Chapter 18
18
ELLA
“ T his is where we are going to be living for the next two years?” Charlie lets out in awe as the car that Bennett sent to pick us up, drives through the gate to the Lane property and leads us to the main house.
“Apparently so.” As the car drives up the long driveway that is lined with trees, I see the house in a newer light than I did when I first came her last week.
The last time, I was able to admire the property for how expansive it was and the architecture that made it feel like the house had age but still modern. It looked like the house belonged in a magazine.
Now as we drive up, I pick on the little things that I didn’t notice last time. Like the fact that the trees all have ‘children at play’ signs attached to them, or even that there’s a swing set close to the house and bikes and toys scattered everywhere. Things that make this huge ass property actually feel like a home.
But it will it feel like my home?
God, I sure hope so. I don’t want to spend the next two years being miserable.
The car pulls up to the house and for a solid thirty seconds, both Charlie and I just sit there, looking out the window and staring at the house in awe.
Was the house this massive last week?
It had to been but I wasn’t paying attention. I was concentrating a little too hard at how good Bennett looked in an all black suit to take notice at how big the house was.
“This house is huge.” Charlie says, her face nearly plastered against the window.
“This is going to be the biggest house that I will ever live in.” I voice with the same awe in my voice as my sister.
That awe increases when the driver opens the car door and holds out a hand for me to step out of the car.
I guess this my life now. Where I live in massive mansion and have people opening the door for me every time I get out of a car.
I’m so much in my head as I get out of the car, that I don’t notice that Bennett has stepped out of the house and is walking to meet the car a few feet away until Charlie says something.
“Oh my god. You didn’t tell me I was going to know two of them.” She whisper yells in my ear, as she gets out of the car.
“Huh?”
“I know two of his kids. They go to school with me.”
Right. I forgot about that small detail.
Hopefully they aren’t completely assholes and don’t make Charlie’s life a living hell both at home and at school.
But I don’t say that to my sister.
“He mentioned it once, but I completely forgot to tell you. They aren’t bad kids are they?” I try to keep my voice low, to make sure that Bennett doesn’t hear me thinking the worst about the his kids.
Charlie shakes her head. “Not from what I’ve seen.”
That’s good I guess.
You can’t judge them without getting to know them.
Do I want to get to know them? I’m only going to be here for two years and them I’m gone. If I get to know them, or even get close to them, then all of us could be hurting when it’s time for me to leave. I don’t think I would be able to do that.
But it’s something that would be important to Bennett.
Looks like I will be doing things that make him happy for the next two years and for some reason, I’m okay with that. Really okay with that.
I need to get my mind straight and not get lost in this damn marriage.
“Should we go inside?” I try to smile over at Charlie but it comes out strained.
“Why do you look like you are going to puke?” My sister takes a step back while she examines me like I’m about to cover her with everything in my stomach.
And honestly, I feel like it’s a possibility.
For once, I actually tell her what I’m feeling instead of covering up. “Because I’m freaking out. What if this is a bad idea? What if we both end up hating this?”
“Both as in you an me? Or both as in you a Bennett?”
“All the above?”
Charlie takes my hand in hers and give it a hard squeeze, acting like the best little sister that she is.
“We can leave. It may be awkward since they are looking right at us, but we think we can take the driver and steal the car and go back to out apartment.”
I can’t but to smile at her and squeeze her hand back.
“Tempting, but I think I just need to pull my big girl pants on and walk inside.”
“Whatever you say. I’m totally down to drive a hundred thousand dollar car.”
I let out a laugh, something that I really needed and for the first time today, I relax. I’ve been on pins and needles from the second that I woke up this morning and going about my day. I couldn’t even relax as I was getting my nails and hair down or even during my waxing appointment, something that my sister convinced me to do, no matter how much the esthetician told me to. So laughing at a moment like this feels good.
“Let’s go.”
With my sister’s hand in mine, we walk the few feet that separate us from Bennett and a part of his family.
All of them look so perfect. So put together, even with Bennett wearing jeans and a t-shirt and two of the kids wearing school uniforms that match Charlie’s. All the while, me and Charlie looked like we we just got home from the gym in what we are wearing.
We don’t belong here.
You’re doing this to make sure that Charlie stays with you. Remember that you are doing this for her.
I’m doing this for Charlie.
“Hi.” I send a small wave in their direction, feeling a bit awkward.
“Hi.” Bennett says back, an awkward smile on his face.
I don’t know how long we stand there, with awkward tension surrounding us as we both just look at each other waiting for the other to say or do something to break the tension. It must have been a minute or two and thankfully it’s broken when one of the teenagers says something.
“You two need to do something about your communications skills because they suck ass.” The boy that I haven’t meet says out loud, causing both Bennett and me to look over at him.
