Call Her Mine (Harmony Pointe #1)- Melissa Foster Page 0,30
and get the things you don’t realize you need, like a changing pad and a Diaper Genie.” She eyed the bags and said, “Is it safe to assume you’re staying here tonight? Or are you hiring a truck to take all your cargo back to your place?”
Ben looked at Aurelia and said, “I’ll get back to you on that.”
Piper left after the baby fell asleep on the blanket-bed Aurelia and Ben had made for her beside the couch. The second Piper was out the door, everything Aurelia had held in for the last two hours came tumbling out in fast, harsh whispers. “You kissed me! In front of Piper’s crew! Our very first kiss ever and that’s where you do it? How was I supposed to react to that? And in front of Piper?” She paced, unable to stop the accusations from flying. “You know everyone in Sweetwater will know about this by the end of the day. Piper will make a snarky remark, and then it’ll be all over town. She probably won’t even know she did it. She’s like a secret obliterator. Not that we have to be a secret, but . . . our first kiss? And Piper and the baby? Did you see Piper’s face? She loves B already! She’s shopping for her. What if she’s not yours? What if she is? Oh God, Ben . . .”
He pulled her into his arms and slanted his mouth over hers as he had downstairs, taking her in a passionate kiss that shattered her thoughts and left her light-headed.
He brushed his delicious lips over hers as light as a feather and said, “It wasn’t planned. I had something much better planned, and I’ll tell you about it, but first I need to say this. I agree my timing sucked. The last thing I wanted was an audience, but I can’t hold back anymore, Rels. I can’t hear about one more man asking you out or be there to hold your hand when he turns out to be an asshole. And I sure as hell can’t kiss one more woman, hoping to fill a void where you belong.”
She was overwhelmed with emotions, and “Ben . . .” slipped out. He’d been doing exactly what she had all this time?
He kissed her temple the way that always made her heart melt and said, “Let me finish. I know asking you to be with me when I’m in the middle of a paternity nightmare is a lot to hope for. I fucked up. I have no idea how, because I’ve never in my entire life had unprotected sex, but this is on me and I take full responsibility. And I’ll understand if you want to walk away, even if it’s only until I have this figured out. But I hope with every fiber of my being that you’ll stick around, because baby or no baby, you’re the only woman I want by my side.”
Happiness bubbled up inside her, and she tried not to let it carry her away. “Do you have any idea how long I’ve wanted to hear that? But how can I know if this would ever have happened if we didn’t find B on your doorstep? What if you want me because it’s overwhelming to do this on your own?”
He took her hand and led her to the couch, pulling her down beside him. “I need to tell you how I had planned on confessing my feelings for you. How I’d planned on earning that first kiss.”
“You better hope you’re good at making things up on the fly.” She knew Ben was a planner when it came to business, but not so much when it came to his personal life. The idea that he might have planned something so meaningful blew her away. If he really had.
He pulled out his wallet and handed her a folded piece of paper. She unfolded it and scanned the handwritten list. Her pulse quickened with every item she read.
Glass slipper
Lights at night
Dancing beneath the stars
That look that Grandpa gives Grandma
Whispers and secret smiles
To be loved like Mr. Darcy loves Elizabeth Bennet
Moonlight walks
P.S. I Love You type of love that never ends
The list went on, filling every line on the front and the back of the paper, and included so many of the comments she’d made over the years about things she wished for in a relationship, like waking up in a man’s arms and finding him looking at her like he was