Ria's POV:
I parked my car in the bustling streets of New York City, excitement bubbling up as I made my way to the boutique hotel where Benny was staying. The last time I saw my favorite cousin, I was maybe 14 and he was 16, and now here we were, grown-up, living our separate lives, and about to reunite in one of the greatest cities in the world. Benny had flown in from London for a modeling gig, and when he called last night, I couldn't have been happier to hear from him.
When I finally spotted him waiting in the lobby, I felt a rush of warmth. Benny was every bit as striking as I remembered, with that perfectly tousled ash brown hair matching his eyes, chiseled features, and an air of effortless cool that made heads turn wherever he went. As soon as he saw me, his face lit up, and he crossed the distance between us in a few strides, enveloping me in a hug.
"Ria, darling, look at you!" he exclaimed, holding me at arm's length to inspect me. "Still as stunning as ever, absolute slay."
"Benny, please," I said, laughing. "You look like you've just walked off the cover of GQ."
"Well, that's 'cause I kinda literally just did," he said with a wink, "but enough about me. We've got a lot of catching up to do."
We decided to start our day with a quintessential New York experience—pizza. Benny led the way to a little hole-in-the-wall joint he swore was the best in the city. We grabbed a couple of slices and sat by the window, watching the chaos of the city unfold outside.
"So, tell me everything," I said between bites. "What's new with you? How's aunt Colene? And how are Anne, Denny, and Lizzy?"
"Oh, you know? Same old, same old. Well, except Lizzy she got expelled again for 'accidentally' starting a fire in chemistry, coincidenatlly right before a big test. Mom was not happy with her. That's what you get when you decide to study chemistry as major, just to please your mother."
Sounds about right. Good to see my cousin Lizzy still hasn't changed.
Benny's eyes sparkled mischievously as he leaned back in his chair. "And, I've got a new boyfriend."
I raised an eyebrow. "Really? What happened to Shannon? Last I checked, you two were practically inseparable."
Benny sighed dramatically, leaning back in his chair. "Oh, Shannon. Yeah, we broke up. But there was... a situation."
I raised an eyebrow, intrigued. "A situation? Do tell."
Benny leaned in, lowering his voice as if sharing a deep secret. "So, everything was going great. She was gorgeous, smart, the whole package, right? But then one day, she takes me to this farm for a weekend getaway. I'm thinking, 'Oh, how cute, a romantic little escape.'"
"Sounds nice so far," I said, nodding.
"Right? But then we get there, and she tells me it's a llama farm."
I blinked. "A llama farm?"
"Yeah, a llama farm. But wait, it gets better," Benny continued, his expression serious. "So, we're walking around, feeding these llamas, and she suddenly turns to me with this intense look in her eyes and says, 'Benny, I need to tell you something.' I'm thinking she's about to confess her undying love or something, right?"
"Of course," I said, nodding along, completely engrossed.
"But no," Benny said, shaking his head. "She tells me she's been saving up to buy a llama. She's already got a name picked out and everything. She wanted to name it Benny Junior."
I nearly choked on my pizza. "Benny Junior?"
"Benny Junior," he confirmed, deadpan. "She was dead serious. Then she asked if I'd be okay with moving to the farm with her after she bought it, so we could 'start a family.' And by family, she meant more llamas."
YOU ARE READING
Ice & Prejudice
RomanceVictoria 'Ria' Winters is the youngest out of all her quadruplet sisters; the one with the dark humor and haunting past. That's why she worked so hard for scholarships abroad to get as far away as possible. All her sisters had their own challenges...