“Seriously. We’re supposed to believe that you are madly in love?” Charlie throws in.
A blush creeps up my face as I look up and see four pairs of eyes are looking between the two of us, as if we were a circus act.
Bennett clears his throat, all while his own blush covers his face, and tries to act less awkward but I can see by his face that he is struggling.
“Um, Elizabeth, this is my niece, Samantha and this is my nephew Grayson.” He waves to the two kids that I have yet meet. Is it weird calling two people that are maybe ten years younger than me kids? Does that make me sound old?
I put the old thought away and send a wave and a smile over to Bennett’s niece and nephew. “It’s nice to meet you. This is my sister, Charlie.”
Everyone greets each other and within seconds we’re back to standing around in awkwardness.
This is going so great.
“I can’t with this.” Samantha says, before coming over to Charlie and addressing her. “Do you want a tour or something? Maybe food? Let these two figure out whatever is going on with them.”
“Um.” Charlie looks over at me, as if she is asking me if it’s okay she goes.
I want to tell her not to go, to stay with me and help me deal with all the awkwardness, but I can’t do that to her. Not only is this my life for the next two years, it’s hers too. She should be friends with these people, and feel like she is at home.
Which is why I let go of her hand.
“Go. I’ll come find you later.”
She gives me a smile before she follows Elliot, Samantha and Grayson into the massive house.
Once the four of them are in the house, it’s just Bennet and I left to our own accord.
“We didn’t really think this through, did we?” He voices, looking down at me as he plays with his hands a bit.
In the time that I’ve known this man, I don’t think that I’ve seen him this nervous or agitated about things.
I give him a smile. “No but we will figure it out.”
“Right.” He throws a smile back before he looks away. “Is a moving truck coming later with your stuff?”
A snort escapes me before I can even think about it. I compose myself before speaking. “No. No moving truck. We didn’t have a whole lot of stuff, so we were able to fit everything into a few suitcases.”
When I told Charlie about this whole situation, which she was surprisingly okay with and very understanding, we got together and decided what from our apartment was going to come with us and what we were going to put into to storage or sell.
It didn’t take that long for us to figure out that there weren’t a lot of things within the walls of our small apartment that had sentimental value. There were a few small things, but the majority of the stuff that we had accumulated through out the years, were meaningless so it make getting rid of things easier.
In the end, we ended up with only large suitcase each that we were able to fit into the car that picked us and that was it. It’s sad really that after so many years of life and all we have was able to fit into four suitcases.
“I’ll have someone bring them upstairs for you.” I give him a smile before he continues. “Let me show you around before dinner.”
“Sounds good. Lead the way.”
Like a sad little puppy, I follow Bennett through out the property, listening to every word that he says, getting lost in the small little touches between us, and marveling at almost everything that he point out. the place is massive and there is no doubt in my mind that I will be getting lost until I find my footing.
The house has bedrooms that are the size of the apartment that I just gave up, gorgeous bathrooms and massive closets that look like they could be filled with whole department stores worth of clothes. There is a movie theater, a whole kitchen that any cook or baker would dream of having, game rooms, a garage that is probably bigger than a football field filled with so many different cars, there’s even a massive pool in the back that has it’s water slide attached to it.
Not only is this place any kids dream home, its also becoming mine too with every new room that I discover. The library though, may be my favorite.
That is until Bennett show me my bedroom.
The second that I walk in, I’m in awe. Everything about it is perfect, from the colors on the call to the four post bed in the middle. There are white hydrangeas on the bedside table that almost match the walls and a bay window that over looks the expansiveness of the property.
As a little girl, I always dreamed of having a room like this, but I knew that I was never going to get it. Yet, here I am, standing in it.
“The closet and bathroom are over here.” Bennett tells me, waving me over to a massive door that I didn’t even notice.
I follow him through the doorway and let out a small gasp when I see a massive room filled with everything that any girl would dream of.
Dresses of every kind.
Purses for every occasion.
Heels in every color and height, sitting next to every article of clothing that you could imagine. Men’s clothes in the corner and suit organized by color.
Everything is so organized, and ready to be worn.
“What is all of this?” I ask after finding my voice. I take in every aspect trying to figure who all of this belongs to.
“A gift from me to you.” Bennett voices and right away my eyes leave the clothes and go to him.
“What do you mean?”
My future husband walks over to where I am, leaving only about a foot of distance between us. “It means that all of this is your. To wear, to keep, to do whatever you want with it. You can think of it as a wedding gift.”
I’m at a lose for words. He got me clothes? There has to be pieces in here that are worth thousands and I get to call them mine?
“You filled a whole closet for me?” I ask in disbelief.
Why would he do something like this?
“I did, well, a personal shopper did. I figure that since you were going to marrying a Lane, you should have a closet of one.”
