Totally and Completely Fine(67)

“She’s a good friend,” I said.

“She is,” he said.

“Did you grow up together?”

He shook his head. “Not exactly. I was in New Mexico, and she was in the Bay Area, but our parents—our dads are brothers—used to go on these weeklong fishing trips, and we’d usually get thrown together because we were around the same age and flying one of us out for the summer was cheaper than camp.”

“You must be hating this weather if you’re from New Mexico,” I said. “Not the best time to visit Montana, I’m afraid.”

“It’s nice,” he said. “We don’t get snow, though it can get pretty cold at night. It is a desert after all.”

“That’s what people say.”

He smiled at me.

“Allyson said you own a bookstore.”

“We sell books and crafts,” I said. “I mostly do the craft part.”

“What kind of crafts?”

“All sorts of things,” I said. “There’s needlework and quilting and sewing and drawing and watercolors and jewelry making. Pretty much any kind of craft you’re interested in, we have something for it, or if we don’t, we know where to get it and we can order it. We have lots of relationships with small businesses across Montana, and we try to support them instead of buying things from big-box stores, you know?”

I was rambling, but Peter was a good listener—his attention focused solely on me.

Unfortunately, I couldn’t say the same. Because just as I’d caught my breath after explaining the main difference between knitting and crochet—the first involved two needles, the other just one—I found myself completely distracted.

“You’ve got to be kidding me,” I said.

“Is everything okay?” Peter asked.

“What a surprise,” Ollie said, coming over to our table.

“Such a surprise,” Ben said.

This was ridiculous.

“Ben insisted we come here,” Ollie said.

“It had been a recommendation,” he said. “Though I can’t remember who mentioned to me that Juniper’s had the best burgers in town.”

Me. I’d mentioned that to him.

“You’re Ben Walsh, aren’t you?” Peter asked, since I rudely hadn’t made introductions. “And Oliver Matthias?”

“Sorry,” I said. “They’re friends of my brother.”

“Gabe Parker, right?” Peter asked.

I nodded, but Peter had already returned his focus to Ben and Ollie.

“I’m a big BBC fan,” he said.

“Nice to meet you,” Ollie said, and the three men exchanged handshakes.

“Why don’t you join us?” Peter suggested.

“I wouldn’t want to interrupt your lovely evening together,” Ben said, giving me a look.

It clearly said “So much for never dating again.”

“This is a surprise,” Allyson said, returning to the table.

“That’s one way to put it,” I muttered to myself.

Everyone ignored me.

“Darling.” Ollie gave her a kiss on the cheek. “Wonderful to see you again.”

“We were just meeting Lauren’s date,” Ben said.

“Oh, I’m not her date,” Peter said.

A little too quickly.

“This is my cousin,” Allyson said, throwing me a sympathetic glance. “He’s visiting from New Mexico.”

“Love New Mexico,” Ollie said.

He took the seat next to Peter, across from me, while Ben pulled up a chair and set it right next to mine. The table was a four-top so it was a bit snug. I didn’t say anything. Ben’s calf brushed up against mine, and I thought about pulling away, but I didn’t do anything either.

I tried not to think about how I’d left him that night after my disastrous date. How he’d been in bed, arms behind his head, watching me as I re-dressed. The smug grin on his face had been annoying but well-earned. I’d been pinned to the mattress and thoroughly fucked.

I could still hear his voice in my ear, breathy and filthy.

“I could lose myself in this cunt.”

“Your tits will be the death of me.”

“I want to run my tongue all over your gorgeous arse.”

I gulped down a glass of water.

“I’m feeling a bit starstruck,” Peter said. “You’re both so talented.”

“That’s quite kind,” Ollie said.

“I must have seen Tommy Jacks half a dozen times in the theaters,” he said to Ollie, before turning to Ben. “And I was obsessed with SXS, even though I know I’m not its target audience.”

“Cheers, mate,” Ben said.

Now Peter was the one who was flushed, and it became even more clear that, excellent listening skills and impeccable manners notwithstanding, I wasn’t the person he wanted to be out to dinner with.

Under the table, I felt Ben’s knee press against mine.

I glanced over at him, and from his self-satisfied smile, I could tell that he’d come to the same conclusion about Peter that I had.

We all ordered burgers.

“Have you heard from Gabe and the girls?” Ollie asked.