Page 47 of One Hot Rumor

I get up and slip my hand into Bennett's. "Call me Siobhan. And yes, I would love to dance with you."

"My mates call me Ben. I'd like it if you would too."

"Thank you, Ben."

He escorts me onto the dance floor, and we assume the usual position, not quite ballroom quality but good enough for a wedding. I see Richard and Maddie dancing too, but she has her cheek on his shoulder and her body pressed against him. I'd love to dance with Nick that way, but he kept it chaste, almost professional, when we danced. He seems nervous, though I can't figure out why. Maybe it's the scandal that's threatening his livelihood. He must be thinking about it a lot more now that he's come home to where the scandal caught fire.

Maybe that's why we're staying at his parents' house instead of wherever he lives. I've never asked if he has an apartment or a house. We've talked about a lot of things, but asking where he lives never occurred to me.

"How did you meet Nick?" I ask Bennett while we traverse the dance floor.

"Through the Dixons." He veers us away from Richard and Maddie, who seem so engrossed in each other that they're not paying attention to anything else. "I met Reese Dixon during our first year at uni. He was studying business, and I was working on my qualifying law degree. Anyway, Richard Hunter is best mates with Chance Dixon, so I met the twins when Reese invited me to his birthday at his parents' house. I've been mates with all of them ever since."

"It's great that you boys have stayed friends for so long." I hesitate, then ask, "If you planned on becoming a lawyer, how did you end up as a massage therapist?"

"Turns out I hate all that legal rubbish. After three years of having my nose buried in the law so I could get my degree, I'd had enough. I never became a solicitor."

"Why did you finish your law degree if you hated it? Couldn't you switch majors?"

"I'm sure I could have, but my parents insisted I had to become a solicitor." He sighs and shuts his eyes briefly. "I disappointed them. Didn't mean to, but I just couldn't commit my life to the law."

"How long have you worked for Nick?"

"Five years. He encouraged me to go for the qualification course, and he let me watch him at work, with his clients' permission, so I could get a feel for the job. As soon as I finished the course, he hired me. I've taken more training since, to learn about massage as rehab for athletes." He glances toward where Nick is still sitting at the table, though now he's talking to Jack MacTaggart, the Scottish psychologist. Ben swerves his gaze back to me. "Nick has been like a big brother to me. I owe him a lot."

Maybe I should be surprised by the way Nick helped his friend find a new career, but I'm not. He cares about other people. Once I'd gotten over the shock of how much I lust for him, I quickly realized he is the sweetest man I've ever met. He never pushed me to sleep with him. He's never pushed me to make our secret relationship a public one.

He's a gentleman—with a wicked streak.

And I love that about him.

"I've been so rude," I tell Bennett. "I asked you all those questions without thinking about whether you wanted to be grilled."

"You're not grilling me," he says with a smile. "I've commandeered Nick's girlfriend. This is a first for me, so you can go on asking me as many questions as you like. I'm waiting for Nick to rush over here and shove me out of the way."

"I don't think he'll do that. And hey, you can ask me questions too."

"All right. How did you meet Nick?"

Considering that we have to keep our relationship hush-hush, at least when we're in Vallefrio, I probably shouldn't tell Ben our story. But they're friends, so I don't think Nick will mind. He trusts this man enough not only to be friends with him, but also to hire him as an employee.

So I tell Bennett the slightly abridged version of how I met Nick.

"That sounds like Nick," Ben says. "Flirting with his teacher. I bet he did that the first time he went to uni too."

"Probably. Flirtation is like breathing to him. It's a natural reflex."

"He hasn't even looked at another woman since he's been here with you."

I doubt he's looked at anyone else back in Vallefrio either. Why I believe that, I have no idea. But I feel it's the truth. Nick Hunter might be an outrageous flirt, but he's a one-woman man.

Do I want to stay his one woman after the semester ends?

The song winds down, and Bennett kisses my hand. "Thank you for permitting me to dance with you, Siobhan."

"It was my pleasure, Bennett."

He ambles over to Maddie and asks the bride for a dance.

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