The Ex-Girlfriends' Club Part 7

With the exception of her, her, Eden wasn't altogether sure. Nevertheless, she would be lying if she said that knowing that Bennett still wanted her hadn't been like an ointment to her still-smarting pride. Eden wasn't altogether sure. Nevertheless, she would be lying if she said that knowing that Bennett still wanted her hadn't been like an ointment to her still-smarting pride.

The months after he'd left had been sheer h.e.l.l, and she'd spent the majority of that time thinking that he'd merely had his fill of her again, something everyone had warned her about.

But she and Bennett had had enjoyed a enjoyed a meltingly meltingly wonderful s.e.x life. The tops of her thighs burned just thinking about it. It had been wild and frantic, desperate and thrilling. The smallest thing-a simple sleepy-eyed look from him-would make her so hot that her s.e.x would actually throb in antic.i.p.ation. No matter where they were or what they were doing, finding a place to stop and make love had never been a problem. wonderful s.e.x life. The tops of her thighs burned just thinking about it. It had been wild and frantic, desperate and thrilling. The smallest thing-a simple sleepy-eyed look from him-would make her so hot that her s.e.x would actually throb in antic.i.p.ation. No matter where they were or what they were doing, finding a place to stop and make love had never been a problem.

The bathroom at the Ice Water Bar and Grill? Check.

The fitting room at Mona's Dry Goods? Check.

The coat closet at city hall? Check.

Not to mention all the times they'd merely climbed into the cab of his truck or ducked into a handy restroom. With Bennett...Eden simply couldn't explain it. The desire-the drive-had been more powerful than the fear of getting caught and of, ultimately, getting hurt.

Even knowing what she knew now-that he'd dump her again again without so much as goodbye, much less an explanation-she'd do it all over again. She didn't regret it. Couldn't, when she suspected that the kind of pa.s.sion they'd shared was of the rarest sort. It was the kind that made men fight unwinnable battles, divided families and forever changed the landscape of a soul. She swallowed. without so much as goodbye, much less an explanation-she'd do it all over again. She didn't regret it. Couldn't, when she suspected that the kind of pa.s.sion they'd shared was of the rarest sort. It was the kind that made men fight unwinnable battles, divided families and forever changed the landscape of a soul. She swallowed.

It had certainly changed hers.

He'd also wanted to apologize. And because she was terrified of accepting that apology, she'd put him off. She needed the distance. Knew herself well enough to realize that the minute she accepted his regret, she'd lose some emotional ground she wasn't altogether certain she'd be able to make up. A pitiful defense, she'd admit, but she had to work with what she had. A sincere apology from him would undermine her ability to keep her guard in place.

"Eden?"

She blinked, pulled from her reverie. "Sorry," she mumbled. "I was woolgathering."

Devi's eyes twinkled with sympathetic humor. "I've gathered my share of wool over a man before, dear."

Eden knew that was true. Her aunt had carried on a secretly thrilling but painful affair with a man whose ident.i.ty to this day was still unknown. Eden had tried many times to wheedle it out of Devi, but to no avail. Eden didn't know who owned her aunt's heart, but it had prevented Devi from ever marrying or having children of her own. If her aunt had any regrets, though, she'd never shared them with her.

"You never told me why Bennett dropped by," Devi reminded her, evidently determined not to let the subject drop.

Eden let go a small breath and gave her aunt the least complicated answer. "He'd read the Web site-Artemis525's posts, specifically-and wanted to know if I had any idea who she was."

Devi was the second person Eden had gone to with her concerns the minute Artemis525 had started posting to the board.

"Do you?"

"No," Eden admitted. "Not a clue."

Concern weaved a grave line on her aunt's brow. "Do you think he might be in danger?"

"He could be," Eden admitted. "The messages are disturbing and they're coming from a local ISP address, which means whoever she is, she's from around here."

Devi frowned again. "What are you going to do?"

Eden shrugged helplessly. "I don't know. At this point there's really nothing we can do. She's just posting messages-posted another one late last night, as a matter of fact-but she has only threatened him." Eden took another sip of her tea. "And Bennett's got enough to worry about without throwing a psycho into the mix."

"What do you mean?"

"Grady," Eden said significantly.

Her aunt's eyes widened in understanding. "Oh."

She relayed Kate's concern that Grady might need a sitter. "Bennett's planning on hiring someone to come in and cook and clean. He's hoping that'll help."

Devi's gaze turned curiously speculative. "He's looking for a housekeeper, you say?"

Eden paused. "Yes. Why?"

Her aunt sat up a little straighter and an odd gleam had entered her usually impa.s.sive gaze. "I might be interested."

Eden choked on a surprised squeak. "You?"

"Don't look so shocked, dear," her aunt admonished, drawing herself up. "I enjoy domestic tasks and I happen to be a pretty fine cook."

"I know that," Eden said, still a bit shocked. "I just wouldn't have thought that you'd be interested in something so..."

"So homey?" her aunt finished for her. "I realize that it's not as exciting as some of my other occupations, but it can't be that hard."

