Chapter Twenty-Three
When they returned to the Inn, his parents were actually waiting for them inside the restaurant at the same table where Ben had left them earlier.
Dad gave him a wink. “How about a drink to celebrate?”
Ben rolled his eyes, glancing at Aylin, who grinned. He paused momentarily. She was so beautiful. He could hardly believe what was happening between them. But it was crazy how everything felt so right.
“If Aylin’s going to move in, we’re going to have to get some furniture,” Ben observed, ordering a beer from Callie, their waitress.
“You two should be able to take care of furnishing the kitchen, living room and bedrooms this weekend. You’re also free to help yourself to anything we have at the storage warehouse,” Mom said.
“I’ll have one glass of Chablis,” Aylin said to Callie. “I really do need to get to some of the finish work inside the shop this afternoon.”
“And then the two of us are going to be going out for dinner tonight,” Ben announced.
“We are?” Aylin said. “That’ll be nice.”
“What time would be good for you?”
Aylin shrugged. “Seven, maybe.”
“Dress casual. We’ll eat at the Crystal Rock Tap and then I’ll drive you out to the house so you can take a look,” Ben said.
“I’d like that,” Aylin agreed.
“Okay,” Dad said. “Now that all four of us are here, let’s talk about how this is going to work. Ben. Tomorrow, I’ll be sending out my security team to your house. Do you want to be there?”
“Maybe to be sure that they don’t install a bunch of equipment where we don’t really want it.”
“I’ll just have them call you. I won’t have them install the interior wiring until you arrive. They can get started outside with the cameras first.”
Ben nodded.
“It’ll probably take them a couple of days to make sure that it’s extra secure. We’ll insert underground electronics around the perimeter with sensors. I’ve been wanting to try them out.”
Ben laughed when Mom rolled her eyes.
“You should be able to move in next week if you’d like,” Dad said.
“Let’s go for midweek,” Aylin suggested. “I’m planning on opening the shop Monday, and once we’re open, I’d rather be close so I can keep an eye on things to make sure that everything is running smoothly since I’ll have some new employees I’ll have to supervise since I’ve never worked with them before.”
“Of course,” Ben agreed. “Whatever works for you is fine with me.”
“For now, here’s what’s important. Unless Aylin is here inside the Inn, she should never be left alone. I know that it’s still confining, but I’d rather not have you out at the house unless Ben is there with you either,” Dad admitted.
“I don’t know if my dad ever mentioned it to you, but I’ve had some training since everything happened. Ten years ago, I hated how helpless I felt afterwards,” Aylin admitted.
“Even though you’ve had some training, please do it for me anyway, Aylin,” Mom said softly. “When I was kidnapped several years ago, I thought that I was prepared too.”
Ben blinked, sitting upright. “Why didn’t I know about that?”
“Your dad was the one who rescued me,” Mom admitted.
Ben frowned, becoming irritable. “You’re going to sit down with me and Lara sometime and tell us what happened. Okay?”
“Oh, Ben.” Mom looked uncomfortable. “It was all so long ago.”
Dad sighed. “Now that they’re both adults, we should probably tell them the whole story, Danny, once Lara’s back in town. Danny was kidnapped by the same human traffickers that kidnapped a close friend of hers, guys. Luckily, we were able to track down Mom and her friend while they were still being held here in town. Never forget that Dragonfly Pointe has a long, dark history.”
Looking somewhat reluctant, Mom’s eyes filled with tears as she nodded her agreement.
When Aylin rubbed Mom’s arm reassuringly, Ben reached out, covering Mom’s hand.
“And there are things about me that you have a right to know as well,” Dad said gruffly. “We’ll talk about all of that when Lara comes home.”
Mom gave Dad a misty smile.
Dad continued, “Another thing I forgot to mention, Aylin. Your dad and I decided that we would put more effort into discovering where Ash has been, at least during the last couple years. For someone we’re certain is bent on revenge, he’s making himself highly visible. Possibly intentionally.”
“That is kind of odd,” Aylin agreed. “I would have expected him to show up here right away.”
Dad nodded. “It wouldn’t have been difficult to discover that Ben was the one who saved you.”
For the next hour, they went over what their schedule would be during the following week. They wouldn’t travel back and forth to the Inn at the same time every day. They’d also switch up their vehicles and take different routes to and from work each day.
Eventually, they went their separate ways for the remainder of the afternoon.
* * *
There was a knock on the door of her room, and Aylin grinned when she found Ben at the door wearing jeans and a sherpa lined leather coat.
“You found my room,” she said, reaching for her purse as he stepped inside.
“I finally wormed the information out of Mom,” he answered, grinning back at her.
Reaching for her coat, he helped her into it.
