Mazzy
Ihadatonof schoolwork to do, but when Ben invited us back to his house for dinner, I couldn’t turn him down. It wasn’t possible—especially when Katty nearly backflipped with excitement at nosing around her Benny’s house.
She was going to crash soon. She’d begun drooping in the car on the way to his house, but every time she nodded off, she’d gasp, look out the window, and ask if we were almost there. Two hours of running around the rugby pitch would do that to a little girl.
She’d had the time of her life, though, and I’d loved every second of watching her. Plus, Nate was easy company and had introduced me to a few players and coaches.
The wildest part? All of them had known exactly who I was. Ben had apparently been chatty, not only about his daughter but me too. I didn’t know how to feel about it. But I was beginningto understand this was part of the whirlwind that was Ben, never knowing up from down and right from left.
I found a parking spot on the street, and Ben was there, opening my back door. He lifted Katty from her seat, and she clung to him like a little monkey, doing her best to look alert while melting against him.
He poked her tummy. “Are you tired, Katty?”
She shook her head. “I’m not tired. I’m never tired. Ever.”
He gawked. “Really? You must be some kind of magician. I get tired every single day. No fair.”
She narrowed her eyes, considering him. “Well, sometimes I’m tired. But not now. I’m awake, and I want to see your house.”
He propped her on his hip and draped his arm around my shoulders when I joined them on the sidewalk. “I’m just down the block. Come on, ladies.”
“She can walk, you know,” I murmured.
He huffed. “Why should she when I’m perfectly capable of carrying her?” Lower, just for me, he added, “I missed out on four years of this. Indulge me a little?”
My heart stuttered. I had no argument, so I smiled at him. “If she doesn’t mind, I don’t either.”
As we approached Ben’s house, he pointed across the street. “My best friends, Bea and Sal, live over there. I’d introduce you, but I don’t want to overwhelm you. Not yet.”
I huffed a laugh. “When’s the right time to overwhelm me?”
He dug his fingers into my shoulder. “When I’ve got you firmly in my clutches and you can’t escape.” He pointed to a sweet little row home with a wide porch and postage-stamp-sized front yard enclosed behind a low picket fence. “That’s mine. Roman and Shira live next door. I’m not going to introduce you to them either. Roman’s still on punishment.”
“How long is that going to last?”
“Don’t know. I’ve got a lot of petty bones in my body, and he danced on every one of them. It could be a while.” His arm slipped from my shoulders to open his gate before he quickly placed his hand on the small of my back, guiding me up the path to his porch.
Ben was a lot. There was a good chance I was already overwhelmed. He had this consuming way about him. I had so much to do at home, but I couldn’t seem to think about it with him around. I’d be up most of the night, but right now, I didn’t care.
I’d been so distracted by Ben, I hadn’t noticed in the short walk from my car to his house, Katty had knocked out. Her head was nestled on his shoulder, her fingers clutching his T-shirt.
“Whoa.” Ben bent his neck to look down at our daughter. “She was really tuckered, huh?”
“She was,” I agreed, glancing back at the door. “Maybe we should just go home—”
“No,” he whispered-shouted, clutching Katty closer, like I was going to snatch her from him. “I mean, I have an extra bed. She could nap here for a while. Then we can all eat dinner together. If that’s okay with you.”
He widened his eyes like a puppy, cradling her head in his wide palm. As I hedged, he tilted his nose down to nuzzle her crown, his eyelids lowering to half-mast as he inhaled her scent.
My stomach twisted and turned. How could I deny him when they looked so sweet together?
“It’s okay with me.”
I followed Ben up a narrow staircase, the old wood floors creaking with every step, down a hall, and into a sunny bedroom with a full-size bed, a thick cream rug, a small side table, and a lamp. I moved around Ben to pull back the covers, and he laid Katty on the mattress.
She squirmed and whimpered softly but stayed asleep. After I covered her, we stood over her, staring like a pair of creeps. I did this often, and it was nice to share it with someone else this time.
“Should I take her glasses off?” he whispered.
