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“Everything,” he said with a laugh.
He gave his brother a rundown of how we really met, not leaving anything out. Eli was in stitches. “Here, check this out,” Ben said, shocking me as he pulled up my social media accounts and then handed his phone to Eli. “Look at all the batshit things she does.”
Eli scrolled through while I sat there feeling like my face was on fire. Ben had looked me up? And now seemed kind of proud?
“You need to get her inOutdoor Living,” he said. “Shake the cobwebs out of that old rag.”
“It’s not an old rag,” I said loyally. “I signed up for the online version now that I know it exists.” I meant to, anyway, now that I knew it was Ben’s. I was going to resubscribe my mom to the paper version too.
Eli snorted and reached over to grip Ben’s arm. “Now that she knows it exists? Dude, you need to get back to work or you’re going to kill Dad’s favorite.”
I bristled on Ben’s behalf. How dare he say such an awful thing. Ben put his arm around me and leaned back with a sigh. “Yeah, I know. I know it’s time.”
Well, then. It seemed the brothers could say whatever they wanted to each other. Will came back out with the kids, more subdued but still breaking out into small squabbles while they ate in front of their tent. The guys chatted easily amongst themselves, drawing me into the conversation now and then, but I was fine with observing. Ben wasn’t exactly a different person around them, but he seemed more of himself somehow. I was envious of their bonds and wondered what it would be like to be part of this close knit family.
As I watched Will take the kids in to put them to bed, Harrison dragging his feet and Ava dramatically sobbing, I even wondered what Ben might be like with our little ones.
That was when I heard the record scratch sound in my head. That was never going to happen. I was soft in the brain from all that good sex in the ravine, and now I was so charmed by his family that I was imagining myself a part of it.
After Eli went in, Ben turned to me, resting his forehead against mine. “It looks like they’re staying here. I’ll drive you home whenever you’re ready?”
Never, my heart screamed. My gooey brain struggled to remind me this was only temporary. It should have been over already, but now I was in deeper than I was that morning.
“I’m ready now,” I lied.
