Molly - Sarah Monzon Page 0,65

cheek. “In Switzerland and other parts of Europe a person must greet the other with three kisses.” The distance closed and his lips pressed against my skin. “One.” His eyes bored into mine as his mouth moved from my right cheek to my left. “Two.” Another kiss. My lips tingled as unspoken communication passed between our gazes, and he moved back to my right cheek. “Three.”

He was torturing me, slowly, one teasing non-kiss at a time.

“And in Papua New Guinea—”

“America, Ben.” I threaded my fingers together behind his neck. “Show me America.”

The corners of his eyes crinkled as his lips hovered over mine. “Apple pie and baseball.” His head lowered and finally, blissfully, he was kissing me.

20

Molly

I’d spent countless hours in Ben’s house since Mrs. Bardowski had fired me. Goodness, after he’d been put on night float, I’d practically lived in this Spanish-style hacienda on Mission Avenue. But I’d never been here like this. On Ben’s couch, snuggled into his side, his arm wrapped lovingly around my shoulders. I took a deep breath, filling my lungs with the spicy scent of his aftershave and the freshness of his clean linen shirt.

He rested his chin on top of my head. “I don’t know when I’ve ever felt this relaxed. Somehow, with you in my arms”—he pulled me even closer to him—“all of the stress that’s been building over the years melts away.”

I lifted my face, the wonderment of finally getting to this point washing over me. My palm lifted to rest on his cheek, the stubble from his jaw scratching across my skin in a not-unpleasant way.

From the moment I’d met this man, I’d wanted nothing more than to help ease his burden. To make him feel lighter. Freer. He gave so much of himself to other people—his daughter, his family, the hospital—that I wanted him to be on the receiving end for a change.

But in giving, I’d received so much more in return.

His lips curled in a smile as he stared down at me. I waited, my pulse beating a staccato against my ribs, for the moment when his mouth would meet mine again. I hadn’t been able to stop thinking about our kiss at the fundraiser picnic and was ready to see if another round would be as mind-blowing as the first.

Seconds stretched. Lengthened. And still, the only sensation brushing my lips was that of his warm breath fanning across my sensitive skin. My vision blurred then hyper-focused as an invisible cord within my middle grew taut. His eyes met mine, and in them I saw he knew exactly what his delicious teasing was doing to me.

I might’ve had to wait until he was ready for a relationship, but as he said, there is a season to everything, and my time of being patient had ended.

My toes pressed into the arm of the couch, pushing me farther onto Ben’s lap. With my hand on his jaw, I drew his face closer to mine and sealed his lips with my own. A low moan vibrated from the back of his throat and danced across my lips, sending a ripple of pleasure down my spine. His palm splayed across my back, supporting my weight as his head tilted to a better angle.

“So, it is true.”

I froze. We’d sent Chloe to her room to video chat with Yiayia while we stole a few minutes alone. Not alone now. Ben’s mother and daughter had joined our little party of two.

Ben chuckled and rubbed a hand down his face while he helped me sit up. “This isn’t over,” he growled in my ear before helping Chloe into his lap. He took the phone from her. “Hi, Mom.”

I could see where he got his thick, dark hair and the intelligence that shone out of his chocolate-brown eyes. Mrs. Reed beamed at us from the screen, her stylish bob hairstyle accentuating the contours of her face even from a pixilated image.

“I am so happy for you, my Benji.” She pulled her phone closer to her, and her face enlarged on the screen. “Let me see this woman who has brought love to your life again.”

He looked at me apologetically but handed me the phone. “Hello, Mrs. Reed.”

She made a pshing sound and waved her hand. “None of this Mrs. Reed nonsense. I am Althea. And you? You are beautiful, my dear. Isn’t she beautiful, Benji?”

I tilted the phone so all three of us could be in the frame.

“Yes, Mama,” Ben said.

“Ack. Well, you know, this changes