Kiss and Makeup (15 page)

Jill stood on the opposite side of the kitchen island, ripping into a bag of croutons and sprinkling them onto a Caesar salad. “Watch out for plum sauce before you touch the counter. The girls had chicken fingers earlier.”

Dutifully, Chloe ran a hand over the Formica in front of her and, deeming it safe, rested her sweater-covered elbow on it. “The girls already ate? I thought this was Amy's birthday party.”

“Today is her birthday, but she's not having friends over until Saturday. To be honest, Oz just wanted to meet you, but he's a big chicken, so instead of inviting you over, he used Amy's birthday as an excuse. He's been like that since the seventh grade.”

“You met your husband in middle school?”

Jill nodded. “Sure did. Ben, too. Seth and I started dating when I turned fifteen, and that is the end of that very short story. But it's how I know that you might just be the first thing Ben's ever kept secret from Oz. That worries him. It means you're different.”

The sudden panic burrowing in her gut must have showed on her face because Jill laughed.

“That was a no-pressure statement,” Jill assured her, pulling on some oven mitts that looked like frogs. “I heard you two haven't known each other long. To be honest, I'm just glad I got the chance to meet you.” She reached into the oven and turned the lasagna around before placing a couple of foil-covered bags of garlic bread on the rack beside it.

“Ben hasn't been around much lately, but even when he came consistently, he was never one to bring a lady friend. Said he didn't want to subject my girls to the instability. How adorable is that?” she asked, closing the door and pulling the heat-resistant amphibians off her hands. “He hasn't come to the house with a woman in ages—not since the engagement was called off.”

Chloe's head snapped up. “Ben was engaged?” Her body tingled and a wave of numbness washed over her, like she'd been dosed with a shot of Novocain.

Jill bit her lip. “Crap. He didn't tell you. I just thought, because of the ring...”

Chloe shook her head, hating that she glanced at her left hand first. When she looked up again, Jill seemed to be in the midst of an internal battle. Her shoulders sagged as she made her decision.

“Okay, you didn't hear this from me, but now that I've let the cat out of the bag... Her name was Melanie. She's a lawyer. Nice enough—a little uppity, but she tried. I don't think a high school chemistry teacher and a dental hygienist were quite impressive enough for her taste, but Ben seemed to like her, so I gave her a chance. Then she left Ben for some old guy with a lot of money. Ben's been knocking himself out climbing the corporate ladder ever since.”

“I, uh. Wow.”

Jill nodded. “Pretty pivotal moment, I guess. And I'm sure it's the main reason Seth is so intent on checking you out for himself.”

The sudden sound of a door banging open stole their attention. “Is that lasagna I smell?”

Jill smiled brightly. “Speak of the devil. Welcome home, hon. How was the tournament?”

“Not bad. Came in third. I'll fill you in after, since I saw Ben's truck out front. Oh, hey.”

Oz stepped into the kitchen. He was nothing like she'd imagined. Decent-looking, but he was a bit baby-faced and in the beginning stages of male-pattern baldness. Not the fit, cocky executive type she'd been expecting of Ben's best friend. Just a normal guy.

“Chloe, right?”

She nodded.

“Interesting hair.”

Jill's head snapped around and she glared at her husband.

Still, Chloe smiled sweetly, despite the implied insult. “Thanks. Oz, right?”

He nodded, a little warily if she wasn't mistaken.

“Interesting name. Your mom spent some time in the back of the Black Sabbath tour bus? Dad was a closet Judy Garland fan?”

She was prepared for eye daggers, but instead Oz broke into hearty laughter. “It's Seth Osbourne, actually, but I like the way you handled that. Test passed. Where have you been all Ben's life?”

“What?”

“I'm gonna be straight with you, Chloe, because I know my wife has already told you about Melanie.” He sent Jill a sidelong glance, but she kept her gaze focused on the utensil drawer as she counted out forks and knives. “Ben and I have been friends since the third grade, and I've never seen someone mess with his head the way Melanie did. Then he says that he's fake married to some woman he met on a plane, and I feel the need to vet her. But I understand why he likes you. So, unless there comes a time when I have to take sides between you, we're cool.”

Now it was Chloe's turn to laugh. He might not look like he and Ben ran in the same circles, but Chloe no longer had any doubts that they were soul mates. “All right then. I accept your terms.”

“Great. How much longer until dinner?”

Jill glanced at the oven timer. “Fifteen minutes.”

“See you then. If I know my girls, I've got a Candyland game to win.” Oz headed for the living room.

“It's time for pjs!” she called after him, and he saluted her without breaking stride. Jill shot Chloe a droll look. “So you can appreciate why I had to lock that down back in high school. Can you even imagine the bidding war if he was still single?”

* * *

“G
OT
ROOM
FOR
one more?”

