The Ex-Girlfriends' Club Part 6

"So...what did you think of Artemis525's posts?"

"That's part of the reason I came by," he told her, glad for the reminder. "Do you have any idea who she is?"

Eden shook her head. "None. I was hoping after you'd read the messages that you might be able to shed some light on the situation."

Bennett frowned. "It's odd, isn't it? How she just started posting?"

"It is," she agreed. "Have you dated anyone recently who might have stumbled across the Web site?"

Bennett shook his head. "No. I haven't had a lot of time for dating." And everyone else was just a subst.i.tute for her, so he'd developed a why-bother att.i.tude. A thought struck and he frowned. "I thought Kate said that the two of you suspected a local girl?"

"Yeah, we do. It's a local ISP address."

"Then that would rule out anyone I might have dated since I moved away from h.e.l.l, right?"

Her brow wrinkled with belated recognition. "That's right." Eden set her beer on a nearby table. "Look, I don't know exactly what we're dealing with here-you read her posts so you know as much as I do-but you need to be careful and you need to report anything suspicious."

He frowned skeptically. "Oh, I don't think-"

"Bennett, this could be serious," Eden insisted. "You can't afford to take it lightly."

Was she genuinely worried about him or was this merely professional advice? Bennett wondered, hoping for the former.

"Look," Eden continued doggedly. "I'll let you know when she posts to the board if you promise to let me know if anything out of the ordinary happens."

A bark of laughter broke up in Bennett's throat. "Out of the ordinary? In h.e.l.l?"

Eden chewed the inside of her cheek. "You know what I mean." She shot him an endearingly fierce look, tempered with the smallest smile. It was so reminiscent of how she used to be that it made his breath momentarily catch in his throat. "Promise me," she insisted.

Secretly pleased with her concern on his behalf-and, pathetic jerk that he was, he'd take it regardless of her motives-Bennett finally nodded. "Fine," he told her. "But I'm sure that it's nothing."

Eden didn't argue but merely nodded, and an uncomfortable silence yawned between them, one he knew he should fill with the apology he'd come here to deliver.

He looked away, pa.s.sed a hand over his face then found her gaze. "Look, Eden. I wanted you to know how so-"

"Don't, Bennett," Eden interrupted, clearly antic.i.p.ating what he'd planned to say. She squeezed her eyes shut for the briefest of seconds, as though stopping him was painful for her. "I know what you're going to say-or try to say-and I'd...I'd rather you didn't. I'm not ready."

To forgive him, she meant, Bennett realized, feeling his midsection deflate with a sucker punch of regret. If she wasn't ready after three years, then she probably never would be. For whatever reason, the thought of never getting her absolution was almost worse than knowing she could never be his, that he'd blown it one too many times with her. That's what he'd wanted, Bennett realized. What he needed more than anything-her forgiveness. Up until this very instant he hadn't understood just how important her pardon was.

Clearly he wasn't going to get it right now, but next to taking care of Grady, that had just become priority one.

"I, uh...I should probably get going," he told her, feeling himself inexplicably lean into her s.p.a.ce once more. He released a long sigh, fisted his hands at his sides to keep from reaching out and touching her. "G.o.d only knows what Grady has gotten into while I was gone."

More than likely the alcohol, Bennett thought. His grandfather was a little too fond of the hard stuff, but telling the old man not to indulge was like trying to pry a chocolate bar away from a screaming toddler.

Ultimately not worth the effort and mess.

Eden tucked her hair behind her ear-an endearingly nervous habit he recognized from their times together-and padded behind him to the door. "Did Eva mention Grady needing a sitter to you?"

Surprised, Bennett looked down at her and frowned. "A sitter? No."

She grimaced. "Oh."

"Why?"

"Well...Kate feels like he probably needs one."

Bennett knew that Grady was going to require a good bit of time, if not care, but a sitter? He blinked, taken aback. Had it really come to that? "Even with me there?"

"You'll be working outside a lot, right?"

