Feels Like Love by Jenna Hartley

Chapter Six

Idropped River off at my parents’ and then headed to work. It was Saturday morning, and Harper had Sasha’s boudoir shoot today. I planned to work on editing Sasha’s bridal photos, but I’d be in the studio in case they needed anything.

I picked up some coffees and baked goods from Pore Over. I wanted to linger in the coffee shop and check out a book, but I’d have to return later. After my mom’s bookshop, it was one of the best hangouts in town for booklovers. Pore Over invited you to come for the coffee and stay for the books. And in addition to having the best coffee in town, the inside was like a beautiful library. Light pine floors and wall-to-wall bookshelves with the coziest chairs. All the books were free to borrow; you either had to return them when you were done or add another book to replace the one you’d taken.

I took the coffee back to the studio and turned on the lights. I doubted Sasha would want any muffins—at least not until after the shoot, but I set them out anyway. A makeup artist and hair stylist would be arriving soon from Mane Street Salon, and we had a busy morning ahead.

“How was your night?” Harper breezed through the studio and set her bag down on the table. “Do anything crazy?”

I laughed. “If by crazy, you mean watch The Great British Bake Off and bake a peanut butter chocolate swirl cake, then yes.”

“Ooh. That does sound good.” She glanced around as if searching for something. “And you didn’t bring me any?” she teased.

“Sorry.” I cringed. “I can’t part with it. It’s so freaking delicious.”

But as incredible as the cake tasted, that wasn’t even the best part. The highlight had been baking with Bennett. Answering his questions about TheGreat British Bake Off and hearing his deep, throaty chuckle every time there was a sexual innuendo. And there were a lot. By the time the show had finished, my panties were as moist as the cakes Paul and Prue were judging.

“I bet. And you know I was just kidding. But I want that recipe.”

“It was so good. Orgasmically good,” I said, knowing Harper would understand since she was the one who’d introduced me to the term after all.

“Orgasmically good, huh? I definitely need to check it out. Maybe I’ll make it for Aiden’s birthday. He asked for a low-key celebration. Pizza with the family and then a sleepover with River.”

“I’m sure River would love that,” I said.

Aiden and River were the best of friends, bonding over baseball, even though River was more interested in the uniforms than the actual game.

“Any updates on LoveBirds?”

I laughed. “I’ve been so busy, I forgot all about it.”

She arched an eyebrow. “Interesting?”

“What?” I asked.

“Well, you were all hot to trot about dating, and then Bennett comes along…”

“No.” I shook my head. “It’s not like that.”

“It’s not?” she asked. “You spend every night with him.”

“Because he’s living at my house.”

“Mm-hmm. Well, if ‘it’s not like that,’ then maybe you should check your profile and go on a date.”

“Is that a dare?” I teased.

She considered it a moment, then said, “Yeah, actually. It is. Because I think you’re too chicken to go through with dating someone you met online.”

“I’ll have you know that I was working on my profile just last night.” I’d been scanning some of my new matches before Bennett had interrupted.

“Before or after the ‘baking’?”

I resented those air quotes. “It was just baking. It will only ever be baking with Bennett. He doesn’t look at me like that.”

“You sure?”

I rolled my eyes. “Don’t be ridiculous.” I grabbed my phone and navigated to the LoveBirds app. “Ooh. I have some matches.”

“Let’s see what we’re working with,” she said, pulling up a chair next to me. I scrolled through the men I’d been paired with.

One of the messages was…wow. “Delete.”

“Just ignore that,” she said, probably afraid I’d become rattled by the lewd offer to be my sugar daddy.

The next one prompted me to immediately click on the “X” button. All his images were of partying and beer pong, and just no. “Too immature.”

“Ooh, what about him?” she asked, pointing at the screen. “He looks promising.”

I opened the profile. He was handsome enough, though he wasn’t as tall as Bennett. Why are you comparing him to Bennett?

“I guess,” I sighed. Something about him just…well… I didn’t feel excited.

“Why don’t you leave him for now and check out the other match? Always good to keep your options open.”

“Good idea.”

I navigated to the third match. Bob was handsome. Worked in IT, mostly telework. No kids. Never married. Enjoyed golfing. He seemed…stable. Safe. A good place to dip my toes in the online dating waters.

