"I'm guessing Lisa wasn't stoked about it."
"No. She didn't take it well at first. Accused me of not trusting her. I felt like a dick, but Paul told me that money and trust don't belong in the same room, and eventually she signed. It's airtight. Works the same as a prenup—she doesn't touch a cent."
"Thank god for Paul."
"But I'll make sure she's taken care of. I'm not a total bastard."
"You're not," I say, running my hand on his jaw.
The realization slams into me and my face goes cold. "Oh my god. The photo."
Ben frowns. "What photo?"
"Richard... he took a picture of us," I choke.
"Okay...?"
"When I caught him outside, he flashed a photo he took of us kissing. I think that's why he came, for evidence. We have a prenup too—if there's infidelity, we don't split assets, we keep what we earned individually."
He gives me a skeptical look. "You think he planned that? He couldn't possibly know what's going to happen."
"Richard planseverything. He wanted you to hit him, and he didn't just want to hurt me, but wanted to own the fallout." I clamp my hand over my mouth. "That's so sick."
Ben pulls my hand away, planting a firm, brief kiss on my lips. "Baby, you don't have to worry about money. Let him take everything if he feels so petty. We have plenty. I'll get you whatever you want."
I smile at him, shaking my head. "That's not it, though. If he just asked me to officially own up to loving you, I would. I don't care about a penny. It's that he calculated this, instead of talking about it, that he'd use me like that. It chills me to the bone."
Ben exhales, unbuttons his shirt, and shoves off his pants, then pulls me onto his chest.
"It's been one hell of a night," he says. "My nervous system's shot."
"Agreed." I brush my fingers along his shaven jaw. "Let's sleep. But I've got an early flight. Seven, I think—"
He looks at me like I've lost my mind, then says, "You're not going."
I frown. "Why wouldn't I?"
He gives me that slow, deliberate shake of his head and tilts my chin up, his eyes swallowing me whole. "Because we're staying in New York. We're doing this right. And you're meeting my family. As my girlfriend, finally."
I hold his gaze, unsure I want to face his family after tonight, or if they'll ever want to see me. But I say nothing, just tuck myself closer, nose on his chest that smells like home.
32
The warning comes while I'm still fussing with his collar because there's no way I'm letting him face his mother with a wrinkle in it.
He kisses my frozen nose. "I'm telling you again—we're loud, we fight for sport, and we love harder for it. Don't lie to her. She sees everything. Even the tremor in your toe right now."
Nausea climbs my throat instantly but somehow I laugh. "Idiot, that's not helping."
He grins and squeezes my hands. "She says whatever's on her mind. No filter. Don't take it personally."
"Please," I shoot back. "I've survived you."
"She's worse. And now you're family."
"Family..." I echo, feeling the word play with my gut a little more.
"I'll try to tame her," he adds, softer, like she's a wild lion and not, well... his mom.