Eden snorted. At various times during her life her aunt had been a tour guide, a flight attendant, a flying trapeze instructor and a personal a.s.sistant to Robert Kennedy. She was a master gardener, had developed her own line of cosmetics and was currently into jewelry making. The idea that she wanted to apply for the position of Bennett's housekeeper housekeeper was...incomprehensible. was...incomprehensible.

Furthermore, we were talking about Grady Wilder here. Lovable, of course, but ornery and very difficult to get along with. She couldn't see her aunt putting up with his c.r.a.p, that was for sure.

Eden shook her head. "I'm sure that you'd be a shoo-in and I doubt if he's had time to hire anyone yet. You should call him if you're seriously interested."

Devi nodded decisively. "I am."

All righty then. Eden rinsed her gla.s.s and set it in the sink. "I should get going," she told her aunt, letting go a droll sigh. "I don't think the taxpayers would appreciate me spending my whole shift hanging out with you." Eden rinsed her gla.s.s and set it in the sink. "I should get going," she told her aunt, letting go a droll sigh. "I don't think the taxpayers would appreciate me spending my whole shift hanging out with you."

"You earn your keep," Devi told her. She smiled. "Getting Jeb to give up those crosses is a job."

Eden chuckled, then hugged her aunt, once again grateful for her support. "That's one word for it. Thanks for the m.u.f.fin and the company."

"Anytime, dear." She frowned. "Now what's the new name of the site again? b.i.t.c.hing from h.e.l.l?"

"That's it. It'll be a few days before I've got it transferred, so the original domain name will work for a little while longer." Eden made her way to the door.

"So...what did the Ex-Girlfriends' Club have to say about Bennett being back in town?"

"You mean apart from the general oh-my-G.o.d-I-can't-believe-he's-back buzz?" Eden grimaced. "They elected me to reel him back in and break his heart."

Devi's eyes widened and she gasped. "What?"

Eden gave her head a hesitant shake. "No worries," she said. "I'm not doing it. I lied and told them I'd try, but..." Eden looked away, then found Devi's gaze once more. "Self-preservation, you know. And a general sense of it's just not right. Setting out to purposely hurt someone? Even someone who might deserve it?" Eden paused and lifted her shoulders in a helpless shrug. "I'm all for justice, Aunt Devi, you know that. But it's just not me. I'm not up for that job."

Devi offered a sympathetic smile. "So what are you going to do?"

"I'll tell them that he wasn't interested." Which wasn't a total lie. He hadn't even been interested enough before to tell her goodbye.

Devi winced. "But didn't he arrive at your house before all the girls left?"

Where the h.e.l.l was she getting her information? Eden wondered again. She frowned at her aunt. "He did."

"Will they believe you, then, when he's already singled you out?"

Eden had thought of that. Still..."I'll make them believe it."

Her aunt gave her a skeptical smile. "Okay, dear. Let me know if you need any help."

Eden couldn't imagine what exactly her aunt could do to help her out of this situation, but she appreciated the sentiment all the same.

For whatever reason, she got the distinct feeling she was going to need all the help she could get.

9.

"WHAT THE h.e.l.l IS THIS?" Grady demanded.

Summoning patience from a higher source, Bennett set the sugar-free syrup on the table and took his seat. "It's an omelet."

Grady glared at the offending eggs. "It's white."

"That's because it's an egg-white omelet." Same conversation, different menu, different day. And it was only day two. Bennett smothered a long-suffering sigh.

He had had to hire a housekeeper. to hire a housekeeper.

Grady jabbed a fork at the eggs in apparent disgust. "Did I ask you to leave the yolks out of my omelet?"

"You didn't ask me for an omelet at all. You asked for breakfast. I made it. The polite thing to do would be to eat it without complaint and say thank-you when you are done."

"I would have done that if you'd left the yolks in my omelet and given me some syrup with some sugar in it. What the h.e.l.l is wrong with you?" Grady scowled. "Why are you trying to make me eat this healthy c.r.a.p?"

"So that you'll live longer," Bennett said, baring his teeth in a smile. "Because you are such a joy to be around."

"Smart-a.s.s," his grandfather groused. He poured enough salt over the eggs to make every blood vessel in his body constrict, then shot Bennett a dirty look and rebelliously doused them with hot sauce. "How'd you sleep?" he asked gruffly.

Like s.h.i.t, Bennett thought. Between thinking about Eden-a problem he'd tried to amend by keeping so busy he fell exhausted into bed every night-and his miserable mattress, he hadn't caught more than a couple of winks. He didn't remember his mattress being quite so lumpy, but it had been a long time since he'd slept in this old house, so he didn't know whether his memory was faulty or he'd simply been spoiled with the comfy pillow-top variety he'd gotten used to in Savannah. Bennett thought. Between thinking about Eden-a problem he'd tried to amend by keeping so busy he fell exhausted into bed every night-and his miserable mattress, he hadn't caught more than a couple of winks. He didn't remember his mattress being quite so lumpy, but it had been a long time since he'd slept in this old house, so he didn't know whether his memory was faulty or he'd simply been spoiled with the comfy pillow-top variety he'd gotten used to in Savannah.

