The Inn at Laurel Creek (9 page)

I responded to his texts with just one. "Fell asleep thinking about you and just woke up, still thinking about you."

I could write love songs too!

I pulled off my clothes and jumped in the shower, letting the warm water slide down my face while anticipating what would happen when Ben got back. Would he tell me? Would I be able to act
like myself and
keep the secret or would I bust and tell him what I knew? I didn't think I
could keep it to myself. It was too much, too big to hold in. I wasn't upset that he didn't tell me and I didn't want to push him to tell me, either. I wasn't sure what to do, but I knew thinking about it wasn't
going to change anything. No matter how much I tried to anticipate what would happen, knowing me, whatever was going to come blasting out of my mouth like a bullet was gonna come once I saw him again.
I had to stop focusing on it or I'd drive myself crazy.

At breakfast Lou reminded me of my promise, and I told her I'd do my best. She tried to talk to me about it, but I asked to change the subject. "I'm trying not to think about it," I said. "So hopefully I can
just be normal when he gets here."

"I sure hope so. I don't want you messin' up such a good thing."

"I hope it doesn't come to that. I mean, he's going to have to tell me eventually."

"You're right about that," Lou said. "Would you like any coffee?" she asked. "There's a fresh pot in the kitchen."

"That would be great, thanks, Lou."

She smiled and walked out of the dining area, returning with the coffee pot. She poured some into my cup and some for herself, then sat with me while I ate toast and cheese grits, chatting about everything but Ben.

"Wow, I'm stuffed," I said, pushing the entirely empty plate
away. "That was amazing though. Thank you so much."

She took my plate. "Oh, it ain't nothing. Just a normal mornin's
breakfast. Whatcha got planned for the day?"

"I'm going to go for a long walk by the creek and read a book I brought with me. Ben said he should be back early this afternoon, so I've got a good few hours to relax and read before he's back."

"Sounds good." I could tell she was trying not to talk about Ben.
"I'll
just fetch some things for you to take with and put them in the
knapsack for you."

"Thanks, Lou."

"You bet."

***

I walked along the creek, lost in my thoughts about Ben. I wasn't even thinking about Bret-Ben, just Ben-Ben. How he made me feel. How he looked at me. The way my stomach filled with butterflies every time I pictured his face. Finally settling on the perfect spot, I pulled out the throw and laid it on the ground, spreading it out just near the creek on a soft patch of grass and moss. I pulled out my book and got comfortable.
The book, a story about a woman whose best friend dies in a car
accident, pulled me in so deep, I had no idea how much
time had passed.

"There you are," Ben said, shocking me out of my fictional world. "Lou said you'd come out here hours ago."

I jumped up, dropping the book on the throw. "Oh my God, you're back. I…I didn't realize the time." I looked at my wrist even
though I hadn't worn a watch in years. "What time is it?"

"It's just after two," he said. "I got back at about one, took a quick shower and walked over here." He put his guitar down on the throw and pulled me close. "I missed you." He pressed his soft lips onto mine. I melted into him, feeling my body both relax and tense at the same time. Ben stirred feelings deep inside of me, feelings I couldn't
understand or describe. I just knew I felt something I'd never felt before and I didn't want it to stop.

We made our way down to the throw, pushing the book and guitar aside, laying next to each other, touching and kissing and smiling through it all. It never even crossed my mind that I was
kissing Bret Bennett,
because I wasn't. I was kissing Ben Reynolds. An amazing,
wonderful
man who, for reasons I couldn't understand, thought I hung the
moon. Bret Bennett didn't even factor into any of that, celebrity be damned.

"You okay?" Ben asked.

I wiped a stray hair from his eye. "Yeah, I'm great." I kissed his
nose. "Better than great, actually. I guess I missed you." I winked.

"I know I missed you. It's strange, isn't it?"

I leaned back. "What? Missing each other?"

He nodded, and then kissed my neck softly, sending chills throughout my body.

"Yeah, it kind of is, actually," I said, trying to stay calm. "I mean, we barely know each other, but like you said, there's this connection between us."

"I know. It's undeniable," he said, and kissed my neck again.

"Exactly," I said.

"I don't want it to stop when we leave here," he said. "I want to
see you back in the city. You'll still see me, right?"

I touched his face. "You're so not getting out of this that easily, Ben Reynolds. Of course I'm still going to see you. You'll probably be
sick of me after the first week we're back though."

"I doubt that," he said. "I do have a trip coming up soon and I'm
going to be in and out of town for some time."

I remembered the link to his tour schedule. "Oh? Where you going?" I asked, hoping the tone of my voice didn't give away what I knew.

Ben sat up. "On tour. That's what I met with my manager about today. We had to finalize a few of the last venues."

I sat up, acting excited for him. "A tour? That's great news! You're hitting the big time now aren't you? We've never really talked about
your career. Are you opening for someone? Playing bars and stuff or what? What cities are you playing?" I was nervous so I kept talking to
try and hide it. Any time I was nervous I ended up talking too much,
too fast. It wasn't one of my better qualities.

"Hold on there, girl," he said, laughing. "You're shooting those questions out like bullets and I can't keep up. Besides, I've got something to tell you." He ran a hand through his hair. "And it's a biggie."

I knew what was coming, but wasn't sure what to say. "Okay."
My voice shook a little.

"I haven't told you everything, but I honestly didn't know I was going to feel this way about you, that we'd have this kind of
connection, so I
didn't think it mattered if you knew the truth or not. And now I
realize it does matter, and I need to tell you."

"You're scaring me," I said, and I meant it. Maybe there was a different truth and I didn't know it, or maybe he was going to tell me
things weren't going to work out for us after all.