Bennett nodded. He'd already thought of that, which was why he'd planned to install an intercom system between the house and the barn. He told her as much.

"That certainly ought to help."

"I'm planning on hiring a full-time housekeeper," Bennett said thoughtfully. "Someone to come in and cook and clean. So he won't be alone much, even when I'm working."

"Then maybe she could pull double duty," Eden suggested.

Bennett snorted. "Covert double duty. If Grady thought for a minute I was hiring someone-a sitter, of all things-to take care of him...all h.e.l.l would break loose." double duty. If Grady thought for a minute I was hiring someone-a sitter, of all things-to take care of him...all h.e.l.l would break loose."

Eden chuckled softly, conceding the point. "Then what he doesn't know won't hurt him."

Bennett smiled down at her. "And there's that." He paused and fought the natural-almost over-whelming-urge to lower his head and kiss her. She was so close, a mere nod of his head away, and seemed to be getting closer by the second. He could see every fleck of lighter green in those amazingly clear eyes, the spattering of freckles over her nose and the hint of moisture lurking on her bottom lip.

Fire burned through his veins and his d.i.c.k strained hard against his zipper-an inevitable occurrence around her. The delicate slope of her cheek begged for his touch and her ripe mouth beckoned like heaven for a d.a.m.ned man.

And that was why he ultimately pulled away.

He couldn't have her now any more than he could have had her three years ago. He'd ruined himself for her, had-in a bitter twist of irony, thanks to her mother's stay-away-from-my-daughter mandate-literally made made himself unworthy of her. In thumbing his nose at the town-at everyone who'd ever thought he wasn't good enough-he'd ultimately thumbed his nose at their future. himself unworthy of her. In thumbing his nose at the town-at everyone who'd ever thought he wasn't good enough-he'd ultimately thumbed his nose at their future.

And Eden Rutherford deserved better.

Bennett swallowed a sigh, deflated by the reminder. Unable to help himself, he bent and pressed a lingering kiss against her forehead, then he squeezed his eyes tightly shut and pulled away while he still could. His feet felt rooted to the spot and it took every ounce of effort he possessed to make them move. "Good night, Eden."

Confusion-and commiserating regret, maybe?-momentarily cluttered her gaze, but she blinked it away before he could be sure.

"G-good night, Ben," she replied softly.

8.

"GOOD MORNING, DARLING DARLING," Aunt Devi trilled from her yoga mat. "There's a m.u.f.fin on the table for you. I'll only be a minute."

Used to interrupting her aunt in one way or another, Eden shuffled tiredly into the airy kitchen and found a homemade cranberry-date m.u.f.fin waiting on the battered oak table for her, along with a tall gla.s.s of fruit tea.

She'd been asking her aunt for the recipe for years, but to no avail. Devi insisted on "willing" it to her, just as her own aunt had done for her. The Darlaston women were an odd bunch, with lots of curious customs pa.s.sed down from generation to generation. The willing of the recipe was only the beginning, Eden thought, grimacing as she bit into her m.u.f.fin.

She had another tradition swiftly approaching that she wasn't quite prepared for.

Patting the back of her neck with the corner of a towel and looking much younger than her sixty-plus years, her aunt strolled into the kitchen. She wore a purple sports bra and matching shorts, and her handmade earrings dangled from her ears. "You have bags under your eyes, dear. Didn't sleep well?" she asked with a mysterious smile.

Fitfully, Eden thought, shooting her aunt a guarded look. Then again, a visit from Bennett Wilder would do that to a girl. Less than an hour in his company and she could feel herself swaying toward him, could feel her resistance withering under the heat of the attraction. And that sweet kiss to her forehead...Jeez, G.o.d, was he trying to kill her? Did he know how hard it had been not to reciprocate the gesture? How difficult it had been not to wrap her arms around his waist and rest in his strength?

What little sleep she'd gotten had been plagued with dreams of the two of them-in the back of his old truck, specifically that night parked at the end of Suicide Lane. Quite honestly, the chemistry between them had always hovered around fever pitch, but something about that night had simply been...uniquely intense.

