CHAPTER TWENTY | Holly
CHAPTER TWENTY
Holly
T he conversation with Ben from the day before was still on Holly’s mind. It had felt amazing, telling him she loved him, and to hear those same words come back to her was even better. After divulging their mutual love to one another, they continued to talk both about his anxiety issues and what they wanted from their relationship. They had made love twice more before falling asleep in one another’s arms, and while Holly knew not everything could be solved with talking and sex, both went quite a long way to solidifying things between them.
Together they had searched online for a phycologist for Ben, finding one not too far from Sunset Cove that specialized in anxiety management Holly fully believed that Ben loved her, and she vowed nothing he did or said could ever push her away.
After stopping by her place to pack a fresh overnight bag, Holly returned to Ben’s cottage apartment. He’d given her a key the morning after they had spent the night together, telling her he wanted her to come into his space whenever she wanted and as often as she could.
Tonight was the first time Holly hadn’t mentioned she was coming over, and she felt a little uneasy as she approached his front door. Muffled talking sounded through the white wood, causing a small measure of unease to bubble up inside her. The last thing she wanted was to cause Ben any more anxiety by intruding. It might take Holly a while to get over some of her own issues about being afraid to overstep, but she decided to take Ben at his word. Holly inhaled a deep breath, put the key in the lock and pushed inside.
Holly searched the small living area and spotted Ben and his mom at his small dining table. Trish must have gotten back from New York earlier than expected, and both of them smiled when they saw her, though Trish’s wasn’t quite as bright as her son’s.
Holly edged inside, but she kept the door ajar behind her. “I can come back if this is a bad time.”
Ben stood and walked over to her. “It’s never a bad time when you’re around,” he whispered before leaning down to kiss her cheek. He shut the door, took her overnight bag from her, and steered her over to the table, pulling out the chair next to him.
Holly sat down, hoping she hadn’t interrupted anything important and smiled at Trish who looked a little worn down, but not as devastated as she would have thought. “Hi, Trish. I’m sorry to hear about you and Marvin.” Holly had already stated as much in an official email, but it bore repeating.
Trish dismissed her comment with a wave of her hand. “Thank you, Holly, but it was probably never going to work out.” The older woman sighed and smoothed a hand over her hair. “That’s actually just what Ben and I were talking about.”
“I can go in the other room or—” Ben squeezed her hand and pulled it into his lap.
“Oh, no. You should actually be here for this, too,” Trish replied with a sad smile on her face. Holly nodded, confused as to why she was needed, but she sat calmly with the intention of listening to every word. “You see, Marvin was another guy that I tried to make things work with because really, I’m afraid of being alone. Ben suggested I talk to someone about it professionally, and I think I will.” She looked over at her son and smiled adoringly. “I loved Ben’s dad so much, and losing him was the most awful thing I’ve ever been through. I was so hell bent on recapturing the love I shared with him that I failed to really look at the relationship I was in with Marvin until it had already progressed further than it should have.”
Ben glanced at Holly, a sad smile on his face that mirrored his mom’s. “I thought all those guys had left my mom, but she actually dumped them when she realized they weren’t right for her.”
Trish chuckled humorlessly. “I guess I let this one get a little too far down the line this time, though.” She reached over and patted Holly’s hand, her expression apologetic. “I’m sorry I won’t be able to benefit from all your hard work. I feel awful that you did so much for me.”
Holly shook her head, the talk with her mom coming to mind. “Oh, don’t even think twice about it. I’m just glad you realized what was right for you before things got too out of hand.”
“Still. You put together one hell of a wedding. It’s a shame someone else can’t take advantage of that.” Her eyes flicked over to her son’s and they seemed to have a silent conversation. “Really, I should thank the two of you. It was seeing you together that made me realize my relationship with Marvin wasn’t right. I never looked at him the way you two look at one another.” She looked between the two of them, her eyes shining with emotion. “It’s nice to see two people who truly love one another and have it right.”
Holly smiled at Trish before looking to Ben, seeing his eyes shining with the same love she could feel emanating from her every pore. “Thanks, Trish.”
“Now, I’m going to go and let you two love birds have some alone time.” Trish placed both hands on the table and pushed herself to stand.
Holly and Ben escorted her out, giving her plenty of hugs and promises to call her. Holly rescheduled their lunch for later in the week so they could spend some time together and hopefully take Trish’s mind off of recent events. Once the door was closed, Ben walked them over to the couch and sat Holly down on his lap, pulling her arms around his neck. “I’m sorry that you guys have to deal with all this,” she said sincerely. She knew emotional upheaval wasn’t exactly Ben’s strong point, but he was being surprisingly calm about the whole thing.
