Page 93 of Stick Side
He reached one of his hands up and brushed the curve of her lower lip with his thumb. An inconvenient jolt of pleasure raced through her body.
“As much as I would love to stay here with you all day,” Ben said, “what do you say I leave you to get dressed while I go help out downstairs?”
Melody pressed her lips together, inadvertently placing something of a kiss to Ben’s thumb before he drew it away from her mouth. She didn’t want him to leave, either, but she knew they couldn’t stay in bed all day. Especially not while at his parents’ home, which was full of their friends.
She was just about to answer when her stomach rumbled.
Ben laughed softly. “I guess that answers that.”
He placed a gentle kiss on her lips before getting up and moving to the door. “I’ll see you downstairs whenever you’re ready.”
With a tiny wink that somehow made him all the more sexy, he blew her a kiss, then let himself out, gently closing the door behind him.
Melody dragged her bottom lip through her teeth as she flung back the covers and threw her legs over the side of the bed. It was time to get up and face the horde. While she wasn’t ashamed of what she and Ben had done last night, she really hoped her cheeks would do her the favor of maintaining their usual golden glow.
Her insides warmed at the idea of further claiming Ben as her own, but there was no reason others needed to be privy to their most intimate details. After all, some things were best kept private, were they not?
Chapter 45
Melody
BythetimeMelodymade her way downstairs, breakfast was already in full swing. There was a cacophony of voices coming from the dining room, but she barely glanced in their direction, choosing instead to make her way over to the kitchen.
She walked into the large, farmhouse style kitchen to find Cathy in front of the stove, expertly making simultaneous batches of pancakes and French toast. And was that eggs Benedict? Melody wasn’t sure what all Cathy had put together, but it smelled divine.
She was just about to speak, but Cathy beat her to the punch. Turning around with a spatula in hand, Ben’s mom smiled at her and gave a little wave with a flour-covered hand. “Good morning, my dear. As you can see, breakfast is served.” She made a sweeping gesture to all the pots and pans around her. They made it apparent that far more food than what Melody could see had already been prepared.
“Can I help you with anything?” Melody offered. She scanned the space to see how she might best be able to help. “I’m sorry I slept in. It was my intention to help out much sooner than now.”
Cathy waved off her concern. “There’s no need to worry. I have breakfast well in hand,” she said, flipping a perfect golden pancake onto an already hefty stack. “Maybe you could just take this into the dining room for me?”
“Of course.” Melody walked farther into the kitchen and grabbed the plate Cathy held out. “Should I come back and grab anything else? Or help you with the dishes?”
“Thank you,” Cathy said as she turned back to the stovetop to check on a pan of sausages, “but I have a nice flow going. Benjamin will be back in to take the sausages out in a few minutes. Healthy that boy may be, but God himself probably couldn’t stop him from indulging in farm-fresh links when he can get them.” Cathy angled her head to shoot a warm, motherly smile over her shoulder before tilting her head to shoo Melody off in the direction of the dining room.
Happy to do as she’d been directed, Melody turned on her heel and headed to the dining room. The pancakes were so heavy that she found herself using two hands to support their weight.
Melody’s eyes widened. Every possible surface of the large wooden table appeared to be covered in trays of food. Pancakes. French toast. Jams. Preserves. Bacon. Hash browns. A fruit salad. Jugs of milk and juice. She didn’t know where she could possibly fit the platter she carried.
As if hearing her thoughts, Ben came up beside her and grabbed the plate she was carrying. “Here. Let me take that for you.”
He proceeded to pick up the mostly emptied plate of pancakes on the table, flip the remaining pancakes onto the fresh ones, and return the now extra-full plate to the table before placing the empty one onto a sideboard.
“Better?” Ben asked with a warm smile.
“Much better. Thank you,” Melody replied as she returned his smile.
Is this what it was going to be like to have Ben as her boyfriend? Constant support from a man who seemed to want nothing more than to make her life better and easier? Melody sighed happily.Sign me up.
Shawna was the first of the diners to spot her. “Good morning, sleepyhead,” she greeted with what Melody feared was the beginning of a mischievous smile.
“You were so quiet when I left the room this morning,” Shawna continued, a full smile now lighting her lips, “that I wondered whether you would ever make your way down.” Shawna’s eyes sparkled with secret knowledge. “You seemed gone to the world.”
Yes, “gone” because Shawna knew perfectly well Melody hadn’t spent the night in their room. Which would, of course, lead her to the correct conclusion that Melody had spent the night with Ben.
Shawna picked up her glass of orange juice and gave Melody a barely perceptible cheers before bringing the glass to her lips and taking a healthy sip.
Not wanting anyone to think too long on Shawna’s choice of words, Melody turned to Ben but spoke in a way that made it clear her words weren’t only for him. “It’s quite the feast your mom has put together,” she said as she met the eyes of everyone at the table and smiled an unspoken good morning.
