Page 46 of Forgotten Promise

Not now.

Not yet.

He wanted to hear the rest.

“It was a whirlwind summer romance,” she said, turning her attention back to John.

Benjamin got the sense it was easier for her to tell John the story, to pretend he wasn’t there.

“Sounds nice,” John said. “What kinds of things did you guys do? Movies? Bowling?”

She laughed, John’s words reminding Benjamin once more of how different their lives were.

“More like impromptu jaunts to New York City to see Broadway shows, cruises around Boston Harbor on his boat, trips to BDSM clubs, and weekends experimenting with kinky sex, a week at the beach on Martha’s Vineyard, and—”

“The trip to Paris,” Benjamin interjected.

“Jesus,” John said, grinning at Benjamin. “Sex clubs, huh? Looks like I need to up my dating game.”

The three of them laughed, and it occurred to Benjamin it was the first time they’d shared a joke, all of them letting go for just a second to enjoy the humor of it.

This could be so perfect, he thought, even though it was too soon to hope for such. They still had miles left to cover…literally and figuratively.

“Paris,” Kailani said, picking up the crumb he’d dropped. “I’d never been, my family preferred to vacation in Asia, not Europe,” she confided in John, “but it was number one on my bucket list of vacations.”

“My number one is Monte Carlo, followed closely by Venice and Switzerland,” John said with a grin.

“Seriously? Monte Carlo?” Benjamin said. “I have to admit that wasn’t what I’d have guessed. You strike me more as a backpacking-in-the-wilderness kind of guy than a craps-table one.”

John laughed. “I’ve done some camping in my time.”

“Why Monte Carlo?” Kailani asked.

“Two words. James Bond.”

Kailani laughed as Benjamin rolled his eyes. “Bond fan, huh?” he asked.

“The biggest. GoldenEye was my favorite.”

Benjamin scoffed. “Dude. That was Pierce Brosnan.”

John didn’t take offense. “I know, I know. I liked Roger Moore and Sean Connery too, and I think Daniel Craig is great, but there was something about Brosnan’s Bond that really captured my attention when I was younger. I didn’t get to go to the movies much growing up, so most of my cinema knowledge comes from what was playing on TV. Seemed like there was always a Bond movie somewhere on cable, and I loved them. The intrigue, the mystery, the suave hero chasing down larger-than-life villains.”

“I think I’m starting to understand your choice to become a cop,” Kailani said, smiling widely.

“Bond may have influenced my decision to go into law enforcement. That and the fact I didn’t have a clue how to become an MI6 agent,” he joked.

“What a shame,” Kailani said, “because you would totally rock a tuxedo, sitting at the tables in Monte Carlo with some buxom blonde with a horrible name like Anita Longdick hanging on your arm, while you’re sipping a martini…”

“Shaken not stirred,” Benjamin finished for her.

“You definitely missed your calling, John,” Kailani continued.

John shook his head. “Not sure about that. My British accent sucks.” Which he then proved to them when he said, “I’m too knackered to watch the footie match today,” in what was hands-down the worst impression of a Brit Benjamin had ever heard.

They all cracked up.

And suddenly, Benjamin was overwhelmed by the desire to get John to Monte Carlo. And fuck it, he’d take him to Italy and Switzerland too. He’d been to all three places, but something told him he’d enjoy those trips even more if he was with John.

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