wrath of the Sea Queen (260 page)

Seeing that it was
only
a piece of paper, Ben
assumed
it
had to be
a receipt or a picture of Salma
's gift to
him.  Ben looked over at Salma, who nodded that he should go ahead and look at it.  Ben took a quick drink of his iced tea
,
untied
the ribbon,
and
carefully unrolled the page.  At first, he thought it was a mistake, that perhaps Salma grabbed the wrong piece of paper.  But, as he read more carefully,
Ben
realized that it was indeed Salma's name on the paper.

Ben tried to take another drink of his iced tea, but coughed as he got to the section of the page that showed the results.  Sputtering as he began to choke on his tea, Ben smiled and looked at Salma.

"
Are you sure?  Wh
at
am I
saying
, of course you're sure.  That's what you were up to earlier.  Salma this is wonderful
, Love
!
"
  Ben jumped up from his chair and pulled Salma up out of hers.  He kissed her and beam
ed
a smile
that was
reflected
o
n Salma's
face
.

"
Everyone
,
I have
great news
!
 
We're going to have a baby
!  Salma's pregnant!
"
  Ben could barely contain his excitement.  He never expected such a gift, especially
at this stage of
his life.  Yet, much like Vin had been
with C
a
eli's news
, Ben was thrilled when the reality hit him.  The applause, smiles, and congratulations from everyone at the table made Ben feel like he was on top of the world.
  He couldn't have asked for a better
birthday
present.
 
It was definitely
memorable and unexpected.

For a brief moment, Ben caught C
a
eli's eye
.  He
suddenly felt
uncomfortable flaunting his happiness in front of her.  The look in her tear-filled eyes quickly changed his mind.  She look
ed
up at him and Salma with a huge smile.  She was
genuinely
happy for them.  Knowing the loss she suffered, Ben was even more elated that this
news
brought C
a
eli some happiness as well.

A while later
, when everyone else
was otherwise occupied
, Ben
took
a moment to speak privately with C
a
eli.

"
Was th
e
hidden
paper in the napkin the same tactic you used on Vin?  It doesn't
really
seem like
the sort of trick
Salma
would
pull
,
"
Ben began.

"
Yes,
"
C
a
eli smiled at him.

"
And you went to all th
at
trouble
earlier
just to help Salma surprise me?
"

"
G
ladly.
"

"
You amaze me,
Lass
.  After all you've been through…
"
  Ben couldn't find a way to express
his
gratitude.  Instead, he
hugged her
.

"
Thank you, C
a
eli.  You are the best niece a guy could
have
.
"

Despite C
a
eli's enthusiastic use of his new title
the
l
ast
three
months
,
this was the first time that
Ben
had
ever directly acknowledged the new relationship between them.  It hadn't actually
been
a
true
kinship
to
Ben
before now
;
although he
ha
d
considered
C
a
eli
a member of
his
family for quite some time.  To C
a
eli,
Ben's
words
meant that
he
finally considered himself a
member
of her family
and accepted her into his
.  He was
n
o
t
simply
the guy who married her aunt.  Ben was her uncle.  C
a
eli's
immediate
family, consisting of no more than Vin, Salma, and
most recently
Ben
and Max
, was the most important thing in the world to her.

"
Thank you, Uncle Ben.
"

CHAPTER
61

Friday morning dawned
cloudy, but rain free
. 
It was the best weather they
ha
d seen
so far this
week. 
It was
also
the last day of the
medical
conference; the day of the awards ceremony.  Now that the
protestor
s had dissipated and Scott and Neal were no longer a threat, Ben was eager to see his wife
recognized
for all her ha
r
d work.  Salma, however,
remained
less than thrilled with the idea.

"
I wish they would let
the
work be sufficient.  Why do they have to make such a big fuss?
"
  Salma was getting dressed for the
award
luncheon.

"
Because,
Love
, y
ou are responsible for making this happen.  I, for one, feel privileged to be in
the
company
of such an accomplished and lovely woman
,
"
Ben replied, enjoying the sight of Salma in her red dress with her silky, dark hair
cascading
in waves
down
her shoulders.

"
Oh, now you
go too far,
"
Salma laughed as Ben gave her a mock bow from across the room. 

"
Well then, let me make it up to you. 
Let me
take you
and the little one
out to
dinner tonight around eight.  I have a great place in mind.
"

"
Really? 
When do you find the time to discover these places
, Ben
?"

"My resourcefulness is part of my charm," Ben joked.

"You are right about that.  Dinner
s
ounds
wonderful
.
"

"
There is a
catch.  You have to bring C
a
eli along.  Vin wants to take her out as well, but apparently she declined his offer.  Do you think you could help him out? 
The lad
simply
doesn't have my
irresistible
personality
or your
power of persuasion. 
I'm sure
C
a
eli will
listen to you,
"
Ben asked.

"
So it will be the four of us together, if I can convince her to go
?
"

"
Something like that,
"
Ben evaded a direct answer.

"
I
wi
ll see what I can do, but tell Vin not to hold his breath. 
C
a
eli
can be quite stubborn once she
ha
s made up her mind.
"

"
If anyone can get her to go out and enjoy an evening with family, it will be you.  I
have every confidence in you,
Doll
.
"

Vin was dressed in a navy blue
, short-sleeve,
button-up
shirt and black dress pants.  He was putting on his shoes when C
a
eli stepped out of the bathroom
putting on her earrings.  She wore
a simple,
light blue
, cocktail dress that
nicely
accentuated her
figure
.