Intense enough that she'd tipped her hand and told him that she loved him.

A gesture by which he'd evidently been so touched he'd left the next morning without so much as a thank-you-for-the-great-s.e.x-but it had been pretty d.a.m.ned special to her, at any rate. So much so, in fact, that it seemed to have completely ruined her for another guy. There'd been a flicker of attraction between her and another man on the force, but a flicker hardly measured up when she'd been used to a blaze.

Eden murmured a noncommittal sound in answer to her aunt's question, then took a sip of her tea. She moaned with pleasure, thankful to have something to be happy about. "You know, it's quite terrible of you to hold this recipe hostage from me until you die."

"Piffle," her aunt teased. "It gives you something to look forward to."

Eden felt her eyes widen. "Your death?"

"No," Devi said. She poured herself a gla.s.s of tea and added an orange wedge. "Getting the recipe. It'll be a bright spot in an otherwise dreary time. Trust me, I know."

Well, she couldn't argue with that, could she? And no doubt it would be a terrible, terrible time. Devi was like the mother she'd never had. Warm and witty, always waiting with a kind word or a laugh. Eden didn't know what she would have done without her.

"Furthermore, if I give you the recipe, you'll stop coming to see me." She made a moue of displeasure and sighed dramatically. "And then I'll be old and alone and unloved."

Eden snorted, jarred away from her dismal musings. "You are so full of s.h.i.t." s.h.i.t."

Devi might be old er, er, but she was still the most vibrant, effervescent and unique person Eden had ever known. She had dozens of interests-yoga being her newest thing-and even more friends. Old, alone and unloved, Eden thought again, sliding her aunt a glance. but she was still the most vibrant, effervescent and unique person Eden had ever known. She had dozens of interests-yoga being her newest thing-and even more friends. Old, alone and unloved, Eden thought again, sliding her aunt a glance. Ha! Ha!

Devi tsked. "Such cheek." Her bright blue eyes twinkled. "Your mother would be horrified."

Too true, Eden knew, inclining her head. Giselle Rutherford couldn't be any less like her sister. Sadly, Eden's mother put the P P in in propriety, propriety, the the B B in in boring boring and the and the S S in in sn.o.b sn.o.b and, more often than not, the and, more often than not, the B B in in b.i.t.c.h. b.i.t.c.h. When she was growing up, Eden had often fantasized that she was actually Devi's daughter but for dramatic, romantic reasons she would never know or comprehend, she'd been given to Giselle to raise in her stead. When she was growing up, Eden had often fantasized that she was actually Devi's daughter but for dramatic, romantic reasons she would never know or comprehend, she'd been given to Giselle to raise in her stead.

In all truth, she favored Devi more in temperament and appearance than she did her mother, but seeing as she wouldn't trade her father for anything in the world, Eden always felt bad for dreaming of a different parent. Did she love her mother? Of course.

Eden frowned. But she couldn't say that she particularly liked her very much.

Constantly critical-of everything, not just her-Giselle rarely found favor with anything. Eden never came away from an encounter with her without feeling as if she'd never quite hit the mark or measure up to Giselle's standards. How her father stood it, Eden couldn't imagine. They say love is blind, but in this case Eden thought it had to be deaf and mute, as well. Uncharitable? Yes. But sadly accurate.

To make matters worse, Giselle had always been horribly jealous of her older sister, so having a daughter who was more like her rival than herself had to be hard.

It sure as h.e.l.l had been hard on Eden.

"Speaking of the Dragon..." Devi said, using the nickname she'd long ago given her baby sister. "This came in the mail this morning." She handed Eden a small parchment invitation. "Funny," her aunt mused, shooting her a veiled look. "I wasn't aware that you'd chosen your new name yet."

