The Playboy's Proposal (Sorensen Family) (20 page)

“Okay. It was nice meeting you, Henry. Don’t hesitate to call me if your real estate needs change,” the woman said, nodding to her card still in his hand before following Benny back down the hall.

“Benny.”

She stopped and turned, waiting for him to say something.

What was he doing? What was he going to say that would stop her from leaving? He didn’t know, he just was having a hard time seeing her walk away again.

“You’ll let me know if you need anything more, won’t you? Maybe a hand with the move?”

“I think I’ve got it all covered, but thanks. Good-bye, Henry.”

The words, so final, were a kick in the gut.

With that, she turned and continued the rest of the way to the elevator. He wanted to shout something more. He wanted to ask her—no, beg her—to stop. To please reconsider. To…not leave him.

But he’d realized long ago that he couldn’t stop someone from leaving.

There were just some things he couldn’t control. But he
could
limit the amount of power, of control, he gave people over his emotions.

By making it clear to Benny there could be nothing more between them than what they already had, he’d protected himself—and her—from the inevitable heartache that would follow.

His dad had suffered so much after leaving Henry’s mom that he’d never recovered again.

Henry wouldn’t make that same mistake. He couldn’t. And someday, Benny would thank him.

Chapter Twenty-One

“No one is going inside empty-handed. You’re all going to help me carry something,” Daisy said after pulling into their parents’ driveway just after one on Sunday, the following afternoon.

The doors were thrown open, and three kids hopped out with boundless energy and excitement that Benny couldn’t help but envy.

It was the big day. The happy celebration of her father’s life, a party for which everyone her father loved and cared for was arriving en masse to surprise him—including his brother and his family from Wisconsin. It was a day to be happy. Grateful.

Not like her heart had been pulverized and then shoved back into her chest, raw and aching.

But as Daisy had reminded her, it would get easier.

Benny was holding on to that promise. It was what pulled her through every morning this long week after laying her heart out and having Henry stomp on it.

Kate and Payton met them at the door and took some of the pans from their arms.

“Any word on what Dad is up to?” she asked her sisters-in-law.

The two women looked at each other and grinned. “Cruz, Dominic, and your dad are all stuck in a boat in the middle of the lake, last we heard,” Kate said. “Not intentionally. I think it’s fair to say we have a couple more hours to get everything together before the guests start to arrive.”

“Whose idea was it to go on this father-son fishing expedition anyway? None of them fish.”

Payton looked sheepish. “I hadn’t realized that when I booked the package. It had just seemed so perfect at the time, and I really wanted to make a good impression for Father’s Day.”

Benny couldn’t help but smile at the image of the three men stuck elbow to elbow on a fishing boat in the middle of nowhere. “How did they get stranded, anyway?”

“Something about the engine. They radioed the outfitting company and they’re sending someone to get it up and running—and gave us a heads-up as well in case we grew worried.”

In the kitchen, they set all the platters down while shrieks from the kids running wildly in the backyard carried inside. Curious to see how things had progressed since the rental company was to have dropped off the tables and chairs and tents, Benny and Daisy went out to the backyard to check things out.

It was beautiful.

When Payton had first mentioned the possibility of transforming the backyard for the party rather than renting out the church hall, Benny had been pessimistic. She’d envisioned cardboard tables and red-checkered tableclothes, maybe a barbecue in the corner. Something that would have been more appropriate for a casual family dinner rather than the scale of the party they’d been planning.

Instead, the area looked more immense and elegant than she’d thought possible. Several round tables had white tableclothes and linens and pretty but simple floral arrangements for a centerpieces. White wood chairs—rather than the metal ones from the church—completed the look, as did two small canopies covering the oblong tables at one end of the yard for the food. The final touch to the scene was the large square floor laid down for dancing, a must for her mom, where the kids were already dancing and spinning around.

“Where is Mom?” she asked.

“She and your Aunt Glenda are picking up your uncle and his family from the airport. She is so excited to surprise your dad with their arrival that she wouldn’t allow anyone else to do it for her,” Payton said.

Their dad’s last living brother, Jansen, lived in Wisconsin, and even though the flight time was negligible, neither brother was keen on flying and Benny guessed that it had been at least four years since they’d last seen each other. It had probably been even longer since she’d seen her uncle Jansen’s sons, and she was looking forward to catching up with them.

