Page 29 of Planning on Happily Ever After

Ben’s mom pulled away from him, her brow furrowed. “How can you ask that?”

Memories from his childhood flooded his mind, the ones of her crying over another failed relationship at the forefront. “Well, it wouldn’t be the first time things didn’t work out for you,” he muttered, wincing as soon as the words were out of his mouth. He had been making such good progress, but grumpy, cynical Ben had made a reappearance at the worst possible time.

Pushing back from the table, his mom stood and put on her coat. She was silent, but her movements were jerky, her emotions on display even if she wouldn’t put voice to them. “I know that my past has burned you as much as it has me, but it would be nice if you didn’t always fixate on the negative.” She walked over to where Holly had emerged with a bakery box tied up with string. “Thank you for the samples, Holly. I’ll call you when I’ve made a decision.” His mother barely spared him a glance as she strode out the door in a hurry.

Holly approached him, her steps hesitant. “What was that all about?” she asked him, gingerly touching her hand to his shoulder.

Ben placed his hand over hers and squeezed it, needing her to ground him when he was in danger of spiraling into another session where he berated himself for who he was. “Oh, that was just the result of me being me,” he said with little humor in his voice. He’d hardly ever spoken to his mom like that before, so he shouldn’t have been surprised that she reacted that way. Still, it stung a little to hear her call him out on his pessimism. She had always been the one person to overlook that particular flaw, but it seemed even she was getting tired of it.

Holly sat in the now unoccupied chair next to him and took his hands in hers, her gaze the only thing keeping a massive wall of shame from crashing down on him. “Hey.” Her voice was calm and soothing, and the sympathetic smile she bestowed upon him pulled him back from the edge of self-ridicule. “I like you being you.”

Ben smiled wryly at her comment, enjoying the fact that she was trying to cheer him up while still having a hard time fully believing her. “Well, you’d be the first.”

Holly sighed, but shockingly, not with exasperation. She stood, tugging his hands until he was standing too. She wrapped her arms around him, gently resting her head on his shoulder as she held him tight. Ben’s eyes prickled and he blinked away the moisture that had started to gather there. He’d made a mistake in how he’d spoken to his mom, but Holly wasn’t pointing that out, wasn’t teasing or giving up on him. She really was the most amazing woman.

Mirroring her position, Ben returned the hug, squeezing her as tightly as he dared without hurting her. “What are you doing?” he asked her, his voice thick with emotion.

“I thought you could use a hug.” She held him tighter and smiled up at him, the brightness of it breaking through the last of the storm clouds he’d summoned. “I don’t want to brag or anything, but I’ve been told I give pretty good ones.”

Ben leaned down, resting his forehead against hers. “Thanks, sunshine.”

They stayed that way for a long moment, Ben enjoying the solace he found in her arms and the feeling of being bathed in warmth. After glancing at the kitchen and not seeing her sister anywhere in sight, Ben slanted his lips over hers in a gentle kiss. Well, it started gently enough, but Holly had other ideas as she moved her hands from his back up into his hair, nipping at his lower lip. He opened obligingly, tasting sweet mint and reveling in the flavor of her as they continued to explore.

Ben moved his hands to her lower back and pulled her up against him, enjoying the feel of her soft body against his while hoping the stiffness in his pants wouldn’t scare her off. Holly Baker could kiss, and he was far more aroused than he had any right to be while standing in the middle of a bakery. After a few minutes spent devouring one another, they parted, panting and smiling giddily like teenagers. Holly was an excellent distraction, but now that they were no longer kissing, his shame started to creep back in.

Holly either sensed this or saw it on his face because she shook him a little while still holding on tightly to him. “Hey, none of that, okay. I’m sure whatever happened between you and your mom can be fixed.”

Ben groaned at the memory of his mother’s pained expression. “Ugh, I hope so. I kind of stuck my foot in my mouth a bit, and I think I hurt her feelings.” He rubbed Holly’s back as they continued to hold one another, wanting her close to help keep his anxiety at bay. “I’m just worried she’s going to get hurt again.”

Holly nodded, her eyes filled with trepidation. “Yeah, I’m not loving how Marvin has been MIA for all of the planning. It’s not the first time I’ve dealt with an absentee groom, but it’s definitely not the norm.” She bit on her bottom lip and Ben momentarily thought about going in for another taste to distract himself, but he wanted to be able to be open with her, too.

“Do you really think the wedding might not happen?”

He shrugged a shoulder, trying to lean into optimism and finding it very difficult in this situation. “I don’t have a good feeling about it, but that’s kind of my normal line of thinking, you know?”

“I get it. I tend to look at the world through rose colored glasses, but even I’m getting a bad feeling about it.” She leaned her head on his shoulder once again, snuggling into him like he was her own personal teddy bear. “Here’s the thing, though. Your mom doesn’t need someone telling her that something might not work out, she just needs support as she navigates all of the wedding madness. It might end well or it might end in disaster, but at the end of the day, she’s still going to be your mom, right? I know it might be hard, but maybe you can try to suspend disbelief for a little bit.”

Ben rested the side of his cheek atop her head, wondering if that were even possible. “That might be kind of a tall order for me, sunshine.” He was used to seeing what was in front of him and thinking of all the ways it could go bad. Although, he had been able to start to see a future with Holly, so maybe he wasn’t totally hopeless after all.

Holly’s eyes sparkled as she looked up at him. “I believe in you.” Her smile turned sly as she stared at him. “Just think of it as one of your video games. You have to get your mom to the altar, and even though there are obstacles on the way, it will be worth it to build your novice level people skills.”

“Har-har, little miss.” He pinched her side before starting to tickle her and she squirmed against him while she laughed. Ben didn’t normally enjoy teasing, but if the result was Holly’s melodious voice ringing out through the bakery, he could take it on the chin. Besides, he knew her now, and there was never any malicious intent with Holly.

After she had settled back down, she sighed happily. “I know you like to think of yourself as some grumpy guy who can’t talk to others, but that’s not how I see you.”

Her words stirred something deep within him, something he couldn’t name or wasn’t yet ready to. “And how do you see me, Holly?” Ben was genuinely curious to know what she thought of him. There was undoubtedly an attraction between them, and it had started to seem like she was caring for him beyond that, but it would be nice to have an admission of that from her instead of him just guessing.

Holly’s eyes narrowed in thought and she tilted her head, really looking at him and smiling shyly before answering his question. “I see someone who may not be the most comfortable with others, but who tries his hardest and is far better at it than he thinks. You can be gruff, yes, but you’re also strong, and I can tell that you feel things deeply. You care about other people’s opinions, even though you pretend not to, and you show people you care in all kinds of ways. That’s what I see when I look at you.” Her smile widened and she smirked. “You’re also crazy good-looking.”

He barked a laugh and her smile widened even further than he thought possible. She really was sunshine personified, and Ben knew he would do whatever it took to keep that bright smile on her face.

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