Page 33 of Falling for the Forbidden
“Will this fix your cake craving?”
“Just a little bit. The only problem is choosing.”
Both of us indulge in way too many calories by the time we pay and make our way home…but I figure we’ve already exerted ourselves enough to get away with it.
Chapter Ten
“Lauren, wake up.”Ben’s soft voice filters through my sleep-fogged brain and I pry my eyes open to look at him. The smile he greets me with melts my heart, but it doesn’t stop me feeling like I should be fast asleep right now.
“What time is it?”
“Early. Come on, get up. There’s something I want to show you.”
Lifting my heavy head, I take in the numbers on my alarm clock. “Why the hell are you dragging me out of bed at three-thirty in the morning?”
“It’ll be worth it, I promise.” There are very few things that will make this worth it, but I refrain from voicing my concerns because Ben seems excited. “Here, get dressed.” A pair of jeans and the hoodie he gave me gets thrown onto the bed, and after finding myself some underwear, I pull them on.
Once dressed, Ben takes my hand and leads me out to his car. It’s still dark out and the street is in silence. As we drive through the city of London, it’s quieter than I ever thought I’d experience—although there are still way too many people out at this hour, in my opinion.
“Where are we going?” I ask, desperately trying to keep my eyes open.
“Just wait.”
I vaguely recognise parts of our journey, so when he pulls up into the deserted car park he brought me to after our first date, I’m not surprised.
“I should probably tell you now that I’m not really interested in any kinky shit that might go down in this place after dark.”
Ben barks out a laugh. “Don’t worry, I have no intention of allowing anyone to watch through the window. That’s not why we’re here.”
“Whyarewe here?”
“For that,” he says pointing to where the sun is just beginning to creep over the horizon in the distance.
“Oh.” I’m gobsmacked that bad boy Ben has brought me to watch the sunrise. He really does put on a good show for everyone, and I suddenly feel so grateful to have been allowed to see the real him.
“Surprised?” he asks like he can read my mind.
“Yeah.”
“It’s just so peaceful. My dad first showed me this place. Just being here…” He pauses, and I can feel the emotion he’s desperately trying to keep inside. His jaw pops where he grinds his teeth and his hands white-knuckle the steering wheel. “It just makes me feel close to him again.”
He was only fourteen when his dad suddenly passed away. I can only imagine how he even began to deal with that. Having heard stories from back then, I know that Jenny totally fell apart, so not only was Ben trying to cope with losing his dad, but he was trying to support his mum at the same time. It’s no surprise that, when my dad swooped in not all that long later, they didn’t really hit it off. My dad had been working for Johnson & Sons, but as a builder. But it didn’t seem to take all that long for him to move into their house and take over the business. It was almost like he was waiting, hoping for an opportunity to arise, and when it did, he swooped in like a knight in shining armour and saved the day.
“Let’s get out.”
Ben jumps from the car and I quickly follow suit, meeting him at the front. Resting back against the bonnet, he pulls me against him and places his chin on my shoulder.
We sit in a comfortable silence as we watch the sun rise over London. I feel so serene and secure in his arms as we take in one of the busiest cities coming to life.
I can’t stop yawning as we head back into the centre.
“No sleeping yet. We’ve got more places to go.”
“It’s dawn on a Sunday morning. Where could we possibly need to go?” When he pulls up outside a McDonalds, I can’t really argue. “Okay, yeah. This is a good plan.”
We fill ourselves full of McMuffins and caffeine, and by the time we walk out, I’m feeling a little more awake.
To my surprise, Ben walks straight past his car and continues farther down the street.
