I could picture him as the distant father Ben had known most of his life, but he wasn’t that man anymore. I found myself extremely satisfied with this realization. I was proud of Ben for loving his father through the rough years and working to cultivate this new relationship they had begun to forge.
“Liz, we’d love to meet the kids,” Sharon announced over store-bought lemon bars-I appreciated that about her. She was a very good cook, but she claimed desserts exceeded her limitations. Apparently this was Ben’s favorite. And I liked that even more. I liked knowing this about him. I liked that he had a favorite and I’d found out this way.
I tried not to analyze that too much.
“Sure,” I told her. “We don’t start school for a couple more weeks, so we’re pretty available.”
Sharon looked at her husband and then turned back to me. “We were thinking about taking everyone to the lake. We thought we could go for a weekend? We’ll bring the boat this time.”
“The kids had so much fun over the Fourth. They would love that.” I answered as Ben’s hand landed on my bare knee under the table. His thumb trailed a path up along the outside of my thigh. I shivered from the touch, but felt the encouragement he meant to give me.
“He told us,” Sharon grinned. “We cannot wait to see for ourselves.”
“I have to admit that I’m surprised you’re both so… accepting of me and all my children.” The words slipped out before I could think better of them. I internally winced when I saw Sharon glance at Ben uncertainly.
I knew they were just doing their best to make me feel welcome and maybe ease the awkwardness of an unexpected situation. I doubted they hoped their only child and heir to the family firm would ever become serious with a woman like me. With a woman who had as many children as me.
“Oh, Liz…” Sharon sounded heartbroken at my words and I wished I could shovel them back in my mouth and swallow them whole.
My chest stung with a pain that I had caused. I opened my mouth to explain, but Mark beat me to it.
“I have to admit, Liz, that we were surprised when Ben told us that you two were dating, but only because you finally said yes.” His teasing smile helped shift the atmosphere back to friendly again. “From the first day he met you, we have heard stories about his next door neighbor and all her kids. Slowly those stories took on an affectionate note and then grew into something more. We’ve always known how Ben felt about you and your family. We just didn’t know if you would ever feel the same way after everything you’ve been through. We couldn’t be more thrilled that you’re here tonight, Liz. We couldn’t be happier to see our son so happy. You have to understand that Ben has never given us much of a say in his life. He does pretty much whatever he wants and we respect him for that. He makes wise decisions. And I can’t help but see that he made a brilliant one with you. Of course, we accept you and all of your children. Anything that could make our son this happy is more than worthy of our approval.”
Ben’s hand left my knee to slide over my shoulders and rest around me. He pulled me closer to him and pressed a kiss to the top of my head while I tried to control my emotions.
“See?” he teased. “They’re not so bad.”
I blinked up at him and gave a watery smile, before turning back to Mark and Sharon. “Thank you. That means a lot to me. Thank you.”
Mark winked at me, “Whatever he’s told you about me, I only live up to about half of it.”
I laughed lightly, enjoying his sweet humor. “I can see that.”
Sharon waved a hand in front of her face and dabbed at the corners of her eyes with her napkin. “No, you’re worse!” she cried at her husband. “You weren’t supposed to make me cry over dessert! Nobody should cry over dessert!”
“She’s never going to come back if you keep it up, Mom.” Ben’s hand played with the sleeve of my white and yellow printed blouse, feeling so familiar that my body and soul couldn’t help but notice. “You’ve ruined lemon bars for her forever.”
“That’s not true!” I gasped. “This night has made lemon bars for me. Forever.”
We settled into easy conversation after that and I could truly say I enjoyed my evening. By the time Ben parked in his driveway and walked me to my front door, I couldn’t stop smiling. His parents were great. He was great.
And sometimes, I was great too.
At my door, I turned to face him and his hands settled on my arms. He pulled me into a hug and sighed contentedly.
“I really like your parents,” I confessed into his chest.
“Good,” he breathed. “Thank you for going with me tonight. I know it wasn’t easy for you.”
“Well, I’m not easy for you, so I figured I owed you.”
His chuckle vibrated through his chest and made me fall for him just a little bit more. I tried to hold out, I tried to stop this fall… but I was helpless against this man that had wiggled his way into my life and made me need him, made me want him.
“You do owe me,” he murmured, dipping his head to capture my mouth with his.
I fell into the now familiar rhythm of our kissing. His lips molded against mine, tasting and savoring each brush and nip. His tongue swept over the seam of mine until I opened my mouth for him and gave him a deeper touch.
His hands fell to my hips and held me tightly to him. His fingers tugged at my blouse until he could slide them beneath the silky fabric and caress my bare skin.
My breathing hitched as one of his hands slid higher, nudging the underwire of my bra. His kiss intensified, heightening each of my senses and causing me to drown in lust for him. His lips moved over my jaw, down the column of my neck and across my collarbone.
“Liz,” he whispered as he pushed me against the door, trapping me against his hardened body.