Page 49 of Because of You
“That’s different.”
“It so isn’t.”
They keep fighting under their breaths as I make my way around the island to Ben. He hands me the iced coffee he has waiting on the counter and leans down to kiss my cheek, lingering for a second longer than necessary. Butterflies swarm my stomach, and I marvel at my reaction to him. At how much has changed in less than twelve hours.
“How was Jules?” he says in a low voice.
“Surprisingly amazing. I’ll tell you later.”
“Good. Go sit. I’m making breakfast today.”
“Seriously? You never make breakfast when we’re here. You usually sleep through it.”
“Well, I’m up now.” He slides an arm around my waist and pulls me into his side. “It’s a really good morning, Hal. I’m making you breakfast.” Then he kisses the top of my head and guides me to the table and into a seat right across from Hannah and Jo who are both giving me appraising looks.
“We’re going to talk about whatever that was, right?” asks Hannah.
I decide to play dumb. If there’s one thing I don’t want right now, it’s to have this conversation with my sisters at the breakfast table.
“Whatever what was?”
“Um, Ben with his hands all over you and kissing the top of your head. And I’ve been here for an hour already, and I definitely saw him come into the kitchen earlier from the direction of not his bedroom.”
“He what?” screeches Jo.
“Shut. Up.” I hiss under my breath. “Can we please talk about this later?”
Jo fixes me with a glare. “We will absolutely talk about this later.”
Talking about this with my sisters feels so much more daunting than talking about this with my friends. But it’s inevitable, so I better buckle up. My friends all gather around the table, various kinds of coffee in front of them. I let the noise and the chatter and clatter of utensils on dishes settle around me. I try to sneak a look at Ben, but he is already looking at me from his place in front of the stove. I can feel my face flush, and he grins, then flips off the burner and starts adding food to the plates he laid out on the counter.
He walks over and puts one of those plates in front of me and kisses my head again before taking the chair next to mine. I lookdown and find the same mushroom and cheese omelet he made for me the morning of Maya’s adoption hearing. It was the day I woke up at his house and cried all over him because he took control of the logistics of my day. Thinking back on that morning after last night makes me see it all so differently.
Ben seems to know exactly what I’m thinking about because he slides his hand over my bare thigh and leans in to whisper in my ear.
“I wished that morning I could touch you like this and kiss you after making breakfast. Last night meant a lot to me, Hallie.”
“Me too,” I whisper, feeling my entire body just beam from the inside out.
He squeezes my leg and then lets go. I go to pick up my fork and see Rachel standing in the doorway of the kitchen, looking at Ben and me with a knowing smile on her face. She catches my eye and gives me a wink, making her way over to the coffee pot. Add Rachel to the list of conversations I’m sure I’ll be having today.
The rest of breakfast is uneventful, and we’re on lake time, so no one is in a hurry to go anywhere or do anything. I lounge around the table with Ben, my sisters, and the girls for a while, drinking coffee and talking.
We are in the middle of a conversation about whether we want to lounge by the pool or take the boat out later this afternoon when Ben hooks his foot around the bottom of my chair and slides it closer to his. Then he slings his arm around me and tucks me into his side, leaning over and whispering, “You were too far away,” into my ear. When he pulls me closer to him and kisses my temple, goosebumps cascade down my arms. He dances his hand along my shoulder and even though it’s mid-summer, I give a full body shiver. I can’t decide if it’s just been so long since someone has touched me like this, or if what happened last night means that I am destined to respond to anypart of Ben touching any part of me like this forever. He gives me a sly look that tells me he knows exactly how this is affecting me. And it is in that second that I realize the kitchen has gone deadly silent.
I look up to see the five pairs of eyes around the table focused directly on us and that at some point during our little interlude Jeremy, Jordan, and Allie appeared in the kitchen to join in the staring.
It’s Allie who breaks the silence. “Fucking finally.” All eyes turn to her.
“What do you mean, finally?” asks Jo.
“It looks like our Ben has finally made his move. He did make his move, right?”
Jordan slides an arm around Allie’s waist. “I would tell my blunt and wildly gorgeous fiancée that it’s not polite to put people on the spot like that, but I’m nosy, and well, just not that evolved.”
Jeremy plops down into the empty chair beside Emma, who promptly scoots her chair a little closer to Molly on her other side.
“Not only is Ben in the kitchen when the clock reads ‘before eleven,’ but you two are looking awfully cozy at our breakfast table this morning.”