“Well, if you ladies aren’t doing anything…” Daisy said in a voice that warned Benny they were all about to be hooked into some chore or another. “Although the caterers will be here in a couple of hours with the main entrées, I still have a couple hundred fresh homemade tortillas that need to be rolled out and cooked for the carnitas. Anyone willing to help?”

“We’re willing,” Kate said, while Payton looked a little less certain.

“Excellent. And to help get us moving along, I thought margaritas might be in order. Benny makes a mean margarita.”

At that, the three women turned their attention to her. From the concern shadowing the eyes of both her sisters-in-laws, she had a strong suspicion that Daisy had shared a little of Benny’s grief from this past week. And it was only a matter of time before they pressed her for details, details that were going to be painful and humiliating.

She was definitely going to need a drink.

…

The sun was so merciless as it passed overhead at the zoo Sunday afternoon that even the snow cone he was finishing off for Ella couldn’t cool him down. It was no small relief when they hit the sea lion exhibit and were able to walk into the cool, air-conditioned building.

Henry hadn’t been to the zoo since his third-grade field trip and would have preferred to have never returned again had his sister not called him this morning and invited him along with her and Ella for an excursion. Morgan had claimed that Ella had asked for him to come, and although the prospect of massive crowds and hundred-plus-degree temperatures normally would earn an immediate no, he’d agreed. It beat sitting home and thinking about she who should not be named.

He and Morgan took a step back from the glass where Ella was pressed, waiting for the sea lion to return on its loop around the large tank, careful to keep her in their sights.

“You look tired. Another late night?” his sister asked him, not taking her eyes off Ella.

“Just the usual,” he said, equally casual.

“Oh? With anyone I should know?”

Up to now, he hadn’t had a real moment alone with his sister, and he’d been grateful, knowing that from the worried looks she gave him now that she would have a lot of questions. But ever aware of Ella’s fondness for listening to every discussion and chiming in with her own questions and comments, she’d waited.

“Not that kind of night, sis. Just me and a few coworkers.”

“I see.” She was quiet again, and he knew the topic wasn’t yet over. He waited. “You know, now that I’ve decided to take that book deal, I’ve been looking for a more permanent place for me and Ella. And the funniest thing happened yesterday. My Realtor called me about a few new listings, including some that popped up around your place. In fact, if I’m not mistaken, one of them was right next door to yours. Where Benny lives.”

That was funny. Or perverse.

Best to act nonchalant. “Yeah. She’s selling. But it’s a one-bedroom. I hardly think it’s something you would be interested in.”

“No, and as much as I want to be somewhere closer to you now, I think the same building might be a bit much.” She licked her strawberry ice cream cone and mulled something over. “But I am sorry to hear that Benny’s moving out. I like her. Hate to see her go. How did that come about? I thought she bought that place just a few months ago.”

This needling was torture when they both knew she was going to eventually get to it at some point. “Come on, Morgan. Ask me what you really want to know. You want to know if it had anything to do with the two of us.”

“Okay. So the thought had crossed my mind, and taking into consideration your willingness to submit to scorching temperatures and masses of screeching kids for this little foray, not to mention the way the bags under your eyes are large enough for Ella to seek shade under, you can’t blame me. I worry about you. So what gives?”

He chomped on a chunk of now melted ice and tossed the rest of the snow cone into a nearby garbage can. “The usual. She’s looking for the declaration of love, the big commitment, happy-ever-after, the whole shebang. Stuff that I can’t offer.”

“Huh.” She licked her cone again, barely stopping a drip from reaching her hand.

He knew his sister. No way was she done. And the longer she stayed silent, the more jittery he was getting. Fine, he’d bite.

“You don’t have anything to add? No helpful tips or an offer to analyze my dark demons and figure out why I’m such a tragic figure?”

She scrunched her nose. “Sheesh. You sound like my high school English teacher wanting to delve into that horribly depressing book…what was it? Oh. Ethan Frome. I can’t remember. Did he die at the end? Or was he the one physically maimed forever?”

“I must have missed that one.” He waved to Ella, who’d turned around with unadulterated delight after the sea lion passed right in front of her, looking almost like he’d smiled.

“Sorry, I’ve got nothing for you. Who am I to talk about happily-ever-after? But I’ve got Ella, and I think that’s all I need.”

That was a topic for debate, but since he wasn’t in any position to critique her dating life without inviting the same, he stayed quiet.

