Ben waved to her from the back booth—their booth. He stood and smiled as she approached, brushing his lips against her cheek. Her skin warmed under his touch, and she lingered to inhale his clean, soapy scent.
“You look beautiful.” Ben gestured toward the table. “Professional.”
“Came from work.”
“You sounded like you had something on your mind when you called.”
“Yeah, I do.” The server arrived with a glass of sweet tea for Cami.
“I hope you don’t mind, but I ordered a large pepperoni pizza, extra pepperoni, for us and sweet teas. But we can knock the work stuff out and then just be us.”
Just be us. There might not be any “us” after she told him she couldn’t buy the inn. Would he think she’d been toying with him?
Ben reached for a folder sitting next to him on the bench and slid it across the table. His eyebrows lifted as he smirked. “I didn’t need forty-eight hours to sign the contract. Signed them the moment you sent them.”
“You’ll never let me live that down, will you?”
“A woman who can imitate The Godfather? No, I don’t think I will.”
Cami reached for the folder and opened it to see Ben’s signature scrolled on the bottom of the paper.
“I am glad you’ll be the one to take the inn. It was a hard decision to sell, but when you told me your vision of a retreat for artists and families, I knew you would carry on my grandparents’ tradition. Makes the decision bearable.” Ben reached across the table for Cami’s hand. “I’m glad you’re the one behind the deal.”
His blue eyes held her captive. The feeling his kiss had left on her cheek faded. She pulled her hand back. “That’s just it, Ben. I can?—”
“One large extra-pepperoni pizza.” The server set a steaming pizza on the table, forcing Ben and Cami to lean back. The scents of melted cheese, spicy pepperoni, and garlic filled the air.
“Good timing. We were just finished with our business for the night. Now we celebrate and relax.”
“I’ll be back with more sweet tea,” the waiter said. “Bon appétit.”
Ben plated a slice of pizza for her, then one for himself. Steam lifted off the melting cheese, and the delicious aroma made her stomach growl. She’d been too stressed about this dinner to eat lunch.
“So, what else is new?” Ben said, taking a big bite of his slice. “How’s Indy going? If you have time this weekend, I can show you around the inn with the eye of the owner instead of as a potential buyer.”
Tell him.
“Can you come up Thursday evening?” When he looked at her, the candlelight danced in his eyes. “The drive-in is showing Grease.”
“Um, Grease? Sure.” Stop stalling. Tell him.
But being with Ben was so easy. They talked about the upcoming college football season, the Titans, the latest Hearts Bend news. But the impending conversation hung over her head and distracted her.
When the waiter cleared away the pizza, Ben led Cami to the dance floor. She slid her hand into his—the hand of a man who did funny things to her heart.
He held her close and moved her in a slow, easy sway, his chest a wall under her hand. His cheek rested against hers, and he hummed along with the quartet.
Just be, Cami. She closed her eyes, shutting out any protest, any fear, any worry of what was to come, and enjoyed this dance, this moment, this man.
“Cami,” he said, “I hate to bring us back to reality, but now that I’ve sold the inn, I’m leaving for Sydney Friday. I’ll be gone two weeks. I’ll come back to sign the final papers. Then it’s Down Under for good.”
“We knew this moment was coming.”
“Doesn’t make it easier.” He peered into her eyes. “You started to say something just as the pizza arrived. What was it?”
“Did I?” He looked so happy, so content. He was about to embark on a long journey with a heavy-duty job ahead of him. Why not keep the news until he got back? It wouldn’t change much in the long run. Besides, she loved this moment, being in his arms, turning to the music. Yes, the news could wait. “I can’t remember. Must not have been important.”
She placed her head on his chest. The steady beat of his heart was in tune with hers. Ben rested his cheek on her head. In his arms, she felt like she’d found a piece of herself she hadn’t known was missing.
