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“You were supposed to be a professional about it and check your priorities.” He was lashing out at the wrong person, fear moved him, but he was crossing a line. I was afraid of the damage it could do between them.
“Watch it, Benjamin! You know Mia can more than handle whatever situation that’s thrown at her. She did it when we were kids, and she’s doing it now.” Zach’s words were full of meaning.
Mia was fuming and trying hard not to lose it on Ben. Before things could go south, I turned to him, stopped his pacing, and placed my hands on his face. “Babe, please, look at me. We came home as soon as possible, and everything is under control for now. Please, let’s not take this so far that we could never go back. We’re fine now, we’re safe.”
“But that’s the thing, we’re not fine, and we’re certainly not safe.” There was such turmoil in his eyes. His fear, just like his anger, was palpable, and that broke my heart a little for that impetuous, loving man. He shifted again to Mia. “And you knew better than that, you should’ve run to me as soon as—”
“You wanna know why I didn’t tell you before?” she asked, deceptively calm. “Because youweren’tmy priority.” Before he could go ape shit about it, she raised her voice. “You weren’t my priority because I had more urgent matters to attend to. You didn’t even cross my mind.”
“Is that supposed to make me feel bet—”
“Wanna know why?” she interrupted. “Because my first instinct was to defuse the situation, make him talk as much as possible, so I could get a sense of what he wanted, and to get him the hell away from Izzie.”
Stepping closer to Benjamin, she went on. “My priority was to make sure Izzie and the baby were fine, safe, and healthy. My priority was to drive to the police station, so we could press charges and file a restraining order. So no, I wasn’t thinking about you or even planning on running to you. Because I’m a professional, I know what I’m supposed to do, and hell, I’m damn good at it!” She was on a roll.
“I understand you’re scared. That piece of shit is back, and we’re talking about your woman and your baby, they’re your family. Butdamn it, they’re mine as well. I’d ratherdie,” both men went sickly pale, “than let anything happen to any of them.” She pointed a finger at him. “So don’t youdareimply I’m not able to take care of my family!”
She was bravely trying to contain her hurt. “I need a few minutes, otherwise I’ll say something I might regret.” She turned on her heels, picked up her sneakers, and stormed off to the back yard.
Ben’s breath was labored, and he looked despondent as he watched her leave. Zach was standing with his hands on his hips and his head hanging low.
I went to Ben and hugged his waist. His arms immediately surrounded me, and he held me close. His heart was beating a mile a minute, and his eyes were desperate and tired. He looked down at me, hugged me even tighter, and placed his lips on my forehead, lingering.
“What should we do?” Fear was evident in his broken voice.
Zach approached us, placed a hand on Ben’s shoulder, and gave him a small yet confident smile. “We do what we always do. We present a united front and fight this head-on. No one, not even Michael, messes with our family and walks away unscathed.” He peered down at me. “We’ll deal with this and put it to bed.”
Sighing, he gazed outside. “I’ll go check on Mia before she decides she’d rather come back here and punch you in the face instead of calming down.”
Zach slapped Benjamin’s back twice, gave me a sweet kiss on the side of my head, and squeezed my arm in reassurance. “We’re gonna deal with this. Tomorrow, we rest.” He went outside, leaving me and Ben hugging in the middle of the room.
We stood there for a while, his right hand hugging me tight, while his left one roamed up and down on my back. I had a feeling it was more to make him calm down than for my benefit.
“I’m sorry.” His voice was so quiet, I could barely listen. “I’m so sorry for this mess, for bringing you into my life while I still have so many demons.” He looked so broken and ashamed.
“Stop this. Stop it right now,” I ordered softly, caressing his cheek, his short beard prickling my skin. “I didn’t sign up to be with you only when things are easy and fun. I want you, all of you, demons and all.”
I shifted his head slightly so he’d finally look at me, his amber eyes shining with dread and sadness. I kissed his closed lips with our eyes still open. It wasn’t a sensual kiss, not even a passionate one. It was meant to reassure him I was all in. That I trusted him.
“That man changes nothing for us. We’re a family no matter what. We’ll deal with him however we can. Maybe he was able to hurt you in the past, but you’re a grown man now. You rule your present and your future. I have so much faith in you.”
He took in a deep breath and shook his head. “You’re right. I’m not gonna let him win this time. It’s just...scary.” He gave me a timid smile. It couldn’t be easy for him to admit that. “I have so much to lose. But again, I have so much to lose! So, I’ll fight like hell to end this.” He dropped his forehead against mine and put his hands on the base of my neck. “I love you. I love you so much, it hurts. I didn’t come this far just to let my past get in the way of me and the woman and baby who were meant to be mine. I’ll fight for us. I’ll fight for our family. I’ll fight for our future.
“For so long, I went with the flow. Besides the Bryants, I never let anyone get too close to me. I don’t want you just ‘too close.’ I want you all the way in. So I’ll fight, because the only kind of life I want is the one by your side. One where you’ll feel loved. Safe. Cherished. Mine.”
I was close to tears when he dipped his head and gave me a sweet kiss. So full of love and promises. I had no doubt he’d live up to them. I wasn’t lying when I said I trusted him.
“I love you, too. I can’t wait to live the rest of our lives with each other. So let’s fight together.”
He grinned at me, his hands on my nape, then peered up at the yard through the glass doors. “I need to make amends.”
Nodding, I agreed, “You do. I admit I was scared, but she was so good to me, so good at dealing with everything. She doesn’t deserve—”
“I know.” He sighed again. “I freaked out and said awful things I don’t even believe in. But as I said, I have so much to lose. Those two out there...” He shook his head. “I can’t even imagine what my life would be like if I didn’t have them.” He kissed me again softly and headed outside.
I understood that all too well. I hadn’t lived most of my life with them. Yet I was afraid of even considering losing one of those two wonderful people.
As I watched Ben get out, I ignored the dread growing inside of me, and I prayed we never had to experience what it was like to live without either of them.
