Page 46 of Reason to Believe (White Lace 2)

“You can foster cats?” Ben’s eyebrows rose in surprise. “Like kids?”

I nodded. “He’s my newest one.” I leaned forward and ran my hand across his back. Immediately, he arched into my touch and purred. What were the odds? Ben had shown up and the cat was suddenly interested in human beings.

The other two cats had made their way over to the couch and now twined themselves between my legs.

“What are their names?” Ben asked.

“The gray and white one is Cynders. The black and white one is Princess.” I patted my newest addition on the head. “And this one doesn’t have a name. I just got him last week.”

“He’s been here a week and doesn’t have a name? That’s depressing.” Ben reached out and pet him. I was surprised. I didn’t take him for an animal lover, especially not a cat lover. He picked up the boy and held him out, inspecting his face and body. “Check out the muscle mass on this guy. He’s a tank.”

I giggled.

He lifted the cat higher, looking beneath his tail. “Oh yeah, I know what his name should be.” He looked up at me, and with a completely stoic face said, “Arnold Schwarzenegger.”

I barked out a laugh. “You’re not serious.”

“Hell yes, look at him.” He plopped him down on the back of the couch and patted his head. “I bet he could take those two.” His chin jerked in the direction of the other two cats, who were still restless, pacing back and forth between my legs.

“You want to name the cat Arnold Schwarzenegger?”

Knowing that he had been owned by an elderly lady, I could guarantee his name was nowhere near that of an Austrian-American body builder and movie star. But this cat obviously trusted Ben enough to come out of hiding. He should get to name him.

“All right. Arnold it is.”

“Yeah, buddy.” Ben picked up the cat and rounded the couch, sitting down to face the television. He plopped him in his lap, not even caring about getting cat hair on his brand-new suit. Speaking to the cat, he said, “You have just been given the highest honor one can be bestowed. You are now the namesake of the greatest movie star, athlete, and philanthropist in the entire world.” The cat rose on all fours, turned himself around two times, then plopped back down on Ben’s lap as if he’d done it a thousand times before. “Those are big shoes to fill, but judging by the size of your balls, I think you’ll be fine.”

“He’s crazy for you.” I smiled at the only two men currently in my life. “He’s been hiding from me since the day I brought him home.”

“He’s not so bad.” Ben looked at me. “We should commemorate this with an Arnold movie.” His eyes lit up, and I had to admit, it was the cutest thing watching him get excited about movies. “Help me pick a movie, Arnold,” he said to the cat. “Let’s show Grace some of your best work.”

I settled on the opposite side of the couch, pulling my legs under me, then leaned to the right, snuggled into Ben.

We watched Arnold kill the bad guys. Then we watched him kill some more bad guys. And when he threw some dude off an elevator and delivered his lines, I thought Ben was going to explode with excitement and awe.

And then I remembered…we were supposed to be having sex.

I glared at Arnold. That damn cat had just cockblocked me.

When the movie was over I was quick to grab the remote. “My turn!” I cued up my iTunes, scrolling through my purchased movies, landing on one of my favorite romantic comedies. “Time for some lovin’.”

r /> “Bring it on.” Ben clapped his hands together as if gearing up for an all-you-can-eat contest.

“I thought for sure you’d turn your nose up at a romantic comedy.” I clicked the remote and the movie began.

“Film is film. It’s someone’s creation. It’s someone’s heart and soul on the screen. I would never disrespect a movie.”

He wasn’t what I’d thought he was. When I’d first met Ben, I had thought he was a cocky ass who got off on filming people having sex, and just happened to fall ass backwards into the job. I had no idea that he was a film buff and had a real passion for making movies, not just porn. I would never had guessed that he was thoughtful, and unsure of himself—so much so that he’d agreed to my help. And I never would have guessed in a million years that he’d be romantic.

Maybe everything I thought I knew about Ben Lockwood was a mask, just like the one I’d worn to protect myself when I was with a client. Warning bells went off like an air raid siren in my head. The more I discovered, the more I liked him, and that was a dangerous game to play.

“Besides, I film romantic comedies, sort of.” He cleared his throat. “All right, maybe they aren’t so much romantic, and maybe they aren’t so much comedic in the traditional sense. But sometimes they can be pretty fucking funny by accident.”

I laughed.

“I wouldn’t have pegged you as the romantic comedy type.” He looked over at me, his hand absentmindedly petting Arnold Schwarzenegger.

“I want the happily ever after, Ben. I want Prince Charming to ride up on his white horse and carry me off to his castle.” I settled back into the cushions, the familiar song about being breathless filling the space was particularly fitting right now. “I want it all.”

---