already talked to Brody. He told me about the case he's building against Monica." He came over to me and put his palms on the counter on either side of my hips, leaning into me. "You helped my brother more than you'll ever know."
My breath trembled when he kissed me, not because it was hot or sexy, but from the underlying tenderness in his lips. He kissed me like he cherished me.
"Thank you," he whispered.
"I did it for Cam. And for Jacks." His hazel eyes warmed, only inches from mine. "Okay, and for you and Brody, too, but don't get a big head about it."
Ben pushed himself upright but he was smiling. "I know."
I waited a beat as he moved back to the stove and added pasta to the boiling water. "I'm sorry I acted like an idiot."
I'd apologized before but we hadn't talked about it again since he'd grabbed me and ravished me. I didn't want any bad feelings to fester. For the first time in my life, I was starting what I hoped would be a permanent relationship. I wanted our foundation to be strong.
Ben glanced at me, but he didn't look angry. Not anymore. "I'm sure we'll both act like idiots at one point or another during our relationship."
Okay, so that wasn't accepting my apology but he talked about our future like it was a given. I took that as a good sign.
Still, I didn't want this hanging over my head. "So we're good? You're not mad at me anymore?"
Ben froze and looked up at me. "I wasn't mad at you, Sierra. I was hurt."
Shit. How could a guy who looked like him also have his emotional shit together too? It was too weird. He could have been a fitness model, but his true strength lay in his heart and mind.
"I'm sorry I hurt you." I had to bite back a sniffle because I suddenly wanted to cry again.
He moved back over to me. "And I'm sorry I hurt you." He cupped my cheeks with his hands. "If you can forgive me for that, I can definitely forgive you."
His thumbs brushed away the tears that trickled from my eyes.
"Just so you know, I hardly ever cry," I stated, sniffing again. "If you do something to make me mad in the future, I'm much more likely to seek revenge than sob on your shoulder." I considered my words. "Actually, if you make me mad and then I start crying, you should probably run."
Ben smiled at me and wiped my tears again. "I'll keep that in mind. And I'll deserve it if I make you that angry."
"Liar," I mumbled. "I'm not known for being reasonable so there's no guarantee you'll deserve it."
He laughed. "Are you trying to be honest or scare me away?"
"You should know what you're getting into," I stated. My voice was prim, which I didn't like, but he needed the information.
"I've heard all about you from J.J. and Cam over the years, I'm pretty sure I know what I'm getting when it comes to you."
I squinted at him. "I'm not sure if that sounds like a compliment."
Ben kissed me again and released me when the timer for the pasta went off. He drained the pasta and tossed it into the pan with the tomato sauce. Then he pulled the garlic bread out of the oven where it had been warming.
"Believe me, it is."
"Hmph."
He grinned at me again but didn't say anything else. I watched as he sliced the bread and retrieved grated parmesan cheese from the fridge. I fidgeted with the hem of the shirt I'd borrowed.
Finally, I couldn't keep my mouth shut any longer.
"So what do we do now?" I asked.
He paused, cocking his head as he looked at me. "Why does asking that question make you so nervous?"
My knee-jerk reaction was sarcasm, but I swallowed it back. There was a time and a place for my smart mouth and this wasn't one of them. Huh. Maybe I could learn how to be an adult after all.
"Probably because this is all new to me," I answered.
He set aside the cheese and the grater and walked over to me. "How about you tell me what you want, and then I'll tell you what I want. If we don't agree on certain things, we'll compromise?"
At this distance, I could see the individual gold flecks in his eyes. They were so pretty, with the dark green around the pupil and the lighter brown on the edges. But, right