Page 37 of Standing Still

“I know I am,” she says smugly.

“Yeah, except it won’t prove anything. It’s not the same thing.”

Her mouth drops open, but she leans forward. “From my perspective, it is. It’s putting you out of your comfort zone, going somewhere you never thought you would ever have to go, only I’m not asking you to make a commitment that will change the course of your life.”

“That’s the most ridiculous thing I’ve heard you say. Besides, I can’t do it even if I wanted to. I can’t leave the business with a man down. I don’t have enough staff for that.”

“You must have days off, Ben.”

“One, maybe.”

“I don’t believe you work six days a week. You weren’t working today.”

“I was,” I huff out.

“Oh, so this was work? All this?” she waves her hand around my parents’ back yard. There is a look of disappointment in her eyes.

I blow out a breath. She’s twisting my words. “Maybe it started that way…” My brow creases and I look down at Jedi, he whines, probably picking up on the tension that’s growing between us. “But it’s been kinda fun.”

“Could you sound anymore begrudging,” she arches a brow at me.

I laugh and pat Jedi’s head when he gets up and stretches, with a huge yawn.

“Maybe the point of the whole thing is foryouto realize there is more to life,” Elle suggests. “Maybe us sharing a moment of each other’s lives shows us we’ve both been standing still and maybe it’s time to shake things up. In fact, the more I think about it, the more I’m wondering if that wasn’t dad’s plan all along.

"So, why shouldn’t I turn the tables? If you want me to experience it, to make the choice you want me to make, then you should return the favor. And yeah, you might have no intention of ever moving to New York,” she chuckles at that. “But you might like it. Why should I be the only one to try this? Fairs fair, Ben. Don’t you think?”

I hadn’t thought about any of this the way she has. Would Acer really be that devious or have seen anything that deeply? We didn’t talk about Elle much, but Acer kept a photograph of her in his office. It wasn’t in plain sight, but I knew it was there. He’d taken me under his wing when I started working there.

Could this really be about him trying to get us to mend fences? But why let this be easy on her? Why let her think her little idea to give me a glimpse into her life is a good one? I’m not gonna make it that easy.

I stare straight into her eyes, remaining completely still, then smile slowly. “Nope.”

Chapter Fifteen

“You’re impossible.” I throw my hands up.

Jedi barks, making me jump. I look at him just as he yawns. I glance around. We’re alone out here, and the sky is in that beautiful navy-blue stage just before full darkness. I didn’t realise how late it was.

“And your idea is nuts,” he tells me, then pushes his chair back and gets up. The dog prances at his feet and barks a couple more times. “Shut it, Jedi,” he tells the dog. “The neighbors don’t need to be hearing you yapping.”

I’ve hit a nerve, and he doesn’t like it. I did go a little overboard, thinking back on what I said. I basically told him he’s settled, and his life is stagnating. Shit. That is so not what I want to do. When I came over here, finally able to have a moment alone, I was going to talk about what happened on the boat.

I hadn’t planned on telling him what I’d been up to in terms of Day Away Fishing. It wasn’t until the words poured out of me I realized it was a mistake. Not to mention why the hell did I invite him to New York? It’s actually laughable the thought of Ben Daniels in New York.

“Come on, I need to get you home, it’s late,” Ben says and at first I think he’s talking to the dog, but he’s looking at me.

“No more plans for the evening?” I say, rising and pushing the chair back under the table.

“Such as?” he smirks.

My cheeks heat and I bite my lip. “Maybe… we should talk about that… kiss.”

“Kiss?” he asks. Not in aquestioning whether it even happenedkind of way, more in a ‘that was a hell of a lot more than a kiss’tone. “What exactly do you want to say about it, Elle?”

My mouth moves as I try to think of something to say. What I want to say is, let’s do it again, but that would be wrong. Right? Ben takes a step closer to me. I can feel the heat of his body, smell the sea air and cologne on his skin. He towers over me, looking down at me.

“It was fucking hot,” he near whispers, leaning slightly towards my ear. “So much so, I had to jerk off in the bathroom earlier.”

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