Eden felt the m.u.f.fin do a donut in her stomach. "What?" she asked, horrified, as she skimmed the invitation. "Oh, no," Eden murmured, anger, irritation and dread hurtling through her middle. "No, no, no!" She bolted up from her chair, and her wild-eyed gaze clung to Devi's. "How could she do this? I told her I hadn't found a name yet! That I wasn't ready! I have until the end of the year, dammit. Why now? Jeez, G.o.d," Eden said through partially gritted teeth. "Why does she always do this?"

Devi pulled a delicate shrug. "Your mother's motives are her own, dear. I have no idea why she's forcing your hand."

Eden scanned the invitation once more and felt her blood boil and an angry tick start near her left eye. "She's booked the venue, selected a caterer. Everything," Eden said disgustedly. "Without asking me," she all but growled. "And it's my my naming ceremony." naming ceremony."

Per tradition, the Darlaston women didn't give their children middle names. It had all started with Eden's great-great-great-grandmother, who at twenty-eight had decided she didn't like the name her mother had shackled her with and decided to change her middle name to one she actually liked. When her children were born, she purposely only gave them one name so that when the time was right they could choose one for themselves.

Of all the Darlaston traditions, Eden had to admit that she appreciated this one the most. A name was special, a definition of character. How many people, given the opportunity, would change their name? Would have chosen something different from what their parents had given them? She liked the idea of selecting her own middle name...she just hadn't found one yet.

Since Grandmother Anastasia-her chosen name, as she'd been born Lois-hadn't known until she was twenty-eight what sort of name she wanted, the family had adopted that deadline for future generations. Sometimes they figured it out early, sometimes it was last minute, but the family invariably hosted a blowout party for whoever was choosing her new name.

Eden had imagined something lively, fun and casual hosted at the Ice Water Bar and Grill. What her mother clearly had planned was more like a debutante ball.

Her grim gaze swung to Devi's once more. "I'm not doing this."

"Jamison Hall isn't cheap. The deposit alone had to be hefty."

"Then she'll lose it," Eden said, unconcerned. "This is my my name and name and my my naming ceremony. It's about me, not her." A futile growl rose in her throat. naming ceremony. It's about me, not her." A futile growl rose in her throat.

"She won't be happy."

Eden's lips formed a humorless smile. "Then she should have asked first."

Devi considered her for a moment, then nodded, seemingly impressed. "Good girl." She paused. "Now about this name...still no thoughts?"

Eden released a small sigh and shook her head. "I've been looking, I really have." Frowning thoughtfully, she mashed a m.u.f.fin crumb onto her thumb and ate it. "As much as I hate to admit it, I can't seem to find anything I like better for myself than the name Mom chose for me."

And it was the truth. She liked her name. It was cla.s.sy without being pretentious. Of Hebrew origin, the name meant "pleasure." She liked to think that she was a pleasure to know, to work with and to be around. It suited her.

"Well, you've still got time," Devi told her. "I didn't find my name until the midnight hour, as well."

Eden grinned. "Yes, but you found the perfect name for yourself. You are are a G.o.ddess." a G.o.ddess."

Devi grimaced. "I certainly wasn't an Ester."

Eden chuckled and shook her head. "No, you weren't."

"I understand you had a visitor last night," Devi said, eyeing her shrewdly.

Uh-oh. "I had several. Which one in particular are you referring to?" She knew, of course. What blew her freakin' mind, though, was how did "I had several. Which one in particular are you referring to?" She knew, of course. What blew her freakin' mind, though, was how did she she know? Her aunt had always been the go-to girl when it came to town gossip, but this was pretty d.a.m.ned fresh. How the h.e.l.l had she found out about it already? And, better still, who else knew? know? Her aunt had always been the go-to girl when it came to town gossip, but this was pretty d.a.m.ned fresh. How the h.e.l.l had she found out about it already? And, better still, who else knew?

"Bennett," her aunt said, shooting her a pointed look. "Was he invited or did he just drop by?"

Eden leaned against the counter. "He dropped by."

"After he visited the Web site, I imagine," Devi said, chuckling. "Well?"

"Well what?" Eden hedged.

Devi heaved a patient sigh. "What did he want?"