Page 10 of Planning on Happily Ever After

“You’ll be fine,” his mom reiterated with another pat to his chest. “Oh, there she is now.” She looked to her right and raised her hand to wave in the direction of the sitting area. As Ben followed his mom’s gaze and landed on the person she was greeting, his eyes widened before slamming shut as he nearly swallowed his tongue.

“Oh, fuck me,” he muttered to himself.

Prying one eye open, he watched the woman approach. Holly Baker was indeed a very beautiful woman, and she just happened to also be the accident prone, tornado of cheer he seemed destined to run into. What were the odds that the two women he couldn’t stop thinking about were the same person that he would be spending the next few weeks, or hell, even months with? Ben turned away, raised his eyes to the ceiling, and prayed to whatever higher entity that would listen to smite him down on the spot and save him from what would surely be an awkward interaction. No breathing exercise or calming mantra could help him now, his chest so tight he thought his lungs would collapse.

“Trish, so good to see you.” Despite his dizziness from a lack of oxygen, Ben’s shoulders fell from where they’d been pinning his ears to his head at the sweet-sounding voice that was becoming more and more familiar to him now. How had he not recognized it the other night? “I apologize for not being up front when you arrived. I was just so excited to check out the main barn, and the weather today couldn’t be more perfect for us to walk around the grounds.”

“It certainly is, and there is no need to apologize, dear. Now, Holly, I would like you to meet my son, Ben.” He felt a tap on his shoulder and his mom laughed uncomfortably when he stayed firmly rooted to the spot. “Benny, dear. Turn around and greet my new friend.”

“Did you say Ben?”

As he slowly turned around, Ben was once again struck by just how lovely Holly was. Her hair was elegantly done in some kind of twist with a few loose strands spiraling down like ribbons, framing a face that showed off fair skin with a rosy glow to it, no doubt from the exertion of her walking the grounds moments earlier. Knee high boots over tight jeans hugged even the slightest of curves on her slender frame, and Ben had the sudden urge to grip her hips and pull her closer so he could get a better look at the bright eyes that were set off by the light blue sweater she wore.

Ben was so busy staring into the twin blue skies, enjoying the calm that had started to wash over him, that it had taken him a moment to see the absolutely shocked expression on her face. “Holy shit,” she whispered.

Ben couldn’t have said it better himself.

CHAPTER SIX

Holly

“Holy shit,” Holly whisperedto herself, though by the slight widening of Ben’s hypnotic gray eyes, he heard her too.

She swallowed thickly, a strange lump of surprise, confusion, and longing lodged in her throat. Trish’s son was grumpy-no-sweets guy, the same guy she had been kind of obsessing over the last couple of weeks. Holly didn’t think she would run into him again, yet here he was. The universe did have a strange sense of humor, giving her yet another chance to open herself up to a new possibility.

Determined to fully take advantage this time and not take no for an answer, Holly took a moment to appreciate the man before her. His athletic frame was housed in a navy sweater and dark jeans that hugged his muscles beautifully, his hair was perfectly styled just like the last two times they’d encountered one another, but this time he wasn’t scowling. He looked as surprised as she did, but even with that stunned expression, he still looked damn good. Holly took another long look before glancing over at Trish, balking at the woman’s impish smile.Oh god, how long have I been staring at him?

Holly shook her head and tried to get back into professional mode, wiping her hand on her jeans as subtly as possible to remove the sweat that had formed there e, then offered it to him. “Nice to meet you, Ben.”

Hesitantly, he grabbed her hand and pumped her arm firmly but with more care than she would have expected from a stranger. Ben had a strong grip and his hand was warm despite his having just come in from the cooler weather outside.Does he feel the same tingling on his skin that I feel on mine? Is this normal?

The strange cocktail of emotions flooding Holly’s system made her feel almost drunk, only coming back to her senses fully when Ben cleared his throat. “It’s nice to meet you, Holly. Or rather, it’s nice to put a face with a voice.”

Wait, what?No way was this Ben in front of her the same Ben she had spoken to last night, the same one whose voice she’d dreamt of. The string of coincidences was too much for her brain to reconcile, and she dropped her hand from his, immediately missing the feel of his slightly rougher skin. When a pained expression appeared on his face as well, Holly wondered if he too, felt a loss at the discontinued contact.

Saving that question to ponder later, Holly tried to speak as if her mind wasn’t racing to make sense of the puzzle that had just been dumped in her lap. “You’re video game friend Ben? The voice in the headphones Ben?”

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