Better with Ben (How to Tame a Heartbreaker Book 3) (20 page)

Chapter 25

Taylor and Ben stayed holed up in the apartment the entire next day. They got out to pick up some food for lunch, but it was just take out and Taylor didn't even get out of the truck. She was so relieved he'd asked Hannah to cover her shift because going to work would have sucked. Obviously, that type of seclusion wasn't possible for very long, so Taylor had no trouble coaxing herself into enjoying every second of it. She knew, even as it was happening, that she'd remember this weekend with the warmest, fuzziest of feelings.

It was late Sunday afternoon when Molly text Ben to let him know she was coming home for a few minutes. She had Hannah with her when she came in. Taylor was wearing one of Ben's shirts when they got there. She had plenty of time to change since they text to warn that they were on their way, but she really didn't want to. She was quite comfortable in it, but more than that, she liked it for the statement it made. Besides, it suited her and looked good with tights she had on.

Molly gave a few little knocks on the door before she opened it. When she and Hannah came in, Taylor had gone to use the restroom and Ben was in the living room alone.

"Where's Taylor?" was the first thing Molly asked. She thought about it and realized the string of texts they'd just had didn't confirm or deny whether or not Taylor was still there. Molly just assumed she would be.

"She's in the restroom," Ben said with a nod in that direction.

Molly's eyes got really wide as if she were about to get the juiciest piece of gossip on the face of the earth. "Do you loooove her?" she whispered.

Ben rolled his eyes at her, knowing she was just being silly and didn't expect a real answer to that.

"Well do you?" Hannah whispered. She was the one who'd brought Taylor into the mix and was just as excited about a love connection as any of them.

Ben didn’t have time to answer before Taylor came into the living room. "Hey guys," she said.

"Aww, you look cute," Hannah said as she turned to look at Taylor.

"So cute," Molly added. She reached out to hug Taylor, who'd approached as they were talking.

"Thanks guys, and thanks for covering my shift, Hannah, how'd it go?"

"It went well. It was busy for a Sunday so it went by fast."

"Any tips?"

"Forty."

"Not bad," Taylor said. "Thanks again for doing that."

"You're welcome," Hannah said. She took her shoes off, put her purse down, and went over to the couch to sit down.

"I'm gonna grab that shampoo and put it by your purse," Molly said, talking to Hannah.

"Sounds good," Hannah responded. Then she looked at Taylor to explain. "Molly got me some shampoo. That's why I came by… to pick it up."

Molly took off to her bedroom and Taylor just stood there not knowing where to sit. She had been sitting in the recliner with Ben but thought that might be a little awkward so she considered crossing to the couch to sit with Hannah. She took a step in that direction when she heard Ben say, "Where are you going?"

She looked at him and he gestured with his hand for her to come here. She went to him without hesitation, and this time when she sat with him, she
didn't
sit on the armrest. She sat in the same position she'd been in before she got up. In the corner of the chair with her legs comfortably draped over his lap. Ben didn't even care that Hannah was sitting there looking at them. He wrapped his arms around Taylor like he was holding onto precious cargo.

Molly came back into the living room carrying two big bottles. She set them next to Hannah's bag and shoes. She turned, and before she started toward the couch to take a seat, she stood and stared at Ben and Taylor.

"Is this official, or what?" she asked, wiggling her finger in the air in their general direction. Taylor looked at Ben with a surprised, somewhat horrified expression. She had no idea what to say. She
wanted
it to be official, but felt like he would think it's too quick to say something like that.

He narrowed his eyes at Taylor for a split second before he looked at his sister. "Why? Are you trying to post it on Facebook or something?"

"Maybe," Molly said. "Should your page say that you're
in a re-la-tion-ship
?"

Ben looked at Taylor like it was the first time he'd considered it. "I guess it should," he said. It sounded like even he was a little bit surprised.

"You should probably consult me first," Taylor said. "What if I don't want it to say that?"

"You do," he said. There was not an ounce of doubt in what he was saying, and his confidence of me made her smile. Taylor stared at him, speechless, which made Hanna and Molly both giggle at them.

