Without missing a beat, Brooksie shrugged and very nonchalantly replied, “That girl is going to be my first wife.This girl is my forever wife.Major difference.”
All five guys once again erupted in laughter.They each took turns teasing Brooksie and Jack for their ongoing declarations of love for every woman who crossed their paths.
While Ben and his buddies were joking around, Ella was headed back into the dining room with a tray full of food for the table next to theirs.Walking past them, she noticed that a sixth guy had joined the group