and sat on the flat rocks overlooking the sea just like any other young couple.
“It’s beautiful out here,” Ben reluctantly admitted, and she did a little dance of triumph and stuck her finger in his face.
“You see? I told you it wasn’t all bad.”
He grinned at her. “You’re still the best part of it, though.”
She leaned in and kissed him, and that took a while before she sat back and finished her lunch.
“What are we going to do this afternoon?” Ben asked as he finished his bottle of water.
“Are you up for some culture?”
“As in what?” He looked wary.
“Have you ever been to the Getty?” Silver asked.
His brow creased. “Nope. Do I want to?”
“Haven’t I done you right so far?” she demanded. “It’s the most fabulous place, and the views over the city are spectacular.”
“Okay, I trust you.” He allowed her to pull him to his feet. “But we’d better get back soon, because we definitely need a nap before dinner.”
Chapter Nineteen
Ben woke up at his usual time of five A.M. and realized he was starving. Seeing as Silver had told him to help himself to breakfast whenever he wanted, he decided to leave her to sleep and go and eat. He’d bring her a tray up with a flower and everything; she’d probably like that.
He took a quick shower and got dressed before padding out in his socks down the hallways and stairs to the lower level where the huge kitchen and family room occupied half the floor.
“Oh!” A diminutive woman pressed her hand to her chest and stared at him from behind the countertop. “Who are you?”
“I’m Ben Miller. I’ve been staying here for a couple of days.” He smiled reassuringly at her. “Silver said it would be okay for me to come down and get some breakfast. I’m used to getting up early.”
“You’re Silver’s young man! The cowboy who was on the news with her!” She finally smiled at him. “I’m Dee, the housekeeper. Now, what can I get you to eat? I’ve already started the coffee. Mr. Meadows sometimes gets up early so I’m always ready for him.”
“I can get something myself; I don’t need to bother you.” Ben was speaking to air as she opened the huge refrigerator and started getting stuff out.
“I have fresh fruit and granola, or I can cook you eggs, or maybe a breakfast burrito?” She eyed him speculatively. “If you work outside you can probably eat a lot. My brother works on a ranch out in the Gold Country up north.”
“Yeah?” Ben gave up his attempts to be independent and settled down on one of the stools drawn up against the countertop. “I live in Morgan Valley. It’s near Bridgeport.”
“I know where that is.” She nodded and passed him a bowl. “Help yourself to the fruit and yogurt while I get to work on your eggs.”
Ben was just finishing up his second plateful of food when Silver’s dad came in. He halted when he saw Ben, a strange expression on his face.
“Just the person I was looking for! Is Silver up?”
“I think she was still asleep. Her door was closed when I went past.” Ben wasn’t really lying. He’d shut the door himself.
“Good.” Phil turned to Dee. “Good morning, my dear. Can I have my coffee to go?” He nodded at Ben. “I need to have a chat with this guy before I can eat properly.”
Ben slid off the stool, thanked Dee profusely, picked up his own coffee, and followed Phil through the silent house to his office. Ben paused on the threshold, taking in the photos of Silver and her siblings, the awards they’d won, and the film posters.
“Wow, this is some collection,” Ben said as he closed the door.
Phil was now sitting behind his desk, his hands folded in front of him. He gestured at the chair.
“Please sit.”
“Thanks.” Ben took the chair. “If you’re worried about me overstaying my welcome, I’m expecting to leave today. Adam said everything’s cool at home.”
Phil made a face. “I’m sorry to have to tell you this, Ben, but that might not be the case for much longer.”
“What’s happened?” Ben set his coffee down.
“After you appeared at the press conference, a lot of the sites wanted to know all about you because they decided there was something going on between you and Silver.” He sighed. “Unfortunately, they found out quite a lot more than they bargained for.”
There was a hollow sensation in Ben’s gut, which made him wish he hadn’t eaten so much