Page 74 of Resisting the Temptation
Jordan:About two hours. Please tell me you’re going to make a grand gesture and go with her? I can’t go with her because of a conference, and I don’t want her to go alone. I know our plan was for you to take it slow, but she needs you right now.
Ben:I don’t know if this is a grand gesture, but I’m not letting her go alone. Plans change, but my feelings haven’t.
Jordan:It is a grand gesture. Don’t let her push you away now. She needs someone else on her side.
Ben:I’ll be by her side as long as she lets me.
Forever, if I have it my way.
Chapter 35
Emma
Iappreciate Enzo telling me to take the day off, but without the distraction of work, I don’t know how to stop the sadness from consuming me.
I haven’t stopped crying since I left work, and if I can’t stop, I don’t know how I’m supposed to make the eleven-hour drive. When Jordan comes with me, we split the driving so we’re able to make it all in one day, but with how I’m feeling, I don’t think I should try it by myself.
If I leave tonight, I could stop in Vegas and break it up into two days instead of driving straight through… That would be easier than trying to do it all in one day.
I wish Jordan could come with me. Hannah already texted to tell me I was welcome to stay with her if I didn’t want to stay with my parents, which would upset my mom. I don’t know if I can handle four days of my mother’s belittling on top of the grief and dealing with the rest of my family. I told Hannah I’d just get a hotel.Her babies are almost ten months old, and I don’t want to add to her plate.
Times like these, I wish I had a significant other to come with me as a buffer. To have someone to lean on instead of having to stand strong all alone.
I hate being around my family. I hate funerals. Being able to hold someone’s hand and lean on them when I’m forced into these situations would make them more bearable.
But I made the choice to not be serious with someone—to not let anyone in. I have to live with the decision. It’s not someone else’s responsibility to help me carry my emotions. It’s mine alone.
I’m in the middle of packing when there’s a knock on the door. Must be a package for Jordan. They’re in sessions today, so I’ll just let the delivery person leave the package on the porch.
A minute later, there’s another knock, and my phone buzzes with a text.
Ben:Open up, honey. I know you’re here because your car is in the driveway.
Why the hell is Ben here?
I pad out of my room and open the front door. Sure enough, the bane of my existence and object of all my fantasies is standing in front of me wearing a Rossi Construction polo and jeans that hug his thighs.
Why does he haveto be so handsome?
Ben’s brows are furrowed as he takes in my appearance. I’ve changed into comfy hot pink leggings and an oversized threadbare T-shirt with a logo of a band I’ve never heard of. I never put on makeup today. My eyes are puffy, and my nose is red from crying.
“What are you doing here?” I ask, my voice smaller than I want it to be.
“I’m here to take you to Utah.”
“How did you—Enzo.” I pinch my nose. “I don’t need you to take me to Utah. I’m a big girl. I can go alone and handle myself just fine.”
Ben steps toward me, and I step back. We follow this pattern until he’s inside the house. He shuts the front door with his foot and stands chest to chest with me, a determined expression on his face.
“This isn’t about you not being able to handle yourself. It’s about you notneedingto do it alone. I’m sorry about your grandpa, Emma. I can’t imagine what you must be feeling, but I can’t just sit here while you suffer eight hours away. I won’t let you go through this by yourself.”
“Eleven,” I murmur, blinking back tears.
“What?”
“It’s eleven hours away. Not eight.”
Ben gives me a half smile. “Then I’m for sure not letting you drive eleven hours alone.”
