Chapter 74 Ben
BEN
Why oh why was it that whenever you were in a hurry there were always so many delays and cancellations?
The flight I’d booked to London this afternoon had been cancelled. And the other flights were fully booked. So I’d jumped in a taxi to Santander, but got stuck in traffic, so missed that too.
It took ages to find a taxi that was willing to drive all the way to Sunshine Bay and now that I had, I was contemplating whether it would’ve been faster to walk, because the driver was literally crawling down the motorway.
If he was doing less than thirty miles an hour it wouldn’t surprise me. At this rate we were more likely to be pulled over for driving too slowly. And I needed to get to Sarah before she went to bed.
I had to see her.
I’d promised I’d give her feedback in ten days and I wanted to honour that.
I pulled out my phone and winced. I was trying to save the last ten per cent of my battery to call her once I arrived.
Jackson had already told me that Sarah wasn’t staying at the flat, so there’d be no way I could get inside the B&B without calling her first. Ringing the bell would wake everyone up.
Perhaps it was better if I messaged to say I was on my way. I’d wanted to surprise Sarah, but I’d rather keep her updated than risk her thinking I didn’t care.
I unlocked the phone screen and just as WhatApp was about to open, the screen went blank.
‘No, no, no! Shit!’ I winced. ‘You don’t happen to have an iPhone charger, please, do you, mate?’
‘I cannot speak whilst I am driving,’ he muttered, gripping the steering wheel for dear life.
Was he even safe to be on the roads? He seemed incredibly nervous.
Two minutes ago I was worried if I’d make it to Sunshine Bay at some point this year. Now I saw what a nervous driver he was, I was concerned that I might not make it there at all.
Imagine if I never got the chance to tell Sarah how much I loved her.
A pain shot straight to my chest.
Theo was right. I was a fucking idiot.
I should never have left.
After that chat with him, everything suddenly made sense.
I loved Sarah.
That meant I had to try.
Of course there was a risk that I could get hurt, but if I stayed away and didn’t at least attempt to make it work, then the failure rate was guaranteed to be one hundred per cent.
How had I not realised this earlier?
And yes, Sarah was incredible and deserved the best. That didn’t mean that I wasn’t enough for her. On the contrary, it meant I was perfect.
I knew without a shadow of a doubt that no one would treat her better than I would.
No one would support or love her more than I could. I’d make sure of it.
My ex dumping me didn’t mean I was worthless. It just meant that she didn’t see or appreciate my worth. But Sarah did.
I was a decent guy. And I was determined. Once I set my mind to something, I’d do everything I could to make it happen. So it didn’t make sense for me to just give up without a fight.
If I told Sarah how I felt and she said it was too late, then at least I could walk away knowing that I’d done my best. And I couldn’t ask for more than that.
After I’d spoken to Theo, I knew I had to do something to win Sarah back. But when I’d finished reading the ending of her book outline, everything was crystal clear. I knew what I had to do. And I knew how the story would end.
Not with the depressing suggestion she’d written where they went their separate ways. It needed a proper happily-ever-after.
And I was on my way to get it.
At half past midnight, the taxi finally crawled in front of the B&B.
Now my next challenge was to work out how to get up to Sarah’s room without waking the other guests.
The light in her room was off.
Shit.
Just as I was about to resort to the tactic I’d seen in romcoms of throwing stones at the window, the B&B hallway light came on.
Seizing my opportunity, I raced to the door and bent down to the letterbox.
‘Hello?’ I called out, waving my hand through it, hoping to get someone’s attention. ‘Glenda? Is that you? It’s Ben. Ben Eaves.’
There was no answer.
I started wracking my brains trying to think of alternative options. If Theo and Jess were back from their honeymoon, I could’ve at least gone and charged my phone, then tried calling Sarah.
Of course, there was the option of waiting until the morning. But when you want to tell someone you love them, even waiting a second feels too long.
I was about to ring the bell and suffer the consequences later, when the door opened.
‘Glenda, I’m so sorry to turn up unannounced at this hour, it’s just that…’
It wasn’t Glenda at the door.
It was Sarah.