Even so, I wasn’t particularly excited about the idea of going on a date. I didn’t know if it was because of my previous experience or all the time I’d been spending with Bennett, but I knew better than to dissect it.

“He looks promising!” I could feel Harper watching me. When I didn’t answer, she said, “Wren?”

“Well, maybe…” I hedged, though he really was handsome. He volunteered to read to hospice patients, for crying out loud.

“Come on. You said yourself you’re tired of being alone. Maybe it’ll work out, maybe it won’t. But you won’t know unless you try.”

She was right. I knew she was right. So, I hit “Accept” just as the hair and makeup team from Mane Street arrived. A second earlier, and I might not have pulled the trigger on the date with Bob.

“You going to join me today?” Harper asked, standing to greet them.

I shook my head. No freaking way.

The morning picked up after that. Harper was busy with the shoot, and I stayed out in the main room working on edits. When no one was around, I checked out Bob’s LoveBirds profile. He’d sent me a message and he seemed polite, but I didn’t feel fireworks. I told myself to give him a chance. To meet him in person. Honestly, what did I expect from a picture on a screen and a few paragraphs about his life?

The rest of the day passed quickly, and by the time I arrived at my parents’ house, Bob and I were trying to nail down a date and time to meet.

I opened the door and called out, “Hello!”

No one answered, so I called again, listening. I heard some laughter coming from the backyard, so I headed out there to see where everyone was. I found River and my mom sitting next to a mirror on the ground, covering it with shaving cream.

“What are you guys up to?” I asked, crossing the back patio to join them.

“Hi, Mom!” River grinned up at me. “Grandma and I are painting clouds. Come. Come.” He beckoned me to join them then proceeded to give an impressive explanation about the different types of clouds. Today, the sky was filled with cirrocumulus, and he’d use the mirror to paint them and whatever other formations he wanted. At the moment, he was leaning over and giving his reflection a beard that looked remarkably similar to Bennett’s.

What was with me and Bennett? I couldn’t seem to escape thoughts of him, even in the most mundane of things.

“That looks like fun.” I gave my mom a kiss on the cheek. “Hi, Mom.”

“Hi, sweetheart. Good day?”

“Yeah. Busy,” I huffed. The past week had been hectic, and it was only going to get worse as we headed into wedding season.

“You’re always so busy,” she said. “When was the last time you did anything nice for yourself?”

I laughed. “Does baking count?”

“If it makes you feel good, helps you relax, then yes. What else?”

“Well, I was going to see if you and Dad could watch River next Friday night.”

“I’m sure that won’t be a problem. He can even spend the night if he wants to. River—” she turned to him “—do you want to have a sleepover with Grandpa and me next weekend?”

“Yes, please!”

I laughed. “Great. Thank you.”

“What do you have planned?” she asked. “And it better not be work-related.”

I hesitated a moment then mouthed, “A date.” She grinned, and I added, “Please don’t tell Liam.” He was always so critical of the guys I dated. I was the one dating them, not him. Not that it ever lasted long.

“Don’t tell Uncle Liam what?” River’s little ears were always listening, even when he seemed completely absorbed in a task.

“About the birthday surprise we’re planning,” Mom said, hugging River from behind.

“What birthday surprise?” River asked.

“That’s what we have to work on.” She smiled, and he nodded, resuming his painting.

“Are you sure? I know you already watch him a lot already.”

“Absolutely! Are you kidding? More time with my favorite grandchild?”

“Grandma.” River rolled his eyes. “I’m your only grandchild.”

“That doesn’t mean you can’t still be my favorite.” She kissed the top of his head. “I thought we might do some shopping.”

He stilled and turned to face her, excitement pinging through his little body. “What kind of shopping?”

“Well, we need to get a present for Aiden, right? His birthday’s coming up like Uncle Liam’s.”

“Yeah. Yeah.” He nodded. “I think we should get him a hoverboard.”

She laughed. “We’ll have to look into it. And I noticed some of your clothes are getting a little small.”

“Oh, they totally are.” He nodded, eyes wide. “Oh. Oh. And can we go to that awesome dress-up store?”

“The one with all the boas?”

“Yeah. Yes. Please.” Now he really was jumping up and down. He was too cute when he got excited. I was grateful that he was so close to my parents.

“Of course.” Mom smiled at him, totally doting on her grandson.

“Woo-hoo!” In his excitement, River flung some of the shaving cream into the air. It landed right on my shirt with a wet plop.

