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“Your father picked a beautiful place for her to rest,” Ben whispered in her ear.
She smiled and wiped at the tears rolling down her cheeks. “The most beautiful.” She echoed, her voice cracking. “All this time, he was coming to visit her, here in this place. A place only he knew about.”
“I wonder if this was their place?” Ben asked. “I like the thought of that. A place that was special to them.”
“I like that too,” she agreed, looking up at him, adoration in her eyes. “You have been with me throughout this entire journey, and I am so grateful for you. I love you so much, Ben.”
He smiled, his eyes crinkling as he wiped the last tear from her cheek. “I love you too, sweetheart.”
* * *
That night, they melted into each other like they did so well, feeling blissful and satiated.
“I cannot believe I have only one more week left before my summer ends.” Ever rested her head on Ben’s chest as she ran her fingers through his beard.
“I wish you could stay, sweetheart,” he sighed, meeting her eyes. “I cannot imagine spending my days without you.”
“I know. I wish I could too.” She responded. “But I have a whole life waiting for me in Toronto. A gallery showing my work in a month and friends I have not seen since April.”
He nodded in understanding. His throat tightened, a lump of emotion wanting to form. He swallowed down hard as he ran his fingers gently down her bare back. He understood, but the thought of her not being here with him made his heart break. The ache became excruciating as their time ran through the proverbial hourglass of their wonderful summer together.
“You can visit me, and I will come to visit you, Bear. I want to give this long-distance thing a try.” she continued meeting his gaze, seeing the emotion in his eyes. “I am not ready to say goodbye to you.”
“I am never saying goodbye to you, sweetheart,” he declared as he rolled on top of her and captured her face in his hands. “Goodbye is not an option.”
His lips crashed into hers, a flood of emotion and desire enfolding them.
CHAPTER 15
Knowing Ever’s last weekend at Prairie Sky was upon them, Ben arranged to have a barbeque at the farm with friends, family, and neighbours on Labour Day Weekend – one day ahead of her impending departure. Having kept the secret of Ever’s generous gift to himself, they both agreed this was a good time to share it with those that cared for them most.
While Ever busied herself in the kitchen preparing food, Ben prepared the front lawn for the festivities.
Ben slipped into the kitchen and wrapped his arms around her from behind as she was cutting up a carrot for a veggie platter. Swiping a piece of carrot off her cutting board, Ever scolded him. “Hey!”
He wrapped his arm around her waist and kissed up the line of her neck, reaching her ear and giving it a light nip with his teeth.
“Ben, I’m busy here.” She giggled, putting the knife down before she cut herself.
He growled and turned her around in his arms, caging her to the counter, rocking his hard, heavy body against hers seductively. Feeling him hard and ready, she smiled at him through her lashes, giving him a sexy look. Moving aside the cutting board, Ben lifted Ever onto the countertop, settling himself between her legs. Capturing her lips in a fervent kiss, Ben’s hands ran up her legs, sneaking under her dress, finding her already wet with arousal. Running his tongue along her collarbone, he blazed a hot trail with his fingertips under her shirt to cup her breast, running his thumb over the peak.
“Bear, baby,” Ever managed to pant out huskily. “People will be here anytime.”
He growled and brought his mouth back to hers for a passionate, panty melting kiss, then released their embrace leaving her breathless. “And?” he asked as his fingertips breached her panties to find her insanely aroused. His tongue grazed her upper lip. “I can be quick.”
Just then, they heard the front door open, and the unmistakable voice of Bea Baxter echoed through the front entrance. “Hey, you two lovebirds! Where are you?”
Ever’s eyes widened as Ben smoothed down her skirt, quickly lifting her off the counter then positioning himself behind her to hide the rather obvious results of their make-out session.
Bea peeked around the corner. “Everyone decent?” she asked with a laugh and a wiggle of her eyebrows. Stepping into the kitchen fully, she put her hands on her hips and gave them an amused smile. “I was actually joking, but I can see by those red faces that I was interrupting something!”
“Come back in an hour.” Ben joked, nuzzling his beard against the side of Ever’s face, making her squirm and let out a nervous giggle.
“An hour? Wow, way to go girl!” she raised her hand to Ever for a fist bump. “No can do, you sexy beasts. Hayden just pulled in after me. Everyone else should be here soon.”
Ben leaned down to kiss Ever on the cheek and made his way outside to greet his brother and the arriving guests.
Still flushed, Ever grabbed the cutting board and knife and continued her vegetable prep. Bea slid in next to her and put her arm around her for a side hug.