He pulled me close and kissed me. "I'm sorry. I don't mean to scare you."

"Then just say it, Ben. Really, whatever it is, just say it."

Even though I had a pretty good idea about what he planned to say,
I tensed. My palms were sweating and my heart raced. I knew it was silly, but I feared there was the chance that he'd say something different, like tell me he was married or gay or God knew what. It was the
anticipation that got to me and made me blurt out what I said next.

"Are you married? Or gay? Oh, God. You're not gay are you? I mean, I've adjusted to the fact that you're Bret Bennett, which surprisingly, wasn't as hard as I thought, but if you're gay, that'll really throw me for a loop. So come on, just tell me before I
hyperventilate."

His jaw dropped. "You know?"

My eyes widened at the realization of what my big mouth blurted out. "Know what?" Playing dumb wasn't one of my stronger
qualities either.

"Lou told you, didn't she?"

I nodded ever so slightly, contrite. "She begged me not to say anything."

"How'd that work for you?" he asked, smiling.

"That depends on how upset you are, actually," I said.

"It was surprisingly easy to adjust to me being Bret Bennett, huh?"

I shrugged. "Actually yes, and I'm pretty shocked about that, too. Once the panic attacks subsided, it kind of didn't matter. It's actually
a
little disappointing that it's not a bigger deal to me. I thought it
would be, but I didn't even realize it wasn't until I just said it."

"So you're not mad that I didn't tell you?"

"Not as mad as I am at myself for not recognizing you."

He tapped a finger to his chin and nodded. "So you like my disguise?"

"That depends," I said.

He furrowed his brow. "On what?"

"On which is the disguise and which is the real you. If this…" I waved my hand at him. "If this is the disguise then I'm bummed, because I like this look a lot.
A lot
. But if Bret's darker, shorter hair is
the disguise, than yeah that's cool. I'm good with it."

"This is me," he said. "I'm Ben. Bret is my music persona. I am a natural blond and keep Bret's hair short so I can get the color out quickly and grow my hair back when I'm not touring."

I ran my hands through his hair. "I like the longer, shaggy look. It's sexy and it suits you and it makes my insides melt every time I see you." I kissed him. "Don't get me wrong, Bret Bennett is hot, but I
prefer the super smokin' hotness of Ben Reynolds."

He dropped his back to the ground. "I was completely freaked
about how to tell you," he said. "I didn't know how you'd take it."

"I didn't take it that well at first, really. It freaked me out too. You've probably got girls crawling all over you. And do you have a bodyguard?" I clenched my fists. "I'm afraid the girls might be a
problem."

Ben laughed. "The girls aren't a big deal," he said.

"Seriously? You did not just say that."

"To me. They're not a big deal
to me
. And yes, I have a bodyguard while I'm on tour. A few actually, and they help with the
girls. I don't
really have a problem with the girls. Most of the time I don't even realize they're around. And I don't do a lot of backstage pass stuff or
public appearances so I don't really run into them all that much."

"You're going on tour in three weeks."

He nodded.

"How long will you be gone?"

"Six months, off and on."

"
Six months
?" I dropped my back onto the throw. "That's a long time."

"Yes, but I've got time between most gigs, and I'll be able to fly
back home a lot, and if you can get the time off, you can fly out to see me.
I've got a good paying job, so I can buy your tickets." He smiled big and I smiled at the slightly crooked tooth.

I raised an eyebrow. "Do you have a nest egg?"

"I do," he said, winking at me. "That's a turn-on for you, isn't it?"

"Kind of," I said, smirking.

"We can make it work, Carly," he said, pulling me over and on top of him. "It's only six months, and like I said, I'll be back often, at least once a week. You won't want to see me more than that anyway. You'll get sick of me."

I kissed his nose. "I'm pretty sure that won't happen."

"Just pretty sure?"

"Never say never."

"You've got spunk. I like that," he said, and pulled me closer.

"I'm freaking kissing Bret Bennett," I said.

"And I'm freaking kissing Carly…" He paused. "What the heck is your last name anyway?"

I laughed. "Howard. Carly Mason Howard. Two last names
because my mom gave me her maiden name as my middle name."

"I'm freaking kissing Carly Mason Howard."

"And you're one lucky SOB," I said, kissing him again.

***

The kissing was passionate and intense, but it wasn't enough. I wanted more. I wanted to feel his skin against mine, to trace the cut of his waist with my fingers. Ben and I had effectively turned a corner in
our quick romance. We made a non-verbal commitment to each
other—
him by telling me who he was, or trying to anyway, and me by not caring. Our feelings were clear and our attraction was strong. I wanted to move the physical part of our relationship forward to
match it up with the emotional part, but I didn't want to be the one to make the first move.

Ben must have felt the same because his hands wandered to places they'd never been and didn't stop mine from doing the same.
His hand
slipped under my shirt and unhooked my bra in one swift,
impressive motion, making me wonder what other tricks he'd show me.

"Are you okay?" he asked. "We can stop if you want. I don't want to rush you."

"I don't want you to stop," I said, and pulled his head to mine. He opened my lips with his tongue, and set my desire on fire. I pushed him away and tried to pull my shirt over my head, but my
hands shook and
it got stuck on my neck. I wanted to crawl away in shame, but I
couldn't see through my shirt to do so.

"Here, let me get that," he said. He moved the shirt around and pulled it off slowly. I caught him staring at my breasts, loosely covered
by my unhooked bra. The air, just a touch cool, brushed my skin,
sending shivers across my body and creating goose bumps.