Ben glanced up as Oz sauntered into the room in his usual coaching uniform—khakis and a school-logoed polo shirt.

“Daddy, you can be on my team!” Laura's invitation came with a hug as she hopped up and ran over to greet Oz.

“All right, pumpkin. But first, Mommy wants you two to get into your pajamas. Then you can come back down and we'll finish the game and have cupcakes, okay?”

“But Daddy, I'm winning!” Laura protested.

“And you'll still be winning when you're in your pajamas,” Oz assured her, reaching out a hand to help Amy out of Ben's lap. “Up we go, Carrot-Girl.” He gave each of his girls a kiss and shooed them up the stairs.

Silence settled in their absence, and Oz scraped a hand through his hair with a loud exhale before grabbing a seat.

“So I met your lady.”

“She's not so much my lady as my fake wife.”

Oz shot him an unimpressed look. “Whatever, Benny. I saw the ring. Fool yourself if you must, but don't try to fool me.”

“What's that supposed to mean?” The problem with friends you'd known your whole life was that they'd known you just as long. And they weren't shy about pointing out things you weren't quite ready to admit.

“It means that your grandma's ring isn't something that you give away lightly. I seem to remember four agonizing months of back-and-forth on whether you were even willing to give it to the woman you asked to marry you for real. You're like Gollum with that ring, always have been. So the fact you handed it over to Chloe after a day? That means something. Don't act as if it doesn't.”

“Whatever, man. I told you. We got caught post-coital by a client and I panicked and said we were married to save face. We needed a ring fast so we could make it to breakfast on time.”

“Bullshit, moneybags. You probably had a bunch of options. Hotel jewelry store, she coulda borrowed something from one of her relatives. Hell, I'll bet you didn't even ask Chloe if she had something that could pass before you had that ring on her finger.”

Ben snapped his mouth shut, hoping the color crawling up his neck wasn't as red as it felt. That wasn't how it had gone down. Not exactly. He liked Chloe, sure, but he wasn't...they weren't...

“Your dad woulda liked her,” Oz said softly.

Hearing Oz echo the words he'd said earlier sucked the oxygen out of his lungs.

“And more importantly, so do I.” Oz bowed his head. “You may proceed.”

The jab of humor let the air back in the room, and Ben reached for it like a life preserver. “I appreciate that, since your approval means everything to me.”

“I'm glad because I would be happy to dole out more approval if you'll come out to the garage and help me change out my broken taillight. I'm hoping your delicate fingers will have better luck where my manly hands have failed.”

“Sure...right after I kick your ass at Candyland.”

“Oh, them's fightin' words, Benny-boy.” Oz got off his chair and joined Ben beside the game board on the carpet. “Hand me that green gingerbread man.”

13

C
HLOE
YAWNED
AS
she padded into the kitchen the next morning. She'd had a shower, changed out of her pajamas and brushed her teeth, but despite all that, she was pretty sure her eyes were still half-closed. Luckily her other senses had kicked into high gear and the scent of coffee proved enough to guide her to the safety of the mug cupboard.

Ben, who seemed to have none of the cognitive dissonance associated with being awake at five-thirty in the morning—Was it night? Was it day? Chloe's body couldn't decide—was lounging at the kitchen table, sipping coffee, reading something on his tablet and looking perfectly wide-awake. Damn his handsome, handsome face.

“Remind me why you're up at 5:30 a.m. again?” she asked.

“I've got a lunch meeting today, so I'm going to hit the gym before work.”

“That is the grossest thing I've ever heard. At least I
have
to be at the store at six. I'll be fired if I'm not there to let the plumber in to fix the leak.”

Chloe set her coffee on the table, and took the seat next to him at the small, square dining table. He looked up from his tablet.

“Yeah, well I...” he trailed off, staring at her with a really weird expression on his face.

“Well you...?” she prodded.

“I, uh...”

Chloe frowned at him. “What is up with you?”

“I've never seen you without makeup before.”

Her hand flew to her cheek.
Oh, God
. She never forgot her makeup. Not even at this ungodly time of the morning.

“You look different.”

“Different bad?” she guessed, wishing he'd stop staring so intently. Chloe felt more vulnerable in that moment than if she'd been sitting there completely nude with an audience watching them.

“No. Just different. Softer. I like it.” Ben reached over and dragged his thumb across her bare lips. Then he leaned forward and pressed his lips to hers in the softest, most sensual kiss she'd ever experienced. He thanked her when he pulled away.

“For what?” she asked as he got up from the table and put his coffee mug in the sink.

“For finally trusting me with the real you.”

“What? No. What?” That was not what this was. It had been a judgement lapse, the mistake of a sleep-deprived mind! An anomaly.

He kissed the top of her head and grabbed the duffle bag he'd left beside the door. “See you later, Chloe. Have a good day at work.”