"Some things never change," Hannah said. "He's been that arrogant his whole life." She regretted teasing him in front of Taylor, so she added, "At least he can back it up."

"How would you know?" Taylor asked.

Taylor was only joking, but before that registered in Molly's mind, she said. "Oh, Hannah would know." For some reason she thought that everyone, including Taylor, knew that Hannah and Ben kissed several times in high school. It was only after she said it that it dawned on her that Taylor might not know that. It was so far in the past and so insignificant that Molly didn't even think about what she was saying.

Hannah's eyes widened at Molly as if she just let the most horrible thing slip out of her mouth. Taylor just stared at them, taking everything in.

Ben didn't flinch; he just waited quietly to see how everything would play out.

"Did you and Ben used to date?" Taylor asked.

It was the obvious thing to ask, so you'd think Hannah would have been ready for it, but she still struggled with her response. "No, I, uh, we… probably just kissed a few times or whatever."

Taylor looked back and forth from Hannah to Ben with an unreadable expression.

"It was years ago and all we did was kiss anyway," Ben said. Taylor didn't know what to say. Part of her wanted to be hurt, or mad, or jealous, but the other part of her honestly wasn't that surprised at the revelation. Ben was a friend's hot older brother; Hannah would have been a fool not to kiss him a time or two if he was into it.

Taylor shrugged and rested her head on his shoulder. "I assume you don't have any plans to do it again in the near future," Taylor said.

"No. God no," Hannah said quickly. She was mortified at the thought of cheating on Jason, and honestly really happy for Ben. She thought he and Taylor were an excellent match.

"Didn't she do good last night?" Ben's question was directed to Molly.

"Oh, Leroy and Mary Lou told me to tell you how happy they were with everything," Molly said. "She went on and on about you when she talked to Nick on the phone today. And I loved your hair in a twist. Did you do it?"

"Yeah, and I'm so glad it stayed," Taylor said. "I was so worried it would fall halfway through the night and I'd be stuck with a mess."

"It looked really good," Molly said. "I meant to tell you that last night."

"You were too busy telling her about some gay CrossFit instructor named Jesse," Ben said.

"He's neither gay nor a CrossFit instructor, but I was just doing it to make you jealous anyway." She paused and regarded him with a defiant glare. "Looks like it worked."

"This was in the works long before your little games," Ben said. "But if you're wondering whether or not I'm jealous, then let me put your mind at rest…yes, I am jealous, so Jesse and anyone else you had in mind for Taylor will have to just find their own girl."

"Why? Because that one's yours?"

He squeezed Taylor. "Hell yeah she's mine. You think I let just anyone come in here, put on my shirt and sit on my lap?"

"Well I hope not, but I was just making sure."

He breathed a laugh at his sister for trying to force him to make some sort of official decree that he was dating Taylor. "She's mine," he said. "She's my girlfriend. We're together—not seeing anyone else—an item, a couple, dating, going steady. Is that good enough?"

By the end of his monologue, Taylor was covering her face with her hands shyly. Molly put a hand to her heart and sighed as if she'd just witnessed the most romantic thing ever.

"Isn't he sweet?" Molly asked.

Taylor smiled up at him before placing a kiss on his cheek. "The sweetest."

Chapter 26

It had been a few weeks since Taylor and Ben made things official. Taylor was working a lunch shift at Common Grounds on a beautiful Saturday afternoon. She was scheduled to get off at three o'clock, and expected Ben to pick her up afterward. That was the plan since he'd given her a ride to work a few hours before.

Taylor was working the register when he came in to pick her up. He was fifteen minutes early, but that wasn't what took her off guard. It was the caravan of four kids he had with him. Jack, Abby, Alexis, and Henry filed in behind him. Until that point, Taylor's world in Nashville didn't intersect with her past in the trailer park on the outskirts of town.

She started to feel a bit overwhelmed for a second, but told herself there was no reason the kids shouldn't be able to see where she works. In fact, she probably should be having them over for sleepovers, but that was something she wasn't going to think about right then since she was already thrown for a loop at the fact that they were there in the first place.
Thank God Jennifer isn't with them
. Taylor's thoughts were traveling a mile a minute as she took in the smiling faces of her brothers and sisters.

