Chapter 24
Sherry
Domenique had approved all the final selections, including moving the timeline up by an hour to catch the golden hour light for the photos. It was the kind of change that would have sent most brides into a spiral, but not her. She wanted perfection, and she trusted me to deliver.
We’d confirmed the candlelit tables under the tent, the floral-draped arch at the edge of the vines, and the live acoustic guitarist, a friend of Rhone’s, who would be setting the mood during cocktail hour in the barn. Everything was falling into place.
All I had to do was make sure it stayed that way. No drama, no mishaps, just clear skies and smooth sailing ahead.
There was a knock at my office door, and I glanced up, not expecting to see Ben. My heart skipped a beat as I took him in. He had a five o’clock shadow and bags under his eyes. I wasn’t happy he looked worse for wear, but it was nice to know I wasn’t the only one not getting enough sleep.
He lingered in the doorway, uncertainty clouding his usual confident gaze. “Is this a bad time?”
I stood slowly, smoothing my hands down my pants. “It depends on what you’re here for.”
He leaned against the doorframe, his shirt stretching across his biceps. My eyes lingered on the bulging muscle. “I miss you,” he said. “I know you need time, but I wanted you to know.”
I glanced at him, chest tightening, throat working around the words I shouldn’t say, but they rose too fast. “I miss you, too.”
A hopeful glint lit his eyes as he tentatively stepped into my office. The confidence that was as much a part of him as the stubble on his chin resurfaced as he moved closer toward me. God, I wanted to meet him halfway, throw myself into his arms, and kiss him with every ounce of my being.
But I still was so confused.
He’d lied to me.
He’d lied about who he was, why he was here. He’d lied about so many things…
“That story you told me,” I said, and he stopped his advance. “About my grandfather. Was that real? Or was that all part of the act? To make me feel close to you through my grandfather.”
He didn’t flinch or hesitate. “No, not at all. That was true. Every word of it. It’s the reason I pushed against my father. I didn’t want to come here, knowing my father’s end game. I didn’t want to do anything harmful to a man who took the time to talk to some kid.”
“But you still did.”
“I felt like I didn’t have a choice.” He moved again, taking one long stride, then another until he was standing beside my desk. He leaned against it, his frame so close I could move my hand and touch him. I fought the urge. “And even though I came here for nefarious reasons, I don’t regret it.”
My head snapped up, eyes locking on his. “How could you not?”
“I never would have met you. I would have lived my life, not knowing that the person I needed most was in a small town in the Pocono Mountains.”
His hand cupped my cheek, his thumb brushing soft, soothing strokes along my jaw. My eyes fluttered closed, relishing in his touch, even if only for a few
stolen seconds.
“It’s the best fuck up I ever did, and I wouldn’t change it. Not for nothing.”
My eyes popped open. “Did you just call meeting me a fuck up?”
“The best of my life.”
A laugh broke through the tightness in my throat. “Maybe let’s not tell people that.”
His thumb ran over my lips. “Just that?”
God, I wanted to kiss him. I only had to rise, or he could bend slightly, and our lips would meet. But kissing him would mean I was ready to move forward, to put all this complicated bullshit behind us, but I wasn’t sure if I was being played.
I wanted to believe that Ben wouldn’t do that to me. That he did miss me. That he loved me even. But I’d watched engagements fall apart, marriages end after six months, and promises made only to be broken.
His green eyes stared down at me, his hand still on my face, his thumb now lovingly caressing my cheek. I leaned into his touch, absorbing the gentleness and the warmth.
“Sher—”
A knock on my door jolted us apart, making me feel like teenagers who were caught behind the bleachers. I glanced toward the door. Carlos stood there, concern etched into his dark eyes.
“What’s going on?” Ben asked.
“We’ve got a problem.”
“What kind of problem?” I asked.
Carlos glanced between us, mouth parted, but he hesitated.
“Go on,” Ben said.
“The rental company is here to pick up their chairs and cake stands and all that stuff.”
“Is there a problem with the invoice? I had already approved payment and sent it over,” I said.
“No, ma’am. Several of the chairs have deep scratches in them like someone dragged them across the gravel.”
“What?” I exclaimed and snapped my attention to Ben.
“That’s impossible.” Ben ran a hand over his face. “I put the chairs away myself.”
Carlos shifted from one foot to the other. “That’s not all. The driver said we have to pay for the damages, and if not, you could get blacklisted from future rentals.”
“ Blacklisted ?” I squeaked. “I’ve worked with Murray for the last three years, and we have never had an issue. Is he out there?”
“No, ma’am. It’s the new guy. Alec.”
“I’ll handle this,” Ben said, already pulling out his phone and heading toward the door.
“No.” I shook my head. “This is my business. I’ll handle it.”
Ben met my gaze. “Then let me help you. We made a good team once or twice.”
With the fire raging through me, I wasn’t in the mood to stroll down memory lane or fight him. He stood there, waiting for me to give him an answer, and I realized this wasn’t about the rentals.
This was about trust, rebuilding what had been broken.
“Let’s go,” I said, and we walked out together.
Alec stood at the back of the truck, pulling down the latch.
“I’d like to see the damage,” I said.
“I already loaded everything.”
Ben stood beside me. “Then unload it.” His gaze sharpened.
I stepped in front of him, successfully coming between them. “Alec, I need to see the damage so I can figure out how it happened. Ben said he stacked the chairs himself, so it makes no sense to either of us that there can be any damage to these chairs.”
