Page 13 of Hush

Elise grinned. “Nope. I’m two years younger.” She eyed Ben, and the sparkle in her eye sent a shiver through him.Not gay. Whew.A giant bubble of relief popped in his brain.

He greeted the sisters.

“You two know each other?” Kelly asked, his eyebrows arching up.

“He operated on my son this week,” Elise offered.

“Oh,” Kelly replied, giving them a quick glance before launching back into his story about a patient in the E.R. with a thumbtack lodged in his airway.

“So when he was attaching the crepe paper to the ceiling, one of the tacks fell into his throat. It must have lined up perfectly.”

“It went all the way into his lungs?” Kelly’s date asked. “That’s crazy.”

“I could see it on the X-ray,” Kelly added. “We got him right to surgery.”

“That was today?” Caitlin asked.

“Yesterday,” Kelly replied.

Kelly’s date, a blonde woman in an ugly Santa sweater and a short skirt with white tights slid an arm around his waist. “Nothing exciting like that ever happens at the garden shop,” she said on a sigh.

Kelly placed his hand over her shoulder. “I can be all the excitement you need, baby,” he crooned.

The woman giggled, then pushed off from him, tugging him toward the drink table.

“How’s Jaden doing?” Ben asked Elise.

“Okay, I think,” Elise replied, sipping from her mug. “He’s at his father’s,” she added.

Ben thought back to the tournament earlier. Who had been watching Jaden while Garrett played ball?

“You play basketball with Mark,” Elise said. “That’s why you’re here.”

“And you’re friends with Shelly,” Ben said, trying not to stare at the deep, plunging neckline of her dress, which revealed a slice of creamy skin. He detected that scent again, like almonds, but spicier tonight. He was beginning to believe it wasn’t something she wore—that it was just part of her somehow. He wondered if her skin would taste just as good, but he shoved the thought away as his blood began to simmer.

“Sort of?” Elise said. “I mean, we’re in a class together, yeah. I think she invited all of us.”

“I think I’ve seen you there,” Ben said, willing his cock to stay dormant. “Is it ballet or something?”

“Yes, though the teacher mixes it up with some modern, too.”

Ben nodded. “I’ve heard it’s a great workout,” he said.

Elise raised her eyebrows. “You should try it.”

“Ha,” he laughed. “Okay, you come play basketball with me and it’s a deal.”

A look of scorn crossed her face. “I’m not much for team sports.”

“I could teach you,” Ben said, taking a sip of his wine.

An expression flickered over her features that dashed all hopes of his cock behaving—a look that could easily pass for curiosity.Easy, there, he told himself.Remember that little clause about patient-doctor privileges.

“Uh, I’m just going to go get more…snack mix,” Caitlin said, slipping away.

Ben and Elise both paused, and a pink blush crept up Elise’s neck.

“I wasn’t going to come tonight,” Elise said, recovering her composure.

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