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“One day I might not.” There was a somber note in his voice and it struck a chord with her.
She uncurled an arm from around his neck and—as if driven by instinct—palmed one lean cheek.
“But you did today,” she murmured, an embarrassing throatiness in her voice. “And I’m grateful for that.”
She was standing on her toes, chest flush against his, one arm still wound around his neck, her mouth a hair’s breadth from his, while her eyes peered into his strangely vulnerable blue gaze intently. She was the one who should have been out of breath, after her mad dash across the room, but instead, it was Ben whose breath was coming in uneven pants. She felt his heart racing against her chest and marveled at it.
“Sometimes, I forget you have a heart,” she whispered.
His eyes flickered and his mouth thinned. “It’s a muscle, like any other. It serves a purpose.”
Of course, it did.
Lilah smiled sadly, and exhaled—a slow, controlled release of breath—not sure what other answer she’d expected from her pragmatic temporary husband. But she was grateful for the very Ben response. It reminded her how mismatched they were.
She dropped her hands to his chest and exerted gentle pressure—enough for him to know she was ready to be released. But instead of loosening his hold, his arms tightened. His eyes flashed in, what looked like, disappointment but remained laser focused on her lips.
For a second she was certain he was going to kiss her but he screwed his eyes shut and stepped away from her with what seemed to be a colossal amount of willpower.
“I’ll grab my shoes and a jacket and we can head out,” she said, and turned and fled before he could say anything else.
Lunch was pleasant enough. Ben seemed genuinely interested in how she was spending her days. She watched him closely, looking for boredom or disdain. In the past he’d barely refrained from using air quotes whenever he’d referred to her work, but right now he listened attentively, asked questions and even offered suggested on how to get new clientele.
“Have you ever considered broadening your client base?” he asked, while neatly quartering his hamburger. He'd manfully striven to disguise his grimace when she’d suggested a popular burger place in the area, and had then surprised and delighted her by ordering the biggest, messiest burger on the menu, complete with fries and a chocolate shake.But dividing the burger into four, easily managed slices was such a quintessentially Ben solution to a messy problem, that it delighted Lilah even more than his order had.
“Broadening how?” she asked, sucking some mushroom sauce off her thumb. Lilah had zero qualms about getting her hands dirty and her face smeared with grease. Hands-on was the only way she could possibly enjoy a burger.
Ben didn’t immediately answer and she lifted her eyes to find his gaze transfixed on her mouth, where she was still licking mushroom sauce off her fingers. Feeling unquestionably wicked, she deliberately swiped her index finger through the thick, creamy white sauce and smeared it over her lower lip, before swirling her tongue around the tip of her finger, licking it clean, and then sucking it knuckle deep into her mouth.
His eyes were feverish and he licked his lips and swallowed thickly, his fork frozen mid-air halfway to his mouth. She watched beads of sweat pop on his forehead and he shifted uncomfortably in his seat. That heated gaze lifted to hers and when he realized she was watching him, his eyes narrowed.
“You’re playing with fire, cupcake,” he warned, and she gave him her most guileless smile.
“Sometimes, when I look at you… I think maybe it wouldn’t be so bad to get a little scorched,” she confessed, and was delighted when she startled a rare laugh from him.
“And sometimes when I look at you… I think maybe God put you on this earth to drive me stark, raving bonkers,” he said, voice low and gruff.
That made her laugh. Her first genuine laugh in weeks and this time he was the one who looked delighted.
They exchanged a looked of shared amusement and after taking a sip from her colorful unicorn milkshake, she wriggled forward in her seat—elbows on table— and rested her cheeks in her palms.
“So what did you mean about broadening my client base?”
“Exactly what I said, why pets only? Why not babies? And older kids? Family portraits? Even weddings? Diversify.”
“Ben, you don’t know this, because I doubt you’ve ever looked me up or anything, but I’m kind of a big deal in pet photography,” Lilah confessed. “I know you think I lack focus and that this is just some kind of hobby to me. But my brand is currently associated with exclusivity and high demand.”
She stared into her milkshake before deciding to finally disclose her reason for going on hiatus.