“Oops!” He cringed, trying and failing not to laugh.

“River,” I chided, though we both knew I was teasing. “You’ll pay for that.” I picked up some shaving cream, but he took off running across the yard.

“Come back here!” I yelled, chasing after him.

He giggled and giggled, running faster until he was back on the deck. He grabbed a handful of shaving cream, and then he came after me. Oh no! I turned around and ran the other way, but he was faster than me. And I felt a soft slap on the butt.

I turned quickly and put some on his shirt. He laughed, and then we both raced back to the porch for more. There were two cans of shaving cream, and we each grabbed one, squaring off.

“I’m gonna get you,” he cried.

“Not if I get you first!”

By this point, Mom was laughing and shielding herself with the mirror. Finally, when all the shaving cream was gone, we collapsed on the deck. We were both sweaty and smelled clean, though we were far from it.

“Oh boy,” Mom said, smiling. “I got some good pictures of you two.”

I laughed, removing some shaving cream from my hair. “Will you please send them to me?”

“Of course. Do you want to shower before you go home?”

“We’re going to need to do something,” I said, though I didn’t have any clothes at my parents’ house. And there was no way I could fit into any of my mom’s. She had to be at least three sizes smaller than me.

“Can we use the hose? Please?” River asked.

I shrugged. At this point, who cared? “Why not? If you get us some towels, Mom, we’ll just hose off and then go through the gate.”

“Sure.” She stood and disappeared into the house.

I went to grab the hose, knowing we’d need to wash off the mirror and deck as well. The water was chilly, but it was better than riding home covered in shaving cream. River laughed and squealed as we took turns washing each other off with the cold water.

On the way home, River was still buzzing from our shaving cream fight. “That was so much fun, Mommy,” he said from the back seat.

“Yeah. It was.” I grinned at him in the rearview mirror. “But now I’m all wet.” My mom had given me a towel to protect the seat, but my clothes were still drenched. I was starting to get cold, but it had been worth it to see River’s delight.

“What are we doing for dinner?” he asked. “I’m hungry.”

“Do you want a fruit bar? I have one of those apple-mango ones you love.”

“Yes!”

I handed it back to him with a smile. “As for dinner,” I said, driving through town. “I’m not sure. We’ll have to see what’s in the fridge when we get home.”

“Can we eat with Bennett?” he asked.

“If he’s home and wants to join us, sure.”

“You know what would’ve made our shaving cream fight even better?” he asked.

“What’s that?”

“Bennett. I wish he could’ve been there.”

I nodded, though I worried how attached River was becoming to our houseguest. River was getting used to having Bennett around, to just assuming we’d eat dinner or hang out with him. And so was I. It was nice to have someone to talk with in the evenings, watch TV with. I supposed I might as well enjoy it while it lasted.

As soon as I opened River’s door, he hopped out of the car and ran toward the house. I grabbed his backpack and my stuff, trying not to get it wet as I headed inside. Immediately, I was hit with the aroma of butter and garlic, and it smelled amazing.

Bennett glanced up at me with a smile, but then blinked a few times. “What…” He swallowed. Hard. “Why are you all wet?”

I glanced down at my body, cringing. My blush-colored shirt clung to my chest and not in a sexy, wet T-shirt sort of way. With the way Bennett was looking at me, I couldn’t tell if he was mad or upset or what.

“I’m just going to help River, and then I’ll change.”

“Dinner’s almost ready.” His voice was tight. “I’ll help River.”

“That’s not—”

“Wren.” He growled at me. “Go. Change.”

My skin was itchy and hot, and I didn’t know what to make of it. His reaction or mine. Why was he so upset with me?

I darted down the hall to my bedroom, embarrassment tingeing my cheeks. I stripped out of my wet clothes and changing into a pair of joggers and a graphic tee. When I returned to the kitchen, River was standing on a step stool by the counter and Bennett next to him. I softened, the knot in my stomach loosening as I leaned against the wall and watched the two of them. Bennett patiently demonstrated how to roll the dough and then sprinkle it with sugar. And then River did it too.

Ragamuffins. Bennett was teaching my son how to make his grandma’s ragamuffins while answering every single question River asked about dogs. And he had a lot of them. I sighed. Was it any wonder I didn’t want to go on a date with Bob from LoveBirds when the perfect man was already living with me?