Holiday Coffee ✓︎

Chapter 7

"I'm back," Ben called from the entryway.

"Over here," I called back. "There's food on the island if you're hungry."

I was curled up on the couch with the throw and another cup of hot coco. I had changed into more comfortable clothes and decided to take the rest of the day easy. It was back to work tomorrow.

"You look cozy," Ben commented as he came to sit on the sofa.

I smiled at him, nodding.

Then I remembered my conversations with Vincent and Naomi.

"Ny and I missed you at brunch," I said.

"Yeah, I'm really sorry for canceling. My brother told me he was here with the kids, and I figured it was a good chance to say hi."

"It's okay. I hope you got to spend enough time with the girls. I'm sure they missed you."

"They did. Emily is actually pregnant. They're having a boy this time."

"Oh, congratulations to her! I'm sure the girls are excited to have another sibling to boss around."

Ben laughed, relaxing into the sofa. "They are. They keep making a funny face when someone brings up that they're having a brother instead of a sister, though. Their dad did too good of a job teaching them that boys are icky."

I laughed, knowing exactly what he was talking about. Ben's nieces were the funniest and sassiest kids I had ever met. They were total characters, but in the best way possible.

"I can see that happening. I'm glad you had a good time, though, and I'm glad you got to see them," I said with a warm smile.

"Me too."

I took a deep breath.

"So, are you still planning to leave tomorrow morning?" I asked him.

He nodded. "Does that work for you? I can grab a hotel if I'm imposing."

I shook my head. "No, no. You're okay. I just wanted to make sure."

He tilted his head, watching me. My eyes dropped to my mug as I ran a finger around the rim. I wasn't sure how to approach this.

"Ella, what's wrong?" he asked, suddenly standing in front of me.

I looked up, surprised. I set my mug on the side table and pushed my hair behind my head. I felt the cushion next to me sink with Ben's weight. I lifted my eyes to look at him again.

His emerald eyes had an unreadable expression, and his sharp jaw was covered in a light stubble. He had worn a long sleeve shirt, and I could see how the material clung to his shoulders and arms in an appealing way. This man had been by my side through it all, the good, the bad, and the ugly. And he had stayed. He had always stayed.

"Ny told me about what you wanted to talk about over dinner," I finally spoke.

His brows furrowed in confusion before realization dawned on his face.

"And what do you think about it?" he asked slowly.

I looked up to find his eyes on me.

"I want you to say the words," I whispered. "Tell me exactly what you were going to say."

Ben scooted closer to me, his leg touching one of my knees. My eyes dropped down to his lips, lingering a moment longer than they should have. He let his hand fall lightly on my arm, raising goosebumps as his fingers trailed down lightly to capture my hand in his.

Platonic friends did not feel like this, I thought.

"I haven't been able to take my eyes off of you from the moment I met you," he spoke in a low voice. "I've been with countless other women, but all I can ever think about is you. All I can think about is how you scrunch your nose for a moment before you laugh so hard you can't breathe, how it's become so damn hard to get a genuine smile instead of those polite ones from you after what happened, the way you feel when I hug you, how soft and silk-like your hair feels when you let me play with it, the way you have a small scowl painted on your face in the mornings until you've had caffeine because you didn't sleep well the night before. All I can ever think about is you, Ariella Mae Valentine, and how damn much I want to be yours."