Though he'd paid the neighbors to maintain the grounds and periodically check on the house, the old two-story still had a neglected feel about it when they'd arrived home the night before last. Bennett had spent the majority of his time yesterday getting things put away and organized, not to mention he'd spent several hours in town buying groceries and stocking staples.

True to form, everywhere he'd gone people had stared and whispered behind his back. He'd barely resisted the childish urge to turn around and scream, "Boo!" but had ultimately gone about his business.

To his great surprise, however, many people were quite friendly and had welcomed him back like a long-lost relative. Funny how his success had changed their perspective. The big question, of course, was did he plan to open a store here in h.e.l.l? Not at the moment, Bennett had told them, but a quick drive through the downtown area showed surprisingly busy foot traffic.

Nothing on the Savannah scale, but for h.e.l.l pretty impressive. If he could find the right s.p.a.ce, he might reconsider the idea of putting in a second store. The tourist trade seemed to be booming, after all, and the renovations and whatnot on the farm certainly weren't going to come cheap.

Other than splurging for his car and some high-end tools, thanks to his grandfather's respect-every-dollar advice, Bennett had managed his sudden wealth with a cool head. He'd invested well, put money back for a house. He hadn't expected it to be his grandfather's, but...Bennett mentally shrugged. He was doing all right for himself.

Thankfully the bulk of his things would arrive today-including his bed-so despite dealing with his cantankerous if lovable grandparent, things were moving along nicely. He looked forward to setting up shop and getting back to work. Inspired by Eden's Gothic windows, he'd sketched an idea for a new chair last night and was eager to get started. He missed the feel of the wood beneath his hands, the drag of the blade against the grain. The raw smell of oak and oil.

His world. world.

Doris, his shop manager, had hit him on his cell this morning and told him that he'd had six new orders come in via their Internet site over the past couple of days. Two were from repeat clients, but the other four were new business, which was always nice to hear. Overall, things were shaping up quite nicely. Now if he could just get some good help in here-someone his grandfather wouldn't run off-he'd be in excellent shape.

As if on cue, a knock sounded at the back door.

Grady looked up, startled. "You expecting somebody?"

He'd expected Ryan this morning, but the arrival of last night's storm and ensuing rain had changed those plans. Ryan had called this morning to reschedule. A small setback delivered by Mother Nature, but it couldn't be helped.

Bennett frowned, pushed away from the table and stood. "The movers, but they aren't scheduled to be here before three." In addition to the rain, which he hoped would move out by then, he had a lot of rearranging, clearing out and cleaning to do, so he'd purposely asked for a later arrival time. Intrigued, he made his way to the back door.

"Good morning, Bennett," Devi Darlaston said brightly. Wearing big earrings and a bigger smile, the older woman stood on the back porch, an enormous picnic basket in one hand and a small wrapped package in the other. She'd leaned her dripping umbrella against the wall next to the door.

Bennett heard his grandfather's fork fall to his plate. "Devi?" he choked.

"Er...good morning, Ms. Darlaston," Bennett said, surprised to find Eden's aunt on his doorstep. "What a nice surprise." It was a surprise, at any rate. Whether or not it would end up being nice remained to be seen.

"Oh, thank you, Bennett," she said, strolling into his kitchen. "Call me Devi, please. Ms. Darlaston makes me feel so old. Oh, and I found this on your step." She handed the little package to him.

Intrigued, Bennett took the gift from her and set it aside.

Looking oddly surprised, Grady still gaped but had recovered enough to mind his manners by standing. "Devi," he said suspiciously, his brows furrowing into a bushy line. "What brings you here?"

"Eden mentioned that you were looking for a cook and a housekeeper. I'm here to apply for the job, if it hasn't been filled already, of course."

Grady's mouth fell open again. "You? But-" His gaze dropped to the basket she'd set on the table. He gestured toward it. "What have you got there?"

"Oh, a little something I whipped up this morning." She opened the lid and started unloading various dishes. "A nice breakfast ca.s.serole, maple link sausage, bacon and ham, biscuits and jelly, hash browns and the like."

Grady unceremoniously dumped his original breakfast into the trash and loaded his plate with Devi's admittedly better heart-attack-waiting-to-happen variety. Bennett had to admit that it smelled heavenly.

"So Eden told you I was looking for someone?" Bennett asked, watching his grandfather enthusiastically attack his new breakfast.

"She did," Devi told him. "She comes by most mornings and shares a gla.s.s of tea with me." She paused as though just remembering something important. "Which reminds me..." She pulled a lidded jug out of the basket. "I brought along a little fruit tea, as well. Would you like a gla.s.s, Bennett?"

Bennett had heard Eden rave about the tea in the past. If memory served, this was the recipe she was supposed to inherit from her aunt. A ghoulish custom, if you asked him, but he wasn't so put off by it that he didn't want to try the tea. He pulled a few gla.s.ses down from the cabinet and waited while Devi poured.

He took one sip and hummed with pleasure. His gaze swung to hers. "You'll make this for us if you come to work here?"

Devi smiled. "Of course."

"Then you're hired," Bennett said without preamble.

"What?" Grady bleated. "But-"