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I smile wider.
He ticks his head to the side. “Okay, what’s that mean?”
“Later,” I sigh. “We have so much to talk about.”
Ben and I spend our dinner avoiding the topic of King for a change. He asks why I’m not in college.
“Seems like something a wealthy businessman would want for his only child.”
I laugh. “I didn’t go to college because I refused. Daddy wanted me in some Ivy League institution but there was no way I was going to leave Phoenix. I love it here. Besides, the plan is for me to take over Nilssen Designs someday. I don’t need a degree for that.”
Plus, leaving wasn’t an option when I was too busy slaughtering guilty men.
“So youdon’thave saltwater flowing through your veins.”
I pull a guilty face. “No. Not exactly.”
We change the subject to Ben. He tells me a little about his childhood and how he grew up in Florida but his dad moved them out here for more job opportunities when Ben was thirteen.
Unlike my daddy, his father was emotionally distant. But he was always physically present and took care of him, made sure he played sports and went to all his games. Not having a mom was natural to Ben. He says it never bothered him, that he wouldn’t want her to be around if she didn’t want to be there. He met Mason’s mother while working at a job site twelve years ago when he was twenty. He was leaving his shift and she was stuck in the parking lot with a flat.
“Do you still talk to her?”
“Nah. She went downhill after Mason died. Moved out of state, started doing drugs. I haven’t talked to her in a few years. We weren’t really together when Mason was born. She lived in Ahwatukee with her parents. But I paid child support, gave her extra money when I could. And I saw Mason almost every day. Got him every weekend. We were close. Me and my kid.”
My chest tightens.
“And then my dad got sick when Mason was a few years old. He told me about Frenchie right before he died. So I looked her up, found out she had two sons, one of which was a year older than mine, and we spent as much time together as we could. Ethan and Mason, they were throwing the ball back and forth when they went missing. He’d, uh …” Ben clears his throat. “He would have turned eleven this June.”
“I’m so sorry.” God, I didn’t realize his son and nephew went missingtogether. This time it’s me who’s reaching across the table. I cup Ben’s hand, squeeze it. He doesn’t really acknowledge it, avoiding eye contact and all. His pain is palpable. I can almost see him folding in on himself.
I see a shudder move down his body, and he pulls his hand away as the waitress returns. “Did anyone leave room for dessert?”
Ben points a questioning eye at me.
“I have rocky road at my place.”
“I think I’ll take the check.”
“Smart choice,” the waitress laughs.
I do happen to glance at the receipt and see that our meal cost just under $200 so of course I start thinking of ways I can repay him with a nice meal. Seems like I don’t know how to let a man treat me to something special unless it’s my own dad. Is that normal? I don’t know.
When we get back to my condo Ritz is very upset that I don’t immediately fill his bowl with food. Ben leans down and scratches the top of his head and I fully expect Ritz to jerk away like he normally does with new people. But surprisingly, he rubs his body into the scratching.
“Wow. Color me bumfuzzled.”
“He normally doesn’t like this?”
“No. Not from a stranger.”
“This is technically the third time I’ve been here.”
“Yeah. Until you’ve been here like a dozen times and fed him at least once, you’re a stranger. You want some rocky road?”
I grab a bowl from the cabinet and turn around, thinking I’ll eat from the container like a savage. But before I can process what’s happening Ben takes the bowl from my hand and sets it on the counter. His hand is behind my head, fingers in my hair, and he’s towering over me. I’m dizzy as he leans in close enough that his lips graze over the surface of mine, his deep brown eyes pushing into me with the force of an invisible storm.
His gaze dances around me for a flash and he graces me with a deep kiss that I feel all the way to my toes. Sliding his tongue inside of my mouth, warm and sweet like honey, he’s making me realize his kisses are singlehandedly what’s been missing from my life.