Ben must have warned them to be on their best behavior because they were standing quietly in a cluster beside him. Henry was holding Ben's hand and smiling up at Taylor. She distractingly finished helping the customer she was already working with. Once that person took off, she gave a huge smile to her crew, acting like she had nothing but positive feelings going on even though she was somewhat shocked. She was happy to see them and everything but knew she and Ben had plans and wondered what was going on.

"I thought you might want to ride with us to bring them home," Ben said before she could ask. "We hung out for a little while this morning and I was about to bring them home, but I figured you'd want to come too. They wanted to see where you work." He looked at Jack. "Take the others and go get a table on the patio," he said.

Jack agreed willingly and they all followed him out. Ben took the money clip out of his wallet and tossed his debit card onto the counter. "We've already had lunch, but get them something to drink and maybe a snack. You know what they like."

Taylor smiled from across the counter and slid his card back in his direction. "I got it. Do you want anything?" She knew he'd say yes. He was always eating since he worked out all the time.

"Coffee and a muffin or something I guess."

"I got it," she repeated. "I'll get it for half-price anyway."

He put the debit card back in his wallet and exchanged it for a twenty-dollar bill. "There's a tip, then," he said. She slid it back in his direction but he was already walking toward the door.

"I'm just gonna bring everything out with me when I clock out," she said.

He gave her a nod before heading out to meet the kids.

"Who was that?" Anne asked.

"My boyfriend," Taylor said, smiling at the next customer who was just walking through the door, trading places with Ben. Taylor finished the transaction before Anne brought it up again. "I know
Ben
, stupid, I was talking about the kids."

"Oh, they're my little brothers and sisters."

"All of them?" Anne asked.

She and Taylor had been friends for a long time and while she remembered Taylor had mentioned having siblings, she had no idea how many there were or what ages. Taylor told Anne their names and ages and a little bit about each one. There was another coworker behind the counter –a girl named Kelsea. She wasn't close to Taylor and Anne, and sort of just ignored them as they talked.

Nothing was the person scheduled to relieve Taylor, and since he got there a few minutes early, and was willing to take over, Taylor clocked out just before three. She grabbed and/or made the drinks and snacks she thought would best suit the kids and Ben. She put the beverages in a drink holder and snacks in a paper bag, but figured they'd eat on the patio instead of Ben's truck. She really only packed up like that so she could carry it out there.

They were sitting at a long wooden picnic table on the left side of the covered porch. Ben stood to help her to the table, and she was pleased to see that Jack followed suit.

"Did you get me the M&M cookie?" Henry asked.

Taylor handed the drinks to Ben and the bag of snacks to Jack before she sat on the end of the bench.

"I sure did," she said to Henry.

Henry looked up at Ben who said, "I told you she'd know what you wanted."

Henry beamed up at Taylor like she'd accomplished some amazing feat by reading his mind.

"What'd you get me?" Ben asked. "A bran muffin, a double shot of espresso, and a twelve ounce bottle of white milk. Two percent."

He gave Taylor a smile and wink before he glanced down at Henry, who was already searching through the bag for his cookie.

"I'll trade you the bran muffin for the cookie." Ben said. Henry looked up at him, not wanting to trade but conflicted by how to let him down. It was evident how much he loved Ben in the way he was even considering it.

"I'm just messing with you little buddy," Ben said, seeing Henry's stunned face. "I love bran muffins even more than M&M cookies."

"Ewww," Henry said. He took a tentative bite of the cookie before glancing up at them for a final approval that he could take a real bite. Ben smiled and nodded at Henry before he told Taylor to make room for him on the bench. She obeyed, and once he settled in his place, she leaned into him. He put an arm around her shoulder and gave a squeeze.

"Are you gonna marry our sister?" Henry said.

"Henry!" Jack said.

"What?"

"They probably will," said Abby, "but that's not the kind of question you ask in front of everybody, Henry."

Henry made a little bit of a pouty face before forgetting about it completely and biting into his cookie again. Taylor glanced up at Ben apologetically, but he shook his head letting her know she shouldn't worry about it.

"We haven't even talked about getting married, buddy, but I do love your sister."

