Chapter 21
Chapter Twenty-One
Delaney
Memories flood my mind when I pull up to Bennett’s house.
I remember being here so long ago when it was his family’s home.
When the Owens family lived here and the Ellis family lived in the girls’ house, before they all built new homes.
I’m sad that I missed them all deciding to have the girl cousins in one house and the boy cousins in the other. They’re all so close.
I should’ve called first and asked him to meet me outside, but I’ve only ever used his number that I got off his business card when I was going to be late one morning.
What Poppy said in his office could be true, but seven years is a long time to pretend that you can’t move on because you miss your deceased wife so terribly. There’s no way he hasn’t had sex since before Wren.
I think back to this morning when we were talking about the girls and try to convince myself that he wasn’t looking at me in a certain way, but more and more our gazes are snagging on one another, holding.
He told me about Wren and her horse, Biscuits, and I confessed that I started Leia on horseback lessons in California to make sure she was never scared of horses like I was when I was a child.
When I reach the front door, I see that the inside door is open, the screen the only thing that separates me from entering his domain. The house he shares with his daughter. The porch light glows softly, and a warm spill of light comes from the living room window.
I knock on the screen door. “Bennett?”
No response.
I press a hand to the door handle, and it’s unlocked. I hesitate. “It’s Delaney.”
I step inside, seeing the plaid couches are gone and replaced by what looks like a new sofa and loveseat. There aren’t a ton of feminine touches, but there are pictures along the walls.
“Bennett?” I say a little louder with the hopes that whoever is home will come out from wherever they are. “Nash? Jensen?”
“Hello?” Bennett steps out from what used to be the kitchen.
Words clog my throat. God, he looks good. His hair is a little messy, his flannel sleeves are rolled up, and there’s a pencil tucked behind his ear.
“Hey,” he says, taking me in.
“Hi. Sorry, I didn’t mean to interrupt. The door was open, and no one answered.”
He says nothing.
“Flowers,” I say, way too flustered, giving away that I was checking him out.
His eyebrows furrow for a moment, and I suddenly want to kill Poppy. Then they straighten, and he rocks his head back. “Oh, shit, yeah. Thanks so much.”
“For your mom’s birthday,” I say as if I have to remind him.
“Of course. I was going to go back and get them after we finished homework.”
I point my thumb at the door. “Speaking of, I should probably get home to help Leia.”
Just get me out of here because Poppy’s suspicions can’t stop floating back into my conscious and the vision of coming home to this version of Bennett sounds really nice.
Wren peeks around the corner, and her eyes light up, but she’s looking behind me. “Leia’s mom?”
“Hey, Wren.”
Bennett puts his hand on her back and rubs. “You’re supposed to be doing your words.”
I lift my hand in a small wave. “I was just dropping flowers off for your grandma’s birthday.”
Her nose crinkles, and she looks up at Bennett. My stomach sinks.
God, Poppy, you couldn’t have used any other excuse?
He chuckles. “Nice, right?”
She turns to me. “Leia isn’t with you?”
“I’m sorry, she’s not.”
Her shoulders slump.
“Hey, is that how you welcome a guest?” Bennett’s exactly the kind of dad I thought he’d be. He’s the dad I had always hoped Sean would be. More hands-on, offering more guidance.
“Sorry, do you want pizza? Daddy was about to order it.” Her voice holds more excitement now.
“There you go.” He musses the hair on top of her head, and Wren pulls away.
Bennett looks at me expectantly, his dark eyebrows raised.
“I should get home to Leia.” It would be so awkward to stay here and eat dinner with only them and no Leia. It would be a betrayal no one but me would know.
“We could pick Leia up and go out for pizza?” Wren waggles her eyebrows.
Bennett laughs, putting his hands on her shoulders and turning her back toward the kitchen. “You need to finish those words. I marked the ones you got wrong. Study them, and I’ll be right in.”
My heart splinters into pieces because I’ve kept this man away from Leia.
What was I thinking? But then I remember, he was with Kristie, and they were coming to Willowbrook to be a happy little family.
I was tossed aside. Leia and I would’ve changed this entire dynamic.
No one had a crystal ball to see that Kristie’s labor would go horribly wrong, and she’d lose her life.
I’ve thought about if I had told him. Would Kristie have used it against him and made him stay in California, away from his family? Who knows where we would all be right now. But Bennett wouldn’t be the man he is right now, and I wouldn’t be the woman I am now. Those two things are certain.
“What do you say? Want to get Leia and go for pizza?”
Hell to the no. Unless I want to unleash my secret right here in your family room with your other daughter within earshot.
“I’m sure she’s probably eaten. My mom is a stickler for dinner time. But raincheck for sure.”
He steps closer, taking all the air with him, and the room shrinks. “Wren’s been asking for a sleepover. I understand you might not be comfortable with Leia coming over here with Nash and Jensen, so my parents can host. I’ll spend the night over there to keep an eye on them.”
He shoves his hands into his pockets and looks wary as if I would never allow it.
“I have no problem with Nash and Jensen, but she hasn’t had a sleepover since… well, Sean. Sometimes she still has nightmares.”
