Chapter 5
CHAPTER FIVE
M y head is swirling as I sit at the large butcher block countertop, snapping green beans into a bowl. After talking with Ellis and then getting a huge motherly hug from her mom, I asked if I could help with dinner. She must have sensed I had some pent-up anxiety I needed to work through, because snapping these green suckers is helping, slightly. I watch as she busies herself around the kitchen just like my mama does. It makes me love this family even more that even with billions, they create homemade meals together. No chef, no pre-ordered food.
“Hey, can I get you a drink,” I hear the billionaire man, brother to my best friend ask.
“Um….sure. Thank you.” He nods and I watch as he struts to the bar across from me. I watch his taut muscles move and flex in his fitted henley as he pours and mixes two drinks. I swiftly shift my glance behind me when he makes his way back. I notice his mom has now vacated the kitchen.
“She went outside to play with Lily and Leo with everyone else. I told her I could handle stirring a couple pots for a few minutes.” I don’t look up to him when I feel his alluring presence in my space. I continue to snap the beans with extra vexation in lingering silence for several minutes. Benjamin, fuck Whit , doesn’t even move a centimeter. A laugh rumbles from his chest pulling my attention to focus solely on him and time freezes all over again. Then he sucks in a deep breath while tugging me off the stool then wrapping his arms around me tightly.
“I knew immediately hearing you talk, you weren’t from here and I don’t share my first name with many. This city, clients, friends and family all know me as Whit. I didn’t want to be Whit Vandemark to you, because that comes with being used, media headlines and assumptions.” My clarity is gone and weak in the knees being locked in his arms, but I get what he’s sayin’. It took Ellis a while to confess who she was. I take a step back from him.
“I get it. I think I am just more in shock that the man of my dreams is the brother of my best friend and a business mogul worth billions. It’s just... I'm just a lowly girl from the Bayou who doesn’t need or want for much but to be up on that stage for as long as I can. And you are…” Throwing my arms in a whirlwind gesture, “Well you .” Tilting my chin, his lips graze mine.
“You are anything but lowly. I will be in the audience every performance and be your loudest fan if you let me. In regard to me,” he lets out a light laugh, “The money doesn’t make the man Everleigh. I’m the Benjamin you met all those months ago. The Benjamin that stole a taste from you. The Benjamin Whitney Vandemark that can’t stop thinking about you, day or night.” Goosebumps scatter across my body as the large hand glides up my spine possessively. “The same man who wants all your kisses and touches for eternity. The man that would walk away from it all, if it meant it was the only way I could have you.” His hands sculpt my face, and he bends down to kiss my forehead. “I really hope you make the right decision, baby, because I’d hate to waste all the time, we could be together, trying to convince you, we are kismet.”
A gasp escapes me when he takes me by the hand and leads me out the back door to another porch swing that looks out to a large pond. “You’re a good man, Benjamin Whitney Vandemark. You might just be the best man I’ve ever known.” He wipes my tears away with his thumbs.
“Some might say otherwise, but for you Everleigh, I will strive to be the best.” I stay in his arms until we are summoned for dinner. Before I leave the night with Ellis, every part of me burns to stay with him, but I know in my heart that if I let my decision be yes, I will lose my spot in the line of ladies. It’s proven time and time again, I can’t juggle a relationship with the dreams I have for myself. The sacrifices that have been made to get me to this moment of my life.