Page 47 of Planning on Happily Ever After

CHAPTER TWENTY

Holly

The conversation withBen from the day before was still on Holly’s mind. It had felt amazing, telling him she loved him, and to hear those same words come back to her was even better. After divulging their mutual love to one another, they continued to talk both about his anxiety issues and what they wanted from their relationship. They had made love twice more before falling asleep in one another’s arms, and while Holly knew not everything could be solved with talking and sex, both went quite a long way to solidifying things between them.

Together they had searched online for a phycologist for Ben, finding one not too far from Sunset Cove that specialized in anxiety management Holly fully believed that Ben loved her, and she vowed nothing he did or said could ever push her away.

After stopping by her place to pack a fresh overnight bag, Holly returned to Ben’s cottage apartment. He’d given her a key the morning after they had spent the night together, telling her he wanted her to come into his space whenever she wanted and as often as she could.

Tonight was the first time Holly hadn’t mentioned she was coming over, and she felt a little uneasy as she approached his front door. Muffled talking sounded through the white wood, causing a small measure of unease to bubble up inside her. The last thing she wanted was to cause Ben any more anxiety by intruding. It might take Holly a while to get over some of her own issues about being afraid to overstep, but she decided to take Ben at his word. Holly inhaled a deep breath, put the key in the lock and pushed inside.

Holly searched the small living area and spotted Ben and his mom at his small dining table. Trish must have gotten back from New York earlier than expected, and both of them smiled when they saw her, though Trish’s wasn’t quite as bright as her son’s.

Holly edged inside, but she kept the door ajar behind her. “I can come back if this is a bad time.”

Ben stood and walked over to her. “It’s never a bad time when you’re around,” he whispered before leaning down to kiss her cheek. He shut the door, took her overnight bag from her, and steered her over to the table, pulling out the chair next to him.

Holly sat down, hoping she hadn’t interrupted anything important and smiled at Trish who looked a little worn down, but not as devastated as she would have thought. “Hi, Trish. I’m sorry to hear about you and Marvin.” Holly had already stated as much in an official email, but it bore repeating.

Trish dismissed her comment with a wave of her hand. “Thank you, Holly, but it was probably never going to work out.” The older woman sighed and smoothed a hand over her hair. “That’s actually just what Ben and I were talking about.”

“I can go in the other room or—” Ben squeezed her hand and pulled it into his lap.

“Oh, no. You should actually be here for this, too,” Trish replied with a sad smile on her face. Holly nodded, confused as to why she was needed, but she sat calmly with the intention of listening to every word. “You see, Marvin was another guy that I tried to make things work with because really, I’m afraid of being alone. Ben suggested I talk to someone about it professionally, and I think I will.” She looked over at her son and smiled adoringly. “I loved Ben’s dad so much, and losing him was the most awful thing I’ve ever been through. I was so hell bent on recapturing the love I shared with him that I failed to really look at the relationship I was in with Marvin until it had already progressed further than it should have.”

Ben glanced at Holly, a sad smile on his face that mirrored his mom’s. “I thought all those guys had left my mom, but she actually dumped them when she realized they weren’t right for her.”

Trish chuckled humorlessly. “I guess I let this one get a little too far down the line this time, though.” She reached over and patted Holly’s hand, her expression apologetic. “I’m sorry I won’t be able to benefit from all your hard work. I feel awful that you did so much for me.”

Holly shook her head, the talk with her mom coming to mind. “Oh, don’t even think twice about it. I’m just glad you realized what was right for you before things got too out of hand.”

“Still. You put together one hell of a wedding. It’s a shame someone else can’t take advantage of that.” Her eyes flicked over to her son’s and they seemed to have a silent conversation. “Really, I should thank the two of you. It was seeing you together that made me realize my relationship with Marvin wasn’t right. I never looked at him the way you two look at one another.” She looked between the two of them, her eyes shining with emotion. “It’s nice to see two people who truly love one another and have it right.”

Holly smiled at Trish before looking to Ben, seeing his eyes shining with the same love she could feel emanating from her every pore. “Thanks, Trish.”

“Now, I’m going to go and let you two love birds have some alone time.” Trish placed both hands on the table and pushed herself to stand.

Holly and Ben escorted her out, giving her plenty of hugs and promises to call her. Holly rescheduled their lunch for later in the week so they could spend some time together and hopefully take Trish’s mind off of recent events. Once the door was closed, Ben walked them over to the couch and sat Holly down on his lap, pulling her arms around his neck. “I’m sorry that you guys have to deal with all this,” she said sincerely. She knew emotional upheaval wasn’t exactly Ben’s strong point, but he was being surprisingly calm about the whole thing.

“I’m sorry my mom is hurting, but we actually had a really good talk before you got here. She told me all about her relationship with my dad and how she had just wanted to have that magic feeling again so badly that she let it blind her to some things that were lacking in her subsequent relationships. It was nice to hear her reminisce about my dad.” He chuckled lightly, shaking his head. “It turns out he was a lot like me. He was kind of grumpy too, until she turned him around.”

“Hmm. That does sound like a familiar story,” she replied, snuggling deeper into his chest.

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