“I’m sorry my mom is hurting, but we actually had a really good talk before you got here. She told me all about her relationship with my dad and how she had just wanted to have that magic feeling again so badly that she let it blind her to some things that were lacking in her subsequent relationships. It was nice to hear her reminisce about my dad.” He chuckled lightly, shaking his head. “It turns out he was a lot like me. He was kind of grumpy too, until she turned him around.”
“Hmm. That does sound like a familiar story,” she replied, snuggling deeper into his chest.
“And ours will have a much happier ending.” His voice was filled with conviction, and the sound of it strengthened her own.
“I think so, too.” Holly kissed him deeply, the two devouring each other for a moment before she pulled back and rested her head against his. “I guess I should clear my schedule for tomorrow. Canceling with all the vendors is going to take a while.” Ben grunted in reply and she looked over to see him staring at her intently. “What is it?”
Ben shook his head and rubbed his hand up and down her back. “Nothing. Just do me a favor and wait a day or two before you call to cancel all the plans.”
Holly’s brow furrowed. “You think she’s going to change her mind?” Trish seemed pretty resolute to her, but Holly hadn’t been present for their little chat, so perhaps she was mistaken.
He shrugged. “Just wait a day or two, please. Trust me?”
Holly smiled and held him tightly. “You know I do.” She trusted Ben with her heart, her soul, her future.
“Good.” Ben brushed his lips lightly over hers and shifted them on the couch so they were both facing the screen. “Now, I think someone owes me a rematch from our game this morning.”
Holly smirked at the memory of their having played a round of strip Mortal Kombat after breakfast. Ben ended up in nothing but his boxers while Holly remained almost fully clothed. “I’m ready whenever you are.”
Ben grinned and fired up the game, the two of them playing for all of ten minutes before they ditched the pretense and found their way into the bedroom.
Later that night as she fell asleep in Ben’s arms, dreams of the bright future ahead of them enveloped her mind.
***
G athering all of her files on Trish’s wedding in preparation of cancelling everything in the next few days had Holly up to her elbows in paperwork. She still had no idea why Ben had asked her to wait on cancelling the plans, but she trusted him, so she hadn’t lifted a finger to call or email any of the vendors on her list. That didn’t mean she couldn’t prepare everything just in case. She shuffled the stack of papers into a manila folder when her phone dinged. A smile spread across her face when she saw it was a text from Ben.
Ben: Good afternoon, sunshine. Will you still be home by six tonight?
Holly smiled at him calling his apartment her home. It had come to feel like home over the last few weeks, but she had a feeling that had more to do with the man living there than the actual space.
Holly: Sure thing. Do you want me to grab dinner on my way?
Ben: Nope. Just bring your lovely self.
Holly replied with a thumbs up and put her phone down. As much as she wanted to continue her conversation with Ben, she still had a few more things to do before she called an end to her work day. Now that Ben’s mom was no longer getting married, she needed to find some new clients, so she spent the next hour reserving spaces for herself at upcoming wedding expos for the next month or two. There was always the potential for her to get a new client via word of mouth or her website, but Holly wasn’t going to count on it.
At the end of the day, she was once again the last one in the bakery. After locking everything up behind her, she walked out to her car, the bags filled with more clothes from her apartment already there. Ben mentioned making room for her in his drawers and closet, and Holly wondered how long it would take for the two of them to just move in together. From the outside, it might look like they were moving at lightning speed, but Holly had zero qualms about it. As they say, when you know, you know, and Holly definitely knew Ben was her one and only.
Twenty minutes later, she pulled up to Ben’s apartment and used her key to enter whistling a happy tune that ended with a sputter as she entered the main room, her body frozen in shock. Red rose petals were scattered all over the space, and lit candles were placed on the coffee table and book shelves. With the addition of the setting sun peeking through the windows, the whole room felt steeped in a warm glow, and Holly smiled at the romantic atmosphere her boyfriend had created.
Standing in front of her with a beaming smile was Ben wearing the tux he had purchased for his mom’s wedding. He looked so elegant and stately, and the expression on his face was so blissful Holly teared up a little at the sight.
Needing to be near him, she approached him carefully, and the second she was in front of him, he took one of her hands in his. “What’s all this for?” she asked breathlessly.
He smiled, his gray eyes twinkling in the candlelight. “It’s for this,” he replied, his voice slightly shaky as he dropped down on one knee. Holly gasped in disbelief as Ben reached into his tux pocket and pulled out a small velvet box, opening it to reveal a large, oval cut blue sapphire in a platinum setting. “Holly, you have brought so much joy, comfort, humor, and love into my life. You’ve helped me be a better man and I can’t imagine the rest of my life without you in it. What do you say, sunshine? Will you make an honest man out of me and agree to be my wife?”