He nods. “Maybe a day play date or something then? Wren’s on me day and night to have time with Leia away from school.”
How do I get out of this? Sure, Nash and Poppy have seen her and not said a word about how her features are similar to Bennett and Wren, but I can just picture Bennett serving her pancakes, seeing his eyes reflected back at him.
“I’ll take them.” The words rush out, and I hope he doesn’t grow suspicious.
I know I need to tell him. I just don’t know how after all this time. How thinking I was doing the right thing back then could feel so terribly wrong now.
“I don’t want you to do that.” He glances over his shoulder.
“We could do something together. I mean… if you’d be up for it.
Go to the zoo, the park, or the movies.” He raises his hands.
“Not a date, just to get them together. Do you know the Millers? We could ask Kayla to come too, and one of her parents if you don’t feel comfortable. ”
I laugh at how unsure and awkward he seems.
“Are you laughing at me?”
I shake my head. “No, not at all. Just weird to see you so unsure of yourself. It’s refreshing honestly.”
He tilts his head and leans his shoulder against the wall. “Why’s that?”
“Because you always have it together.”
“You think so, huh?” A smirk teases his lips, and damn, that’s sexy. It’s been a long time since butterflies fluttered so hard in my stomach.
“Dad, I’m done,” Wren calls from the kitchen.
Bennett holds up his finger. “Give me one second.” He leaves the room.
This is the perfect time for a getaway. Just text him after and tell him you had to run. Go, Delaney.
They talk in hushed voices, and before I have time to decide on my exit, Bennett appears in the doorway again. “Can I walk you out?”
“That’s not necessary.” I step farther into the house, and he looks at me quizzically until I slide between him and the archway. “Bye, Wren. I’ll tell Leia you said hi, and good luck on the spelling test tomorrow.”
“Bye, Leia’s mom.”
I hesitate. “You can call me Delaney.”
She looks past me at Bennett. He’s way too close behind me. Close enough that I can smell sandalwood permeating from him. He must nod or give her some sort of confirmation because she smiles. “Bye, Delaney.”
I stand straight, and Bennett is right there, causing me to lose my balance, and his hands fall to my hips. “I got you,” he says, his voice soft.
“I have to go to the bathroom.” Wren drops her pencil and runs out of the room. Her little footsteps can be heard climbing the stairs.
Our eyes lock, and for a moment, everything from the past disappears. All I want is to have my lips on his.
“She’s great,” I say.
He holds my stare. “Yeah, she is.”
“You’re a good dad.”
“I try.”
I watch him for a beat. The way he looks toward the stairway Wren just disappeared up. The love and adoration he has for her. The unspoken truth pulses in the silence between us.
“It’s not your mom’s birthday, is it?”
He shakes his head, and mine thumps against the doorframe.
Jeez, Poppy.
“I’m sorry.”
His gaze dips to my mouth for a brief second. “Don’t be. I like that you’re making excuses to see me.” His smirk, that damn slight smile that always drew me to him, transforms his lips.
“Poppy arranged it—”
“Way to bring me down.”
My chest rises and falls, and my hands itch to run down the front of his chest. To unbutton his plaid shirt painstakingly slowly, one button at a time, teasing us both.
He clears his throat, and when my eyes meet his, my breathing halts. “Sorry. I’ve kept you too long.” His voice is rough as he studies me.
“No. It’s fine.”
That’s the truth. I don’t say how much I wish this were my every day. How my chest aches at the simplicity of his night. Pizza and homework and him a little disheveled and sexy as hell. Leia deserves a man who will give her all the stability and love he will.
The space between us is charged, crackling with energy.
“Boy, this place brings back memories.” I clear my throat and strip my gaze off his in the hopes it cools me down, gives me a moment to remember that I can’t act on my feelings toward Bennett.
“Like that night on the porch. You snuck out of Poppy’s room after everyone had gone to bed.”
I nod slowly. “Our first kiss.”
“The best kiss.”
“Yeah?”
He gives a crooked half-smile. “For sure. Nothing beats the first.”
I can’t help but think he’s talking about more than just our first kiss. “True.”
“I’m trying like hell not to kiss you right now.” Again, his attention flickers to the stairway.
His eyes search mine, and something in them looks heavy, lust-filled. He places his hands on either side of the archway molding, leaning closer to me. My heartrate picks up, and my lips tingle in anticipation. I’m torn between stopping him and pulling him the rest of the way forward.
“Delaney,” he murmurs.
“Yeah?” I practically whisper.
He tucks a strand of my hair behind my ear, his thumb lingering a second longer than it should. “You look tired.”
I laugh under my breath. “That’s what you wanted to whisper to me?”
He smiles. “Forgive me for being gun-shy.”
“I’m here, aren’t I?”
What am I saying? Walk out of his house right now!
He closes the space between us, and my breath hitches.
“Bennett,” I whisper.
His eyes darken. “Tell me later.”
He leans in, and every cell in my body screams for him to kiss me… kiss me.
The screen door bangs, and both of our heads whip in that direction.
Nash drops his bag onto the floor. “Man, Poppy’s gonna kill me.”
Moment officially over.