A faint noise jolts me awake. I peel one eye open and stare at the ceiling. Where am I? I don’t have a portrait in my room. I yawn again. Everything is foggy till the memories from last night rush back in.
Our house.
My room.
We have our own house!
I straighten up and press a hand to Ben’s side of the bed. It is still warm. I hear it again, the sounds of metal hitting metal. I grab Ben’s shirt and button it halfway to my chest. The bathroom is my next stop. I finish my business and splash water on my face.
On tiptoes, I navigate to the kitchen. The door is open. Ben doesn’t hear me come in. I doubt he can hear anything over the music playing in his ears. He is cute, cooking and dancing. Closing the distance, I slide my arms around his waist from behind.
The aroma is stronger. I can enjoy these delicacies after having him for breakfast. Ben unplugs the earbuds and gives me a side kiss. “You’re awake.” I nod. He turns fully to give me a proper kiss. “I was hoping you wouldn’t be so I’ll serve you in bed.”
My hands fall to my sides. “It’s not too late.”
Ben laughs but he doesn’t say more as I skip out of the kitchen and duck under the cover. I don’t know how many minutes pass before a knock sounds from behind the door. Ben’s head sticks inside the room, he flashes me a sexy grin and walks in with a tray.
Acting comes easier to me now. I stretch my arms and yawn, playing the role of the lady rousing from her sleep. He drops the tray on the bedside drawer and pulls me up to press a kiss to my hair, my forehead and my nose.
I pout. I want a kiss on my lips.
“Good morning, princess. How was your night?”
“Benny.” My lips pucker and his thumb plays on my cheek. “Kiss. Kiss your princess.”
His head draws back to reveal his handsome face. Ben dips his head and claims my lips. I am lifted off the bed and onto his lap. Kissing him is rejuvenating and I don’t want to stop. But he stops. He pecks my lips.
“Your food will get cold,” he says. I adjust so I’m no longer straddling him but still seated on his lap. “You can call my parents after eating.” I pull his lip between my teeth and let go with a pop. I’m proud of him. Grateful he has moved past everything and sees Josef as his parent, not a random man married to his mother. Ben bops my nose and I grin harder. “Gracie… Why are you smiling at me like that?”
I squeeze him tight. “Because I love you and you’re the best boyfriend in the world.”
“You’re the best girlfriend in the world too.” He sweeps his hair away from his forehead. “Now, it’s time to eat.” I switch positions to the bed and cross my legs. Ben places the tray between us and steam from the mugs rise to the air. Ben glares at me when I try to dip my hand into the mug of coffee. I offer him a contrite smile. “There’s enough sugar.”
I give him a thumbs up and he adds with a smile, “There is enough cream too.” My heart. I wrap my arms around my belly. Ben breaks the toast and scoops scrambled eggs onto it. I open my mouth for him to feed me. He watches me chew and offers me the mug. I know he wants me to say something but I keep silent a little longer. “This is not enough to judge my cooking skills.” My grin widens and his eyes narrow. “This is not the best of my cooking.”
“It’s good, Benny.” I take his hand and suck on his finger without breaking eye contact. His throat bobs and he licks his lips. “Very delicious. I love it.” He resumes feeding me while we converse over all the little and silly things. “I don’t cook much at home.” If cooking is involved, the crown goes to Mum and I have never minded. “But I bake often.”
“I can’t bake to save a life,” Ben says. He sips from his mug. We are quiet until the plate is empty. “Alright. I’ll cook and you bake. Deal?”
“Deal, babe.” He winks and my cheeks flush. “But I’ll cook sometimes too. I can teach you how to bake if you like, it’s not so difficult.”
“Okay.” An emotion shadows his face, he puts the tray out of sight and edges closer to me so our knees are touching. I suck in air through my teeth as his thumbs run over my nipples poking my shirt. His lips part and closes without a word. “Gracie...”
A phone rings. My phone. I stifle a groan and snatch my phone from the drawer. Mum. Her voice pulls at my heartstrings and I giggle when she asks about Ben and my night. She doesn’t have to worry about grandbabies yet. I am also not ready for them.
The call goes on for a little longer. I lean back so I am resting against the headboard for support. Ben grabs his phone and begins texting. I poke his jaw and he shows me his phone. There’s a text from Maria asking why I haven’t been picking her calls. I didn’t even know she called.
Mum senses I’m getting distracted and bids me farewell. Daddy murmurs something in the background. Mum giggles the way I do when Ben is being naughty and the call ends. My mind wanders to places it shouldn’t and my cheeks turn a crimson red. They haven’t had the house to themselves in forever. I am always with them. I shake my head to rid those silly thoughts. They can do whatever they want.