What the hell had just happened?

She made herself stay calmly seated at the table until Ben had left for the gym, but the split second the door closed behind him she made a run for her makeup case.

* * *

T
HE
PLUMBER
WAS
done long before Titanium Beauty was set to open, but instead of heading home, Chloe treated herself to breakfast before her shift and made a list of supplies she'd need for the looming dinner party. An earlier inventory of Ben's cupboards showed he was woefully understocked in most of the necessities, from place mats to aperitifs to a decent cheese board.

Luckily, after work she managed to pick up the basics at decent prices. Thank God for big box stores.

Once she'd unpacked, washed and put everything where she could find it tomorrow, Chloe found herself at a bit of a loss. She'd prepped everything, the house was clean, and Ben probably wouldn't be home until late.

She decided on some cereal for dinner, and afterward Chloe settled onto the couch with a blanket and a bag of microwave popcorn, excited to take full advantage of the fact that she had the place to herself for a couple of hours and Ben had a Netflix subscription.

She was scrolling through “Top Picks for Ben”—she was dying to know what he'd watched to get both
Breaking Bad
and
Downton Abbey
to show up in his list—when her mother's special ringtone broke the silence.

There had been a pretty sizable spike in the frequency of her mother's calls since she'd found out that her eldest daughter had managed to snag herself a man. And though it bothered her if she thought about how infrequent the calls had been before her fake engagement, she had to admit that talking to her mother wasn't as bad as she used to think. In fact, it was kind of nice having her mom check in with her life once in a while.

“Hello?”

“Chloe, it's your mom.”

“Hey, Mom. What's up?”

“We're downstairs.”

“I'm sorry, what?”

“We're in the lobby of your building, but we don't know what button to push for the buzzer. There aren't any names, and none of the numbers match yours. Yes, Daryl. I told her there aren't any names.”

Chloe shook her head, trying to clear it. “You're in Seattle? Right now?”

“Daryl, don't just hit random buttons!”

Yep. This was happening
.

“Mom? Mom, don't push any more buttons,” Chloe implored, getting up from the couch. “I'm buzzing you in, okay?” Chloe hurried into the kitchen and hit the number on Ben's landline that would allow them access. “Come up to the third floor. Apartment 325.”

Chloe hung up both phones and set them on the counter.
Unbelievable
.

She went through all the stages of shock before she heard her parents chattering in the hallway. She pulled open the door before they had a chance to knock.

“What are you guys doing here? When you asked for the address the other day, I thought it was because you were sending something. In the mail.”

“Well, I was going to. But since Caroline and Dalton are still on their honeymoon, and we knew that
you
wouldn't be flying back to Buffalo to visit any time
soon
, we figured why not stop by for a visit and hand deliver our present on our way to Hawaii.”

Chloe forced a smile.

“We called the travel agent and had her change our tickets so we had an extra long layover in Seattle, and here we are!”

“Here you are!” Chloe repeated. She looked around. “Where's your stuff?”

“Oh, we left it back at our hotel. We're staying at the Four Seasons.”

Chloe sagged with relief.
Thank God
.

“Except for this!” Her mom grabbed the large gift-wrapped rectangle from her father's grasp and shoved it into Chloe's hands. “Are you surprised?”

“I really am,” she said, meaning the words on so many levels.

Her father cleared his throat. “Are you going to invite us in?”

“Yes, of course! Sorry, Dad.” Chloe stepped out of the way so her parents could enter. “You can just throw your coats on the bench there.”

Chloe turned and brought her present—a picture frame, there was no doubt in her mind—over to the coffee table, leaving her parents to trail in her wake.

“Where's Benjamin hiding?”

“He's still at work.”

“Good man. What time will he be home?”

“I'm not sure, Dad.”

“Well, that's a shame. Your father and I were so looking forward to seeing him, weren't we, Daryl?”

“Where's the remote?”

Her mother perched herself on the arm of the couch, her eyes darting around the room. “What a lovely apartment this is, Chloe! The colors are exquisite, and it feels so homey. Who's your decorator?”

Something disconcertingly like pride bloomed in Chloe's chest as she handed her dad the remote, even though part of her brain was chastising her for it. “Actually, Ben and I did it ourselves.”

“Well, it looks amazing. And it goes perfectly with your gift. Why don't you open it and see?”

Chloe had expected the frame, but the three black-and-white photos mounted inside it blindsided her. The top photo captured Ben twirling her on the dance floor. The bottom photo was taken from behind, showing her and Ben holding hands as they left the reception. Her favorite, though, was the middle one, where she was laughing and Ben was grinning at her.

Despite their fancy clothes and the glitz and glam behind them, they looked genuine. And happy. The memory of that moment—when “Sweet Caroline” had filled the room—made her smile.

“Do you like it?”