And then he tugged her into his arms, kissing her deeply.
When they pulled apart, he thumped the left side of his chest with a fist. “There it is again.”
“What?” she asked, feeling dazed.
“My heart’s doing a somersault.”
She laughed. Although she felt exactly the same way, she wouldn’t admit it to him quite yet since everything was happening so fast. “Come on. Let’s get out of here.”
* * *
If anyone would have told him a week ago that he’d have Aylin in his arms and they’d be dancing a slow dance at the Crystal Rock Tap, Ben would have called that person crazy.
Although Ben was tall, so was Aylin, and she fit perfectly in his arms. She was a much better dancer than he was, but she didn’t seem to mind.
“Did you have to serve overseas?” She asked softly.
“I did,” he admitted gruffly. “Things are rough over there. I assisted with the retreat from Afghanistan, and then I did some search and rescue work in Iraq. Complicated stuff behind the scenes that I’m not supposed to talk about. There are times I suffer from PTSD, although I never had it as rough as some of the other guys I served with did.”
“I understand,” she answered softly. “Dad made me talk to a shrink after that kidnapping happened. I kept having nightmares.” She heaved a sigh. “I thought about you, you know. Lara and I have remained friends, but we had to be discreet. I’ve designed most of her clothes. Eve’s too.”
“You have?” Ben shook his head dazedly. “I guess I might have known if I’d have been around more. But it was difficult to get leave. That’s why I kind of changed career courses. I’ve never not wanted to run the Inn.”
“I think I read something about that, as well as an article about your well-kept secret.”
“What secret?” Ben asked, looking guarded. He had a feeling that he knew exactly what article she was talking about. It had been written without his permission after a spread had been done about the Dragonfly Pointe Inn, featuring his parents.
“Some kind of speculation about you being a billionaire.”
He grunted.
“I can tell by the way your body reacted that what I’ve said has made you uncomfortable.” Pulling back, she winked at him. “If it makes you feel any better, between the family money I’m supposed to inherit along with the highly successful career that I’ve had, I guess that you could call me a secret billionaire too.”
Ben snorted. “It’s my dad who’s the billionaire.”
“Mine too,” she replied giving him a toothy smile. “But I’m a great designer, and I’m also a successful businesswoman who makes good investments so I might even make more money than you.”
“So, why me?” There was that strange sense of insecurity he’d been feeling again. Maybe he was a little more like his sister than he realized.
She punched him gently in the arm, whispering in his ear, “Because my heart keeps doing somersaults every time I see you.”
His eyes met hers. Yes, she really meant it.
“Let’s get out of here,” he muttered hoarsely.
“Okay,” she agreed.
* * *
“It’s a beautiful house, Ben,” she murmured, highly impressed. “It’s the kind of house that I’ve always dreamed of having. The house Dad built for Mom is more like a mausoleum—although Emilie and Desiree did a great job of fixing up their wing of the house. This place has enough of the original elements like the woodwork and original stone fireplace to help maintain the character of the original structure, but everything is updated, so that there’s a lot less chance of repair issues coming up.”
“I’ve got the floor plans if you’d like to take them along when we choose some furniture.”
“I’d love to have the measurements. Then I could plug them into my design program.”
“Design program?”
“That’s how I configured the design of the shop,” she admitted. “Later, if I really think I need a professional to redesign the boutique, I’ll know what works and what doesn’t.”
“So, a program allows you to plug in assorted furniture to see if it fits.”
“Yes, or it can help you figure out a design plan for seating and electronics.”
They continued walking through the house, and suddenly, Aylin started laughing. “What were you going to do with all this space once you moved in?”
He grimaced. “Actually, I wasn’t really sure. But since each area can be heated independently, I won’t have to run the furnace on full blast through the entire house during the winter months.”
As she glanced into the rooms on the second floor, she was drawn into the luxurious master bedroom.
“You can move into the master, Aylin. I’ll take the room across the hallway so that I can view the driveway and road.”
“You should have the master,” she said.
“Truthfully, I’ve only got about ten suits and a few pair of jeans along with a dozen new t-shirts. I outgrew all the clothes I used to wear, so I don’t have much. I’m sure you’d appreciate the closet space in the master.”
“I would. And beware—because I’m going to take you shopping. We can’t have a clothing designer dating a man who isn’t wearing proper attire.”
He groaned.
“Although I do like your suits.”
Even though there wasn’t much to see since there wasn’t a moon out tonight, Aylin walked over to the wide French doors leading outside to an attached deck. “I’ll bet the view is stunning.”
“It is. Although I haven’t been here much to see it. We can’t see much of the sunset from here, but the sunrise is beautiful.”
“I can’t wait to find out,” she said, this time taking the initiative and walking into his arms.