Ben is on a phone call when I’m done. I seize that opportunity to text Maria. If I call her, I will hear a handful. My message gives a hint of what we spent most of the night doing. I end it with an apology and a promise to call back later. Her reply comes in immediately.
M: Did you do the deed? I was calling to prep you. Was it good? Was it painful? Was he gentle? Tell me EVERYTHING in detail. I want to hear it.
M: Don’t even think about lying. Is Ben there? He’s there, right? That’s why you can’t call.
M: Why are you not freaking out?
M: Call me, THERESA GRACE MOWER. I NEED to HEAR it. A text won’t be good enough. You better call me when you can or I’ll tell the world you betrayed your best friend.
M: OK. I won’t tell the world anything but call me later. Pretty please with a cherry on top.
I collapse to the bed with laughter spilling freely from my lips. If only she knows her best friend hasn’t been a virgin in such a long time. Ben’s face hovers over mine and he rubs his nose against mine. I palm his face for a kiss but he draws back before our lips meet.
Pointing to the phone glued to his ear, Ben mouths the words, “They want to speak to you.” I jump upright and he laughs. He palms my knee and gives it a gentle squeeze to calm me. It’s not working. I stretch my shaky hand for his phone. Ben tucks the phone between his ear and shoulder and wraps my hand between his. “Relax, babe. No need to get worked up about a call. You’re part of the family.”
That works. My pulse slows and I smile from ear to ear. He’s part of the Mower family too.
“Video call?” I button up to hide my cleavage and he plants a kiss on my jaw. On a nod, he switches to video call and three eager faces come on the screen. Josef. Maddie. Asher. Asher is straddling Josef’s back. Maddie is beside her husband. They wave at us and we wave back. “Gracie wants to say hi.”
“And thank you,” I add. My eyes sweep over my room and I palm my rosy cheeks. “I love it.”
“Did you like the note?” Asher asks. Maddie tickles him and he bursts into laughter. She grins at Josef and he plants a kiss on her nose. “I wrote it.”
“Really? I loved it, Champ. Will you come visit?”
Asher nods. “During the break.”
Ben is quiet throughout the call but his hand lowers to my back to remind me of his presence. After a few minutes of back and forth with four of us, the call ends. I place the phone face down on the drawer, mine and Ben. I would switch it off so we are not distracted but we need to be accessible.
“Gracie...” The seriousness on his face, his voice sends a nervous chill down my back. His hand runs over his face and he sighs. I sit cross-legged in front of him. “I am a bit nervous. I got you something.”
Prying his hands away from his face, I lace them around my waist. “Should I hold you?”
Ben laughs because I’m already holding him. He hides his face on my shoulder while I stroke his back. What did he get me? Why is he nervous about it? I don’t ask. He will tell me at his own time.
His head lifts slowly. “Don’t laugh, okay?” he says and shoves his hands into his pocket. “I am not sure if you...”
I cut him off with a kiss. “I won’t. I promise.”
Ben doesn’t speak. I have to hug him again. He nods against me and withdraws from the hug. My heart beats in my ear as he rises from the bed to get something outside my room. I’m a tight ball of nervousness on his return but I manage to hide it with a smile.
Our eyes meet. His smile is as jittery as mine but I don’t stop smiling. Ben gets down on his knees. And my heart stops. He pulls out a square velvety box from his shorts and I clap a hand over my mouth. We already talked about this. It’s too early for marriage.
“I know you said we should wait and I agree but I wanted to give you something more.” He flips the box open and I swallow hard at the sight of the ring. It’s a simple gold band. “Calum suggested a promise ring.” Oh. Okay. My breathing falls into a regular pace. I want to get married to him but I don’t think we are ready for that next step now. “I don’t know. Do you like it? I should have asked Mira, right? She would have given a better option.”
My nerves are under control by now, not his. I place one hand on his shoulder. He is looking everywhere but at my face. I squeeze his shoulder. “Ben. List–”
“Maybe Leah. She would know better.”
“Benny.”
“You don’t like it, right? That’s why you’re not saying anything.” He’s talking too fast for me to interrupt him. Looking up to me with sad eyes, he says, “I really thought you would like it, Gracie.”
“Wrong. So wrong. I love it. I really love it, babe.”
Ben cocks his head to the side, staring at me like I have grown another head. I grin. His gaze falls to the ring, then returns to my face.
“You love it?” His relief overwhelms him. His head continues bobbing and he draws me in for a hug. “Do you want me to put it on?” I nod. He tears up a little and my self-control shatters as the ring slides up my middle finger. Happy tears roll down my cheeks and he kisses them away. The ring is perfect. Ben is perfect. “Grace Theresa Mower, I promise to make you happy for the rest of our lives.”