Butterflies flutter around my belly and the more I take what Bennett gave me, the more the fluttering increases. He got me a whole closet, when he didn’t need to, but wanted.
“I didn’t get you a wedding gift.” Well, I didn’t know that I needed to get one and now I feel bad.
“That’s not something that you need to worry about.” Yeah, too late. Now All I can think about how I could get him a new tie. Maybe one that matches his eyes. “Anyway, the bathroom is through that door and on the other side of that is my room.”
“We’re not sleeping in the same room?” I don’t know why I sound disappointed. Of course we are not sharing a room, just because we are getting married doesn’t mean that sharing a bed would be a good idea.
A sweet smile spreads across his face that is new to me. “Not unless you want to.”
My face doesn’t hesitate going red right away. “No, w-we can sleep in separate rooms.”
Did it get hot in here all of the sudden?
The distance between us gets smaller and Bennett places a hand on my shoulder. “Calm down, Ella. I was kidding.”
“Right. I knew that.”
Another sweet smile appears. “I just figured it would be easier. For the both of us.”
“Thank you for thinking about that.” Because sure as hell didn’t.
Bennett shows me his room, which I notice is a lot smaller than mine. He must have given me the master bedroom, but why?
I don’t get to ask, I just continue to follow him as he leads me out to the same hallway that gives access to my room. We are close to each other, but still far apart to not do anything stupid. Like consummate out marriage.
Bennett finish up the remainder of our tour before leading me over to his home office where he tells me that I have free range to anything I want, including the credit card and bank card that he hands me with my name on it.
I’m in ultimate shock as he tells me that if I ever want to drive myself, that I can take whatever car I want from the garage. The shock continues when he tells me that also applies to flying. If I ever want to fly somewhere to let him or Henry know and they will get the jet ready. The same goes for Charlie. What every she wants she can get.
“You are doing too much,” I say, looking down at the credit card that he just handed over.
“For what you are doing for me, it’s not nearly enough.”
Something passes through us, that I can’t explain. This very thing has happened once before and I brushed it off, but experiencing now feels an electrical current that feels right.
“Either way, I thank you. For everything. I promise that once the two years are up, everything will be in its place.”
“Don’t worry about it.” He says, walking over to the drink cart that he has in the corner and quickly moves the conversation to a different subject. “So from the way Charlie is making herself at home, she took the news of our impending marriage well?”
I watch a pours a class of dark liquid and offers me a glass.
Might as well. It might help with the nerves that have yet to go away.
I throw a nod in his direction and answer his question. “Surprisingly yes. I for sure expected her to lecture me or something about marring someone I barely know but, she didn’t. She was actually excited when I told her and said it was like a rom-com playing out in real life.”
Bennett walks over, handing me a glass of amber liquid and takes a seat next to me.
“That’s somewhat better than the reaction that Sam and Grayson gave me.” He says, before taking a drink from the glass.
I follow suit but instantly regret it. I guess scotch or whiskey or whatever this is, is not for me.
Once the horrible taste is nearly gone from my mouth, I speak. “Was it bad?”
“No. From the looks of it Grayson didn’t really care, but I know that he was surprised. Sam, on the other hand, she definitely was a little hurt that she found out about the wedding though a magazine instead of from me. She was okay with the decision though.”
I know how Sam feels.
When I say the article this morning, I was a little shocked. I didn’t think that a simple wedding would be such big news, but then I remembered whose wedding it was. Bennett is one of the most eligible bachelor’s in the world, of course his wedding is going to be big news. I just didn’t think that people would be so interested in finding things out about the woman that he is marrying. For a half hour or so, I got scared that someone was going to be looking into my past and finding something that she shouldn’t, but the article and any mention of who Bennett was going to be marrying was scrapped from the internet.
It didn’t take me long to put together that my future husband probably had something to do with that.
Future. After tomorrow, there will be no future about it. Bennett will be my husband in all senses of the word. I guess it’s time to get used to it.
“Hopefully she is still okay with it after tomorrow.” I say, but I don’t really know what she I’m talking about. Me or Samantha.
“She’ll be fine,” Bennett says, taking another drink before turning to give me his full attention. “What about you, will you be okay?”
I think about it for a second and surprisingly the answer that comes out is one that I didn’t expect. “Yes. Yes, I’m okay with it.”
And… I am.
I’m really okay with marrying Bennett. I didn’t think I was and I’ve been having my doubts since we came up with this plan, but as I sit here, I realize that all the doubts that are gone. This is transactional. Nothing else.
“Good.” He brings his glass over and taps it against mine. “You’re ready to conquer the world at my side?”
At his side.
I like the sound of that.
“Let’s make you CEO, Mr. Lane.”
“Fuck do I like the sound of that.”