“Let’s go swimming!”
“Angie, it’s too cold right now,” Lucy warned. “That water is ice. Maybe tomorrow when it’s a little warmer.”
She looked to Benji but he shook his head. “I don’t like cold water.”
She pouted and he laughed, picking her up to hug her tight. “How about this? You go change, and then we’ll all go to dinner at that supercool Chuck E. Cheese I saw?”
“Sweet Lord in heaven,” Lucy muttered, but Angie was all for it.
“Yeah! Avery and Ashlyn too, right?”
“Of course,” he said and she grinned as Avery smiled.
“Yes!” Angie said before he put her on her feet and she ran off to the house.
Avery stood slowly, picking up Ashlyn. “I’m going to go and change and keep Angie occupied since I’m sure you two need to talk about things that aren’t my business.”
Benji chuckled as Lucy glared, looking away as her face warmed. When his hand came into hers, she looked at their hands before looking up at him. “Let’s walk,” he said, and she bit into her lip to keep a sob in as she nodded. The surf was running up on their toes as they walked, the sun shining. This was what she wanted. She wanted to be with Benji on the beach—but not with the stupid stress Rick had caused. It was eating her alive, and she couldn’t bring herself to unload on him like she wanted.
It wasn’t fair.
“I missed you,” he whispered, leaning down to her to kiss her cheek.
She tried to smile but it didn’t work well as she leaned into him. “I missed you too.”
He led her down the private beach that Jace and Avery’s house sat on. Lucy’s toes sank into the sand as they walked in silence. She wasn’t sure what to say. Sorry? Would that even cover it? What else could she say but the truth? But how could she tell him that Rick was planning on running his name through the mud with a lie? A video. A disgusting, sad video of her sweet daughter that Angie had told her on the plane Rick had forced her to do. She had texted her dad that this morning, but he hadn’t gotten back to her. Which was odd. She didn’t talk to him often, but when she did, he usually got back to her quickly.
When Benji suddenly stopped, Lucy looked back at him, turning to face him as he took his glasses off, tucking them in his pocket. “I talked to your dad.”
Oh. Well, there was the reason she hadn’t heard from him. Looking at her, Benji shook his head as his eyes bored into hers, disappointment flooding his eyes. She sucked in a deep breath and nodded. “So you know what’s going on, then?”
“Yeah. Lucy, why didn’t you just tell me?” She looked away, but he brought her face back up, his hands cupping her chin. “Don’t hide from me. You’ve done that enough. Tell me what you’re thinking. What made you run like that?”
Her lips trembled as she shook her head, the tears welling up in her eyes. “I knew you’d tell me we can beat him together. That it didn’t matter what he did, that you wouldn’t leave me. I can’t do that to you, Benji. I love you too much.”
“Damn straight,” he said, his own eyes filling with tears. “And I love you for wanting to protect me. But leaving me, taking away your and Angie’s love, that won’t make it better. It will make it worse, because I don’t care about my name if I don’t have you two. I’m nothing without you two.”
She shook her head. “Benji, he’s accusing you of the worst thing. That isn’t fair. A normal man would run for the hills.”
“Not this man.”
“But your career—”
“Is nothing without you,” he stressed as a tear rolled down her cheek. “You give me purpose, Lucy. You make me excited to live. And why have a job that, yeah, I love, if I can’t come home and share my accomplishments with you? And that house isn’t a home without you and Angie. You two made that place so full of life. You think I can go back without you? Just because some dude is threatening us with what your dad says is a bogus video? I don’t care about Rick and his lies, I care about you. About us.”
Closing her eyes as his nose touched hers, she shook her head. She had known he was going to be like this. So fearless, impatient to take Rick out. “He could ruin you.”
“I don’t care,” he said simply. “I’d rather lose all that other stuff and still have you and Angie. Because with you two, I have it all.” Her lips trembled as she held his eyes. “I understand it. The love you have for me and wanting to protect me. Believe me, I’d do the same for you, but instead of doing it all alone, let me help. Let me be there with you. Let’s be there for each other.”
Biting into her lip, she slid her hands across his bare back, pressing her lips to the middle of his chest. His skin broke out in gooseflesh and she closed her eyes, knowing she couldn’t leave him if she tried. Well, she had tried, and look at how that turned out.
“What have I told you from the beginning, Lucy?