Holly swallowed the lump of happiness that had lodged itself in her throat. “Yes.” She flicked a tear away from her cheek, unable to nod fast enough. “Absolutely, one hundred percent, yes!” she exclaimed before he stood and slipped the ring on her finger. It fit perfectly and Holly admired it for a moment before pulling Ben’s face down to hers for a kiss filled with all of the love she had for him.
Eventually, she pulled back mere inches to search his face for any hint of anxiety about the speed with which things were moving. “Are you sure you want to get married? Maybe we should be more practical and take things slow.”
Ben shook his head vehemently. “I definitely want to get married. I’ve spent my whole life being practical. Now that I have you, I don’t want to waste another moment thinking about what ifs and might be. I want you forever, Holly.” Holly smiled and nodded, happy he felt it as deeply as she did. He lifted her hand to kiss the ring on her finger. “We can get you another ring if you like.”
Holly shook her head, already in love with the ring because he’d chosen it and it was stunning. “No way. I love it, and it fits perfectly. How did you manage that, by the way?”
Ben reached back and rubbed his hand across his neck, his ears adorably pink. “Um, about that. I may have measured your finger while you were sleeping that first weekend you stayed over.”
Holly was stunned at his sweet embarrassment. “You’ve been planning this for that long?” She’d known she was all in from early on but never once thought Ben wanted all of this so quickly.
“Remember I told you I would tell you about the dream I had some time?” Ben grabbed her hand and led her over to the couch, brushing some rose petals onto the floor and sitting them down next to one another, interlacing their fingers together.
“Vaguely.” Holly listened intently to Ben describe his dream. and how content he’d felt when he woke up. Holly wished she could have joined him in that vision of their future.
“I knew from that day I wanted everything with you. I think I even knew before that.” Ben stared into her eyes, smiling sadly for a moment. “Thanks for being so patient with me and not letting me screw everything up.”
Holly cupped his cheek, rubbing her thumb over his cheekbone. “You would have come to your senses on your own and crawled back to me eventually,” she said with a loving smile.
“Well, thanks for saving us both the time and trouble.” Ben held his hand over hers, his smile turning slightly rueful as he reached under the couch and pulled out a binder, placing it on the coffee table. “There was one other thing.”
Holly stared at the planning binder she had given to his mom at their first meeting, knowing what he was saying, but needing confirmation to make sure she wasn’t getting ahead of herself again. “You want us to use your mom’s wedding?”
He smiled and shrugged as if he hadn’t just proposed and suggested they get married in less than a month. “If you’re okay with it.” He scratched his jaw before flipping through the pages. “I mean, if you think about it, we did most of the planning anyway, and my mom said you told her that you and she had basically been planning your dream wedding.”
“I did say that,” she murmured before looking through the plans that included an outdoor ceremony under a canopy of trees, an indoor reception in the barn covered in decorations of pink peonies and twinkle lights, and a menu filled with their favorite picks from the caterers. Holly looked at all of the work they had done and smiled for a moment before remembering his mom. How hard would it be for her to attend a wedding that was meant to be hers? “What about your mom? Won’t this upset her?”
“Holly, she’s the one who gave me the binder. When she came to talk to me yesterday, I showed her the ring and told her how I planned on asking you to marry me.” He squeezed her hand, his expression happier than she’d ever seen him. “I asked her the same question you just asked me when she suggested we use this wedding, but she assured me that nothing would make her happier than to have something special come from all of this.”
Holly nodded and ran her fingers over the pictures of the barn at Plumberry Farms, already imaging herself there in her wedding gown. “It is kind of perfect, isn’t it?”
Ben nodded. “So, what do you say? Want to get married in three weeks?”
Holly laughed before kissing his lips. “Without a single doubt in my mind.” She deepened the kiss for a moment and slid her hands up his chest, gripping the lapels on his jacket tightly before realizing what he was wearing and releasing them quickly. “Oh my gosh. I almost ruined your tux.” She pulled away from him and frantically smoothed down the fabric, searching the room for a hanger. “We should hang this up. Now.”
Ben stood up and started to strip off his jacket. “You need me naked pronto? No need to tell me twice.” Ben took her hand and dragged her along with him over to the bedroom, and after they spent a good amount of time celebrating their engagement, they had dinner and worked on planning the rest of their wedding. It would be a lot of work in a short amount of time, but they were confident they could pull it off. Holly couldn’t wait to go to work tomorrow because instead of planning a happily-ever-after for someone else, she was finally getting to work on her very own.