Page 68 of The Fix Up

“Yeah?”

“Don’t screw this up.”

Lyle disconnected the call, and Ben stood holding the phone for a minute. It was hardly the afterglow he’d been savoring in his dreams just a few minutes ago. He shoved the phone in his pocket and sat down on the bed beside Holly.

“Let me guess,” she said, resting a hand on his thigh. “Your dad?”

“Yep. Sounds like we got the Kleinberger deal.”

“Really? Ben, that’s amazing!” She threw her arms around his neck and kissed him, her softness enveloping him all over again. “Congratulations,” she murmured against his neck. “I’m so proud of you.”

The words hit him right in the spleen and his chest flooded with an odd mix of pride and sadness. Would it have killed his father to say the same five words?

But Holly had said them, and that counted for a lot. “Are you free next Saturday?” he asked.

“I can check. Why?”

“We’re throwing a big party for the Kleinberger execs. My dad wants you to come with me.”

Holly drew back and gave him a salacious grin. “I just did.”

Ben laughed, and for a moment, he forgot all the awkward, lingering feelings about his dad. He kissed her on the mouth, then reached for the edge of the sheet. “He called you a hot little number,” he said as he tugged down the sheet and claimed her breast with his mouth. Holly twined her fingers in his hair and arched against him. He cupped her other breast in his palm, taking his time to work his way between one and the other.

“Hot little number?” She giggled, which came out sounding partly like a moan. “What is this, 1958?”

“In my dad’s mind, yes. He also might be under the impression that you’re my girlfriend instead of my branding consultant.”

“Oh really?” Her tone was teasing, but Ben felt her pull back just a little.

“Yep.” He sat up and planted a kiss at the edge of her jaw, then another right below her earlobe. “The thing is, I don’t think that’s such a bad idea.”

“The party? I can check my schedule, but?—”

“No, the girlfriend thing.” He drew back and looked at her, hoping to see her eyes light up. There was no reaction, but maybe he just hadn’t been clear enough.

Be bold. Say what you really want.

“How about it, Holly?” he asked, leaning down to kiss her shoulder. “What do you say we take a shot at a real relationship?”

He let those words hang between them for a moment as he kissed his way from her shoulder along her collarbone, then drew back to study her face.

She wasn’t smiling.

Okay, so “girlfriend” was a big word to start throwing around. He maybe could have eased in more gently or started by asking her out on a date.

But wasn’t it Holly who’d encouraged him to be assertive? To listen to his inner voice and speak his mind? His inner voice was yelling at him to go for it, to stand up and tell her how he felt.

Apparently, Holly’s inner voice was telling her something very different. Like“run.”

“Ben, I don’t think that’s such a good idea,” she said slowly. “If you need me there as your PR coach, I’m up to the task.”

“That’s actually not what I need from you,” he said, trying not to feel stung by the rejection. “I need you by my side for this event. I want you to be my rock, my support system, my partner, my?—”

“Arm candy?”

“Sure,” he said, surprised to see her flinch at the word. “We’ve joked about that before. You’re a beautiful woman, and it doesn’t hurt—either my ego or my image—to have you by my side. Is that so wrong?”

She shook her head and stood up fast, grabbing her bra from the floor at the foot of the bed. She tried to yank it on, but ended up whacking herself in the nose with the strap. Still she didn’t meet his eyes.

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