Taylor's gaze snapped up to meet his. It was the first time either of them had ever said that, and she didn't know how to feel about it coming out that way.
Was he officially saying I love you? Should I say something back?

He dropped his hand from around her back and looked at her casually before searching around for his muffin. He glanced at her, knowing she was wondering what she should say next, and decided to clarify. "I guess I should have phrased that more like, I love you Taylor. I know I haven't said it. I guess I thought it was obvious. Anyway, there it is."

Jack was looking at the street, or the house next-door—anywhere but at them, the girls were watching like two little hawks, letting out nearly silent giggles from behind their clenched fists. Henry was concentrating on nothing except the huge bite of cookie he was chewing. Taylor let out a little laugh/sigh at the impossibility of choosing the right words at a moment like that.

She threw her hands up and made a so what expression. "I mean, obviously I love you back or whatever," she said. He laughed at how precious she was when she felt awkward or on the spot. She did little things that most people wouldn't pick up on, like bite at her lower lip. He knew she loved him and didn't really care how it came out.

"You're definitely getting married," Henry said from around a mouthful of cookie.

Within a few minutes, the kids were finishing up with their snacks. Taylor stood to collect their trash, but sat down again once she realized Abby was still working on her fruit cup. She opened her purse and fished around for the pack of gum she knew in there somewhere.

"I'll take a piece," Ben said, holding a hand out.

"Me too," said at least two of the others. By the time she was done handing out gum, everyone at the table had a slice.

"Okay, everybody make a paper airplane out of your wrapper," Taylor said. "The one that flies the farthest wins."

Everybody, including Henry slumped over the table working on their masterpiece.

"We're gonna line up against the wall," Taylor said as she folded, "and let em fly at the same time."

"Mine's gonna go so far we won't be able to find it," Ben said.

Henry looked up at him with adoring eyes but Taylor just rolled hers knowing it was impossible to make a paper airplane out of a gum wrapper that would fly very far.

"Mine's gonna go to outer space," Taylor said, playing along.

Henry, who was already done with his airplane, stared toward the sky thinking about how cool it would be if Taylor's airplane made it out there. They lined up with their backs along the front wall of the coffee house. In front of them was about eight feet of wooden porch, then beyond that, outdoor tables with umbrellas on a gravel front yard, then beyond that, a sidewalk, then a small patch of grass before the street. They all stood in a
throw my paper airplane
posture—all except for Ben. He'd been pretty secretive with his folding techniques, and Taylor couldn't help but wonder what in the world kind of airplane he'd built. She wouldn't be surprised if it made it off the porch.

Only one way to find out… "Ready, set, throw," Taylor said.

Four airplanes landed in front of their respective throwers a few feet onto the porch. The one that Lexie made had barely been folded at all, so it caught in the wind and landed a few feet to the side, but they were all really close. It was going to be hard to judge since they all pretty much sucked. While they were comparing distance, one of the girls said, "We're missing one."

"I didn't fly mine yet," Ben said.

Everyone looked at him wondering why he hadn't participated. Without a word, he flicked something off of his palm. The small silver item went sailing through the air—off the patio and to the far end of the gravel yard. Taylor's jaw dropped. It happened so quickly that she hadn't seen the design of the plane or how he'd let go of it.

"That was just a ball. You just balled it up and flicked it," Jack said.

Ben shrugged. "You didn't specify the shape," he said. "My airplane was ball-shaped. What do I win?" He smiled at Taylor as if he wanted her to offer carnal rewards, even though both of them knew they'd never say that out loud in front of the kids.

She smiled. "You already have all this," she waved her hand through the air gesturing to herself and the kids.

He knew her comment was tongue in cheek because she was self-conscious about her family. He wrapped an arm around her and leaned in to whisper in her ear. "I love all of you and you'll just have to get used to it."

She smiled against his chest thinking that was something she could get used to with no effort at all.

The End

(till book 4)

This time I didn't leave you with a clue about who will be starring in book 4. You've been introduced to the hero in books 1-3, but the heroine is still a stranger at this point. I've met her, though, and she's a cool girl who fits right in with the whole crew. Hugs and happy reading, Casey Mac