I anticipated. Managed to either cancel or pass on to other companies, but Beatrix won’t let me off the hook. She doesn’t want someone else handling her bachelorette party. It’s in two weekends, in LA.”

Sitting on the floor, I pause in the act of stretching one calf, feeling suddenly cold. “Beatrix Mercier? Your ex?”

Ouch. Beatrix used to be one of the lead models in the Bennett Show, and she and Daniel had an on-again, off-again relationship for some time, at least if the tabloids are to be believed.

Daniel unhitches himself from the counter, joins me on the floor. “I wouldn’t call her that.”

I cock a brow. “What would you call her?”

“A friend. We had a one-night stand when we first met, but afterward, we were just friends.”

“Really?”

He rubs little circles on the back of my right hand, kissing my shoulder. “Really. The rest of it was the media making things up.”

“Probably because the two of you looked incredibly good together in pictures.” Fiddling with my thumbs in my lap, I fight the jealousy bug with all my might, but there’s no escaping it. Beatrix is the type of beauty that can’t be achieved through healthy eating or exercising alone. She has a genetic predisposition to perfection, and she’s engaged to one of the hottest A-list actors.

“So, how will you handle this?”

“Depends on you.”

My stomach jolts. “What do you mean?”

“I can tell her to bugger off, which is going to cost me some future business. Or I can go forward with the whole thing, but I’d be handling it myself because I don’t trust my team at this point.”

“Don’t cancel on my behalf,” I say, still fiddling with thumbs. “I don’t want to cost you your business.”

Daniel cups the side of my face, tilting my head up until I’m looking at him. “We’re building something here. I won’t jeopardize what we have for a deal. If you aren’t comfortable with this, say the word and I’ll cancel.”

Oh, this sweet man. My chest rises and falls quickly as I shift on the floor until I’m almost straddling him. “Don’t cancel, Dan. Anyway, she’s getting married, so I assume she’s not going to spend her bachelorette party tempting you.”

“Exactly. But Caroline? Even if she would, I wouldn’t be tempted.” He points with his finger between us. “This, here, is all I want. Us.”

“See? No reason to cancel.”

He laughs, pulling both of us to our feet, which is when I realize I’m a hot mess. My hair and my clothes cling to me, and there are rings of perspiration under my arms. Yikes. I need to hop in the shower right away. Daniel on the other hand isn’t a hot mess, he’s just hot. His clothes cling to him, highlighting the strength of his biceps, the defined lines of his abs. I can even make out the V-shaped lines under the fabric of his shirt. It’s almost as if he’s naked. The operative word being almost. Ah, what I wouldn’t give for a peek at his sweaty skin. I drink him in as discreetly as possible.

“You’re insatiable, aren’t you?”

Whoops. I guess I wasn’t that discreet after all. I could try to dispute the accusation, but why deny?

“Can’t help it. Not when I know what’s under your clothes. Makes me want to take them off, jump your bones. It’s been a while.”

“We made love before our run.”