Page 58 of Blame It On Midnight

Millie Sue shrugged. “He’s home with Josh, who woke up with a fever this morning, so who knows?”

A local band, the Honey Bees, took to the stage. Three sisters who played guitar, fiddle, and bass, while singing their hearts out. Millie Sue told Collins that Cal had just signed them to his own record label, something he’d been working on for the last few years, and the ladies were in the process of recording their first record out at the studio he’d built on the Triple B.

Collins enjoyed their music, while running her butt off, and when she spied Bunny and David, standing near the entrance of the Sundowner, she pushed her way through the crowd and brought them to the corner of the bar, where a couple of guys gave up their seats. By this time, it was pushing nine o’clock, and she’d been on her feet for four hours.

“What an amazing place this is,” Bunny said, leaning over so that Collins could hear her. “It’s so…authentic.”

“It is.” Authentic and laid back. No one cared who she was. For a girl who’d grown up in a well-known family, a girl used to paparazzi and in-your-face fans, a girl who was used to seeing her photos everywhere, the anonymity was amazing.

“Do you guys want a drink? Menu?”

“I’d like to eat,” David replied. “And I’ll take whatever’s on tap.”

“Do they have wine?” Bunny asked.

“Special, for folks like you.” Collins winked and handed them a menu, then got their drinks. They were still working on their food choices when Jo asked her to take a menu and a bottle of Bud over to a table back near the kitchen. “Number thirty-two,” Jo shouted over the din.

“Sure.” She grabbed the beer and a menu, then slipped through the crowd. Smiled at some of the regulars she’d gotten to know, and even at some she didn’t. She’d been in a funk since Sunday and thankfully, being here helped to ease that burden. Her heart was unsure, and she’d never been so confused in her life.

She walked up to table thirty-two, mind on other things, and set down the menu before handing over the bottle in her hand. Collins glanced up and froze. Benton leaned against the table, a soft, sexy smile on his face.

“Hey,” he said, taking the bottle from her.

Holy. Mother. Of. God.

The blood in her body froze. Her mind blanked. Goosebumps spread across her skin, bringing with them the shakes. Her mouth was dry, and her heart worked double-time, making her feel hot and cold and weak.

Benton Bridgestone was, hands down, the sexiest man in the world. His dark hair waved around his neck, his eyes glittered from the lights from the stage, and that mouth of his made her think of dark and needful things. He wore a plain white T-shirt, jeans that fit like a dream, and as his smile spread across his face, she resisted the urge to jump his bones. Right there. In public.

That was how visceral her reaction to him was.

“Hi,” she managed to reply. A miracle, because her lips were dry, and her mouth, now working, was filled with sawdust.

“I needed to see you.” His words were plain. To the point. And they made her heart sing. “Been watching you work for a couple of hours.”

“You’ve been here since seven?”

He nodded.

“Why didn’t you come over and say hello?”

His eyes fell away, and he cleared his throat. He seemed unsure. Vulnerable. And not only was her heart singing, but it also melted. Right then and there. Her heart was a puddle of goop on the sticky floor at his feet.

“I felt that something was off, and I don’t like feeling that way.” He looked directly into her eyes. “I needed to see you, but you’re busy and I don’t?—”

She grabbed the menu. Pressed her body up against his and dropped a kiss to his mouth. She lingered. Tasted him a bit. Someone wolf-whistled, and she smiled. “Come with me.”

She didn’t give Benton a chance to reply or to react. She grabbed his free hand and led him through the throngs of bodies, aware that a good number of folks were watching the two of them. She didn’t stop until she was at the bar and then pointed to the end where Bunny and David sat.

“You can squeeze in here and keep me company while I work. If you want to.”

Benton leaned real close. So close she could see the ring of hazel that surrounded his iris. So close that she could see the pulse at his neck. It was beating kinda fast. Just like hers.

“I want to.”

“Good.” She smiled and led the way over. Spell broken, she smiled and turned to her friends. “Benton, this is Bunny and her brother David. They’re staying at Duffer’s Place.”

“Evening, Ma’am,” he said, before nodding to David.

---