“Mom, it's amazing. Really. I love it. Thank you so much. I can't wait to hang it.”

The jingle of keys sounded, and she looked up as Ben pushed through the door.

“Ben! I wasn't expecting you home yet. You remember my parents?”

He froze, but quickly recovered and flashed that smile of his. “Of course. Fiona, Daryl. Good to see you again.”

Her mother beamed.

“You'll have to excuse me. I just got off work. Let me get cleaned up and I'll be right out.”

“You take all the time you need, Benjamin. Don't hurry on our account.”

Chloe frowned.
Don't hurry on our account?
Who was this person, and what had she done with Fiona Masterson?

“We're just thrilled to spend some time visiting with our daughter and her fiancé.”

Confusion rumpled Ben's brow, and she remembered that she'd lied to him about explaining the true situation to her parents. She begged him wordlessly to play along. “Oh, yeah, right. Us, too. Chloe, can I talk to you for a second?” His voice was a little too level, and it raised the hair on the back of her neck.

“Of course, sweetie!”
Crap, crap, crap
. She followed him to the bedroom, but when he pulled the door closed and spun around to face her, she cut him off before he could open his mouth.

“Ben, I lied to you at the gift opening. I didn't set them straight. I let them believe we're engaged. I'm sorry. I don't know why I didn't tell them the truth.” Chloe wrung her hands, and the bite of her fake engagement ring pricked her conscience.

“Okay, yes, I do know why. I let them believe it because it made them happy. And I didn't expect them to visit! They never visit! But they really like your apartment, and they really like the way the living room is decorated, and my mother's been here for six minutes already and has only mentioned Caroline
once
, which is unheard of, and I just... I just wanted to hold onto that feeling, okay? But I'll tell them the truth. I'll go out there right now if you want me to and say that I lied to them, that we were never engaged. If that's what you want me to do, I'll do it.”

Chloe looked at Ben expectantly, willing him to understand, to help her out. His slightly dazed expression began to clear as he processed the situation. He opened his mouth to speak. “I—”

“
Please
don't make me go back out there and break the truth to them! I am
begging
you. They're staying at the Four Seasons tonight and they're off to Hawaii tomorrow. You just have to pretend we're engaged for one evening. A couple of well-timed endearments, a few half truths, and a peck on the cheek, that's all I'm asking! I will owe you so big for this. Huge! Ask, and it shall be done.”

“You want me to pretend I'm your fiancé?”

“Yes, Masterson. Keep up with me here. We don't have much time before our being in the bedroom is going to start looking suspicious.”

“Trust me, the irony is not lost on me that I'm the one who's asking, but are you sure you want to do this?”

Chloe was dumbfounded. “Why wouldn't I be sure? Aren't we already doing it?”

“Chloe, this is your family.”

“So?”

“So that makes it different. Different than lying to a business acquaintance. Different than lying to your boss. It has to be.”

His naïveté was adorable.

“Ben, do you know the last time my parents visited me in the four years since I moved to Seattle?”

He shook his head.

“Never, Ben. They have
never
been here to see me before. This is their fourth trip to Hawaii during the same time frame. The only reason they came now is because I'm finally engaged. To a great guy, with a great job.”

He exhaled on a sigh. “Fine. If you're sure this is what you want to do.” Ben pulled his suit jacket off and loosened his tie. “Give me fifteen minutes for a shower and I'll be right out.”

Chloe couldn't hold back a smile, relief tingling through her chest. “Thank you, Ben. I really appreciate it. “

* * *

“A
ND
PRESTO
! I'
VE
FINALLY
made them disappear,” she joked a few hours later.

“I know they drive you crazy, but you were great tonight.”

She laughed. “No,
you
were great. I was just the unfortunate by-product they had to endure in order to bask in your awesomeness. But truthfully, that was the best evening I've ever spent with them.”

And that wasn't hyperbole, either.

Ben gave her one of those long, hard looks that took the shine off her mood. “You realize you're going to have to tell them the truth eventually, right?”

“Yes.” Chloe nodded, suddenly realizing that after tomorrow's business dinner ended, so did pleasant evenings with her parents and sexy, sultry nights with Ben. Had it really only been a week and a half since they'd met?

“Speaking of which, what's your own plan for that?” she asked. “The confessing? I mean, you're going to need to come clean with your bosses someday.”

A slight frown marred his forehead as he loaded their wineglasses into the dishwasher and pushed the door closed. “Yeah, I guess I will. I hadn't really put too much thought into that half of the operation. I'll play the divorce card, I suppose.”

It was a weird topic of conversation, so Chloe wasn't completely shocked when an awkward silence reared its head.

Ben broke first. “I've got some work I still need to get done tonight. I'll be in my office. I'll try not to wake you when I come to bed.”

He smiled at her, gave her a kiss on the cheek and left the living room.