My eyes popped, just as she blinked quickly, then rubbed her own eyes like she wasn’t sure if I was real.
‘Ben?’ Sarah asked before prodding my chest.
‘That’s me. Although I’ve also been known to answer to Benjamin Buttface.’
Her eyes lit up.
‘What are you doing here?’
‘I know I’m late, but I came to give you feedback on your book.’
‘I thought you were going to email, not come all the way back to Sunshine Bay!’
‘I thought about it, but emails are so impersonal, right? So I thought we could do it in person. Can I come in?’
‘Course! Sorry, I couldn’t sleep, so I came down to get some water. I just… I wasn’t expecting to see you. But I’m really glad you’re here.’
My heart swelled. This was a great start.
Sarah opened the door wider and I stepped inside. Once we were in her room, I stood in front of her.
‘So?’ she asked. ‘What did you think?’
‘It obviously needs fine-tuning, but I loved it!’
‘Really?’ Her eyes widened.
‘Yes. But you were right about the ending. I think it could be grander and happier. Perhaps the hero tells the heroine that he’s madly in love with her, she’s the only one he wants forever with and then he can ask her to move in with him.’
‘But he’d already sold his flat in the book?’ She frowned.
‘Oops, my bad. I must be getting the happy ending confused with what I’d like to happen in our real-life love story, then.’ I smiled.
‘What?’ Sarah swallowed hard. ‘You mean…?’
‘Yes, Sarah. I love you. So fucking much it hurts.’ I took her hands in mine and squeezed them tight.
‘You love me?’ She frowned.
‘Completely, truly, madly, deeply. I’ve been utterly miserable since I left because I missed you. And I want to be with you. Forever. You’re it for me.’
‘I love you too,’ she said and when I saw the sincerity in her eyes, I swear my heart quadrupled in size.
Fuck.
If I wasn’t careful it was going to expand so much it’d burst out of my chest.
‘Christ, Sarah, you really know how to make a man feel ten feet tall.’ I grinned. ‘I was a fool not to realise how much I loved you sooner. My brothers gave me a kick up the arse to help me see sense. But when I finished reading what you’d written, that’s when the reality properly hit home.’
‘I was going to call you tomorrow. To tell you that I didn’t want to give up without trying. You’re worth fighting for, Ben.’
Hearing those words… wow.
I didn’t cry easily, but I was already welling up.
Despite feeling like I wanted to blub like a bloody newborn baby, I had to get everything off my chest before I lost my nerve.
‘Reading your words made me see that just like you can write a different ending for your book, I can write a different outcome for our love story,’ I added.
‘I’m the master of my fate. I could either choose to close the book on love forever, or I could hit delete on the crappy ending that I gave us when I left and we could work together to create a different outcome.
That’s what I want, Sarah. A happy ending. ’
‘Sorry, but you’ll have to pay extra for that.’ She smiled.
‘What?’
‘You said you wanted a happy ending. Like, y’know…’
‘Oh my God! Get your mind out of the gutter, Jeffries!’ I fought the grin that was threatening to break out. ‘I was trying to have a serious moment with you and you decided to make a joke?’
‘Sorry!’ She winced. ‘You’re right! I’m just so damn happy! It was a nervous reaction. You can’t tell me you love me and want forever with me and not expect me to lose my shit. And come on, you have to admit it was a little bit funny!’
‘Yes.’ I wrapped my arms around her waist. ‘I’ll give you that. It was rather humorous. You should write a romantic comedy,’ I teased.
‘Good one!’ She smiled again. ‘But seriously, I love everything you said. And I agree. We can make our own ending. We’re so good together, Ben, and I know we’ll find a way to make it work and be happy, forever.’
‘I’m so relieved that you agree.’ My shoulders loosened.
‘So you really loved my almost book? It seems like too much to ask that I get to be with you and that you think my first attempt at being an author is decent.’
‘Yes! I really loved it. I’ve got some suggestions for improvements, but maybe we could discuss that afterwards.’
‘After what?’
‘After I kiss you and take you to our flat, where we belong.’
Sarah smiled, stood on tiptoe, looked up at me, then pressed her lips onto mine.
And as soon as our mouths connected, I knew that I was finally home.