It wasn’t until they reached the polar bear exhibit that Morgan tried to broach the subject again. “It’s actually too bad. Ella and I really liked Benny. And I could tell you did, too. I mean, don’t get me wrong, neither of us know what a healthy, loving relationship looks like by any stretch of the imagination, but I’d venture to say what I saw between you two was closer to anything I could ever wish for. Maybe not exactly the gushy crap like in all those Disney shows you used to watch with me. But close. And the fact that she didn’t hang on your every word earned her a few extra brownie points.”

Yeah. Benny did tend to call him on his bullshit without blinking an eye. It had been a refreshing change, really.

“Did I mention that I met Ella’s new teacher? She’s pretty cute, and I’m certain she’s single. Maybe you might want to pick Ella up after school some time and check her out.”

That was it? His sister had already moved on, not even a little more disappointed to see that the best woman he’d ever had the luck to spend time with had dumped his ass? Who this very moment might be still snuggled in bed with the humanitarian of the year—oh. Except that she was probably at her dad’s big surprise party right now, celebrating the man’s life. Maybe playing a game of Twister or badminton with her family.

Had she brought Luke with her? Was he, even now, in the middle of a scrimmage with her brothers, pretending they weren’t out for blood?

The thought made him crazy sick with jealousy. And a little sad.

It should have been him.

He should be there.

He should be telling Benny she was beautiful, whether she was in scrubs and a ponytail or those silly slippers and her hoodie. Waiting for the next outrageous comment that would come from that lovely mouth.

Why had he ever told her that men liked women who hung on their every word, shared the same interests, even if they had to pretend?

Why had he thought she needed to be anyone else but herself?

She was perfect just as she was. Ponytail. No ponytail. Scrubs or no scrubs. Pj’s or teddies or, preferably, nothing at all…

Ahead of them a little boy, no older than three, was balancing on the head of a statue of a bear. As expected, his foot gave out, and for a terrifying moment, he was sure the kid was going to crack his head open on the asphalt under him. But two arms reached out and grabbed the tyke before disaster could strike, and the man who Henry presumed was the kid’s father easily slung the boy to his shoulders. The woman next to him wrapped her arm around him and smiled up at the two obvious loves of her life.

He watched as they mouthed the words
I love you
and continued in step to the next exhibit.

And more than anything else in the entire world he wished, right then, that he was that man. That Benny was that woman. That the two of them could smile at each other, each certain of the other’s love.

That it would be forever.

Forever.

Something he had been so certain he couldn’t offer to anyone. Or that someone could offer to him.

So he’d chosen to be alone, instead of embracing what he could have, for however long.

Chosen to never have another moment when Benny’s hand rested perfectly in his, or she turned those clear, mischievous blue eyes to his and grinned, or said something so crazy and hilarious that he could only laugh and look forward to what she’d say next.

He’d said no. Said no to the
possibility
of forever. He’d said no, because what kind of guarantees were there in life of anything, least of all someone’s continued love and affection?

Well, save for one exception.

Henry knew, without a doubt, that no matter what crazy thing that woman said or did, he would never stop loving her.

He loved Benny Sorensen. And he would love her until he could no longer draw breath. He wanted to wake up with her at his side every morning, and he wanted to end every night with her next to him—or under him or above him.

Wasn’t that something worth risking any possible heartache on?

Because this past week had been hell. Pure hell. And if this was his future, then what was the point of anything?

Only…he had really blown it. Pushing her away, making it clear that there could never be anything more than friendship between them. He’d been a complete schmuck. Too afraid to recognize what was right in front of his face. He was already head over heels in love with the woman. She’d been right. He was a coward.

But not anymore.

No matter if she—or her brothers, or even Luke—sent him packing, he had to let her know that she was the only one for him and he was certain he was the best man for her. He had to convince her that he loved her quick wit and sauciness, her refusal to bow out of an argument, that he didn’t care if she wore ratty pajamas every day for the rest of her life, that he wanted her and only her.

“Hey, Morgan?” He looked back to where his sister was hand in hand with her wilting daughter. “You two ready to go? I have somewhere I need to be.”

She didn’t even blink. “Whenever you are.”

…

Morgan smiled in bemusement as they pulled up in front of the house brightly decorated with balloons and party banners. The unmistakable sound of a mariachi band was coming from the backyard.