Page 34 of Falling for Him
I’m a Montgomery girl, it’s where I’ve lived my entire life. But one trip to Hudson and I fell in love.
It’s a beautiful, peaceful little town, with quaint shops and kind people. The kind of place you wake up in the morning and take a walk and feel completely safe. All the neighbors waving and saying good morning to you as you pass their porches, it’s so welcoming here.
Bennett put a lot of effort into tonight, Sutton was right. A walk hand in hand, listening to a band playing as we sat outside on the patio of Morgan’s, a small place in the center of Hudson.
When he stands and reaches his hand out I look up at him in confusion.
“Up.” He motions for me to stand and I look around. A few others are sitting a safe distance away, talking and listening to the music. “Dance with me.”
“Um, no one else is dancing.”
“I didn’t ask any of them.” Bennett smiles at me and I get those crazy little flutters in my stomach that he always seems to trigger. “I’m asking you.”
I still hesitate and he kneels, placing his hands on my knees, looking at me with such a calm eased look on his face. “They can think we are crazy, or they can laugh, but honestly sweetheart I don’t care. This night is for us, and I’d love nothing more than if you’d dance with me.”
Sliding my hand forward I link my fingers with his and he stands, taking me with him.
He was right, once he pulled me in close and I was surrounded by Bennett, he was all I could see. Everything else fades away, the music, and Bennett, me, and the feeling of him holding me close, that was all there was.
“Thank you for coming out with me tonight,” he whispers, his lips so close to mine.
“Thank you for asking me,” I reply, turning my head enough that our lips now hover only inches apart. Closing the distance I thinkI surprise us both and wrap my arms around the back of his neck.
“Do you still want to hate me, Lexi?”
Shaking my head I smile, playing with the hair that curls at the back of his neck. “No, Bennett.” He holds my stare, my heart races. “I don’t ever want to hate you again.”
“If I could go back,” he starts and I place my finger to his lips.
“No going back,” I insist. I don’t want to revisit what took place. Those actions continue to darken what we could have and I can’t do it anymore. I need to move forward.
“I need you to know the reasons behind my actions,” Bennett pushes. “It wasn’t fair for me to only give you half of what you were looking for. You deserve more than that. You deserve everything and at the time I was too selfish to give you my all.”
I do understand, now I do. It was hard to see it before, my pride had gotten in the way of everything else. “And now?"
“Now I’m standing here before you telling you I’m all yours, everything, my all.” My chest feels tight from his words. All the things I longed to hear for months. “I just hope that I’m not too late and that you can still see me the way you did then.”
“I never stopped seeing you, Bennett. You’ve always been the one to make me feel safe. I’ve missed you.”
“I’m right here.” He pushes the hair back off my face. “And I’m not going anywhere, I promise.”
CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE
Bennett
“You have windows and a door.”Lexi laughs as she steps inside and spins in a circle in the middle of what will be the living room.
“Yeah.” I stand, brushing the dust of my hands. “We want to get it enclosed so that we can start working on the inside while the second team continues outside.”
I notice the bag she is holding and I point to it. “What do you got there?”
“Cheesecake.” A smile tugs at her lips. “And,” she lifts her other hand and I notice the wine bottle with two paper cups, “I wanted to see if you’d like to celebrate with me.”
“I’ll always celebrate with you babe, but what are we celebrating?”
“I passed.” Her eyes fill with unshed tears. “They showed up a couple hours ago for my home inspection.”
Smiling I reach out and help take the items out of her hands, placing them on the cooler a few feet away.