“I don’t know what to tell you, sweetheart, but there is.”
Ben sidestepped around me, his chest puffed out as he stood in front of Alec. “Don’t you call her that.”
“Sorry.”
Ben got closer, anger evident in the tight skin around his biceps, the clenched fists and white knuckles. “You working for him?”
“Working for who?” Alec asked.
“You know who.”
“No, I actually don’t.”
Ben stared him down, but Alec just looked more confused.
Ben stepped back. “Can you just show us the damn chairs?”
“Fine.” He sighed. “Some of the legs were cracked. Splintered like they’d been tossed. While others had deep gashes.” He threw the latch up, and the door of the truck opened.
Ben and I peered inside and my eyes caught on three oddly stacked chairs, the damage evident, and the way they were stacked didn’t look like an accident. They were jammed in sideways with deliberate force, legs wedged at odd angles like someone had been intentionally destructive.
Ben jumped into the truck and kneeled to the leg, examining it. “Fuck,” he muttered before turning his gaze to me. “This wasn’t an accident.”
A pit, hard and uncomfortable, landed in my gut. “Like the wine.”
“Yeah, like the wine.” He ran his hand over his face again. “How much is the damage?” he asked Alec.
“I’ll write a check,” I chimed in.
“The chairs were my responsibility,” Ben argued. “It’ll come out of my pay.”
My hand landed on my hip with defiance. “Absolutely not.”
“I don’t care who pays for it,” Alec said. “I have to call the office and let them know in case these are scheduled to go somewhere else.”
“Tell Murray I’ll take care of it, and this weekends rentals will be under lock and key.”
Alec nodded and put his phone to his ear. Ben jumped from the truck, grabbed my hand, and led me away from prying ears. “We both know my father had something to do with this.”
“Oh, I’m pretty confident in that, but that doesn’t mean you have to pay for it.”
Ben’s grip on my hand tightened before he dropped it and thrust it through his hair. “Until we can prove it, I do. The minute the event was done, and I moved the chairs into the warehouse; they were my responsibility. This never should have happened.”
“What? Were you supposed to camp out here just in case your father decided to cause damage? That’s ridiculous. And I can prove it. I’ll have Laurent pull the security footage. We have cameras all over the property. If someone broke in here and did this, we’ll know exactly who it was.”
“I’m sorry,” he said.
“For what?”
“All of this. I brought him to your doorstep.”
“He would be here whether or not you were here.”
“I still feel bad.”
I took his hand and squeezed. “You chose to stay and fight. That’s all that matters anymore.”
The air between us shifted to a quiet intensity that left no room for doubt radiated in the tense lines of his body. “And I won’t stop until he’s no longer a problem, but let me carry the weight of this one. Please, Sher. Let me make this right.”
I wanted to push back, remind him how he’s not his father, and his father’s actions weren’t his consequences to bear, but there was something in his gaze that told me he needed this tiny win.
“Fine,” I said. “You can carry the weight of this one, but we’re not letting him win.”
A smirk lifted the edge of Ben’s mouth. “No, we’re going to outsmart him.”
I glanced at the truck. “Let’s start with getting this settled, then we look at the security footage.”
“Then we figure out his next move.”
“Exactly.”
Alec approached us, rubbing the back of his neck. “I, uh, just got off the phone with the main office. You’re not going to like this.”
Ben and I gave each other a look.
“What now?” I asked, bracing myself.
“All remaining rentals for the weekend, including the lounge furniture and the custom lighting setups were cleared out. Some big corporate retreat put in a last-minute order and paid double to lock it in.”
My stomach dropped. “I reserved the lounge furniture.”
Alec sighed. “That’s what I said. Apparently, someone called yesterday to cancel the hold.”
“Who the hell would do that?” I asked.
“I’ll give you one guess,” Ben grumbled through a clenched jaw. “They didn’t get a name, did they?”
Alec shook his head. “Blocked number. No record of who called.”
“Why didn’t Murray call and confirm it with me? He knows I would never cancel an order.”
“A new hire took the call. Thought nothing of it. She won’t make that mistake again.
You know Murray never would have canceled your order without speaking directly to you, but he’s getting ready for hip replacement surgery.
He hasn’t been as hands on as he usually is.
Not that I’m making excuses for the guy,” Alec said.
“You think someone deliberately canceled your order?”
“Yes,” Ben and I said at the same time.
“What kind of prick would do that?”
“My father,” Ben growled.
Alec’s eyes widened, and he whistled low. “Why would he do that?”
“Like you said, he’s a prick.” Ben turned to me. “What do we do?”
“We pivot. We find furniture elsewhere.”
Alec slipped a card out of his pocket and handed it to Ben. “This is where Murray buys a lot of his stock. They have a lot of vintage pieces and specialty rentals. They’re good people. They’re about an hour out. If anyone can help you, it’s them.”
Ben held the card up. “Thanks, man.”
“Consider it my apology for the sweetheart.” He glanced around Ben and locked eyes with me. “I got stuck behind a tractor on my way here, and my patience was already on edge.”
“Fucking Albert,” Ben and I both said, and I laughed.
Despite the shitshow that this day was turning into, the laugh felt good. Ben, being next to me while I dealt with this, felt even better.
“I’ll look into this more when I get to the office.”
“I’d appreciate that, Alec. Thank you.”
Alec gave a salute and jumped into the driver’s side of the truck. He gave a beep as he headed out.
Ben looked at the card, then at me. “Road trip?”