Page 18 of One Weekend in Perth

Why hadhe thought coming to a restaurant to talk to Clara was a good idea?

The place they’d chosen was quiet, intimate and screamed romance. Even though they were early, there were plenty of couples gazing into each other’s eyes, and he was sure they were sharing sweet nothings with each other. The location was everything they needed to be able to discuss things, yet he couldn’t bring himself to broach the subject. The fact Clara also hadn’t , showed she didn’t want to discuss it either.

Why did I kiss her?

No, he didn’t regret it, in fact he wished he would have deepened the kiss. Really showed her what he thought and felt about her. But he’d been cognizant of where they were and how many people were around them.

Across the table from him, Clara pushed her plate forward.

“How was your meal?” he asked.

“It was fine,” she responded.

Pretty sure the chef wouldn’t be happy with that compliment about his food, but he wasn’t going to mention that. “Mine was fine too.”

“Do you feel like having some dessert?”

The only dessert he wanted was the woman in front of him. Again, not something he was about to blurt out because it wasn’t the time or place. Not to mention he might end up with a slap across his cheek.

“I’ll have to check the menu. Maybe they’ve got something we could share.”

What was he doing? He was asking for trouble doing that. But it would be good trouble; the trouble he wanted.

He was tired of playing it safe with Clara. He was going to lay everything on the table and whatever happened, happened.

Ben reached across the table and took Clara’s hand that was resting by her water glass in his. When she didn’t pull away he considered it a win. Taking a deep breath, he let the thoughts that were swirling in his mind fall into place.

Here goes nothing.

“On the bridge before I kissed you, I said you were special, but I didn’t say why.” So far so good; she wasn’t trying to yank her hand away from his. “You’re special to me for a number of reasons, but mainly because when I’m with you, I don’t have to be someone else. I can be myself.”

With a bit of distance and time from Fern he could see how he was never truly relaxed with her. She had a certain expectation on how he behaved. From what he’d seen and heard about the guy she loved now, Ben didn’t imagine he would have finishing school manners. Not that it mattered; if she was happy, then he was too.

“I would never judge you on anything you did, Ben,” Clara said softly. “I can be myself with you too. But how does that make me any more special than, say, you hanging with Reed?

“You’re right, I said that was the main thing but it really isn’t. You’re special to me because…” He paused, knowing that he was about to lay his heart on the table and he hoped Clara wouldn’tstab it. “You make me whole. You fill a void in me that I searched for others to fill and the reason they couldn’t was because you were already there.”

Did that sound as corny and ridiculous to her as it did to him? He couldn’t articulate what was deep inside of him. “Sorry, Clarabelle, I’m making a mess of what I’m trying to say. It’s just,” he looked to the ceiling as if that would give him inspiration, “yesterday, when I saw you in the lobby, everything in me calmed. Everything became clear, and I knew even if I hadn’t found out that Fern was cheating on me, I made the right decision to walk away. It’syouI want. No one else. Just you.”

“Ben!” Her whispered cry, along with the tears welling in her eyes, had him second guessing himself.

Had he made a fool of himself?

It didn’t matter because he’d told her what he was feeling and he would deal with the fallout.

“Would you like dessert?” Their server came up, and Ben wanted to shout at him that now wasn’t the time. Couldn’t he read the room? Couldn’t the guy see something big had just gone down between the two of them?

“No, but we’d like the bill, please,” Clara said before he could say anything else, her focus on him as she squeezed his hand. The hand he forgot he was holding.

Did that mean that he hadn’t scared her away?

He tried not to get his hopes up. Tried not to read too much into it, but how could he not? If she didn’t want anything to do with him after his confession, she wouldn’t still be connected to him. If she’d been really upset with him wouldn’t she be running for the hills?

“Certainly, I’ll be right back.” The server melted away from the table as silently as he’d come.

“Bento.” Clara said his silly nickname, and he smiled. He couldn’t help it.

“Clarabelle,” he returned.

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