Totally and Completely Fine(4)

He was playing an American after all. I assumed he was trying to stay somewhat in character. Gabe had done the reverse of that while playing James Bond. We’d mocked him relentlessly—as family does—when it took months for him to completely drop his English accent. Even now, there were times when he said “water” like he was across the pond.

“Oh no,” I said. “People’s Sexiest Man Alive. The pleasure is all mine.”

Jesus. Rein it in, Parker.

He blushed. It made me smile.

Flirting. I remembered that. It had been fun once.

I’d been fun once.

Ben, on the other hand, looked like he was lots of fun. All the time.

Gabe cleared his throat. I’d completely forgotten he was there.

Completely forgotten quite a few things.

Like that my thirteen-year-old daughter would be mortified to watch her mother visibly drool over a man who was definitely not her age. The last thing she needed right now was to be reminded that her parent was also a human being with human being urges.

But a glance toward Lena revealed that she was still occupied with Oliver and hadn’t noticed the interaction.

Gabe cleared his throat again.

“Walsh has been asking about you,” he said.

I didn’t appreciate his raised eyebrow or his tone. It was very much a Little Brother eyebrow/tone, one that I hadn’t seen in a while but remembered vividly nonetheless. Clearly he was regretting this introduction.

“He’s a big foodie,” Gabe said.

“An exaggeration,” Ben said, his accent slipping through again. “I was merely told that you’re quite accomplished in the kitchen.”

“I can cook,” I said.

“She’s very good,” Gabe said, almost reluctantly. “Bakes too.”

“I can’t do either,” Ben said. “However, I have been told that I’m quite an accomplished eater.”

He made it sound filthy.

I didn’t mind at all.

Then again, I had clearly lost all my senses.

I’d heard people talk about twinkly eyes, but I’d never experienced it in real life. Ben’s eyes were so twinkly it was almost as if someone had stuffed two stars into his skull.

“If you’re hoping for a demonstration while I’m here,” I said, “I’m sorry to inform you that I’m on vacation.”

That didn’t mean I wasn’t open to other types of demonstrations. Like how he might look at me while he pinned me to a bed. Or couch. Chair. I wasn’t feeling particular about location.

Calm. Down.

It was like I hadn’t had sex in three years.

Well. I hadn’t had good sex in three years.

Ben put a hand to his chest. “I would never presume,” he said. “I was only hoping to talk about food with someone who isn’t eating lettuce and protein shakes.”

Gabe frowned.

“Talk to me in ten years when a normal metabolism finally kicks in,” he said.

I gave my brother a briefly sympathetic look. It wasn’t his fault that he had the Parker genes, which kept us cozy in the winter, but required extreme maintenance whenever he was on-screen. Keeping his weight movie-ready sometimes required near starvation.

But right now, Gabe’s deprivation was the least of my worries.

“I would be happy to discuss food with you,” I told Ben.

I would be happy to do a lot more with you, I thought.

“Lauren reads cookbooks before bed,” Gabe said. “She’s obsessed.”

Ben put his hands on my shoulders. “Marry me,” he said.

I wasn’t expecting it. The comment or the touch, which had brought us closer together, my toes practically touching his. It was the surprise of it all that made my arms tense. My reaction was noted immediately, though, and Ben stepped back.

“Hands to yourself, Walsh,” Gabe said. “That’s my sister.”

He was joking—trying to reset the mood—but I bristled.

Because I wasn’t just his sister. I was a grown woman. A grown woman who liked being touched by Benjamin Walsh.

I was hungry for touch.

I couldn’t remember the last time I’d been this horny. My tongue was pressed to the roof of my mouth so it wouldn’t loll out the side of it like a panting dog.

“Mr. Parker?” A PA interrupted us. “They need you in makeup.”

“Okay,” Gabe said. “I’ll be right there.”

He looked at Ben. Ben was looking at me.

“Go,” I said to Gabe. “Do your job.”

He hesitated. I gave him a shove, probably harder than I should have. But he needed to go.

“Goodbye,” I said.

He left, reluctantly, twisting his head back every few steps as if to keep an eye on me. I knew what he was thinking. He wasn’t wrong.

But I wasn’t a teenager anymore. Despite my hormones roaring to life, I knew how to control them.

I was pretty sure I knew how to control them.

“Must be nice,” Ben said once Gabe was out of sight.

“Hmmm?”

“Having siblings,” he said.

“It can be,” I said. “It can also be extremely annoying.”

“I wouldn’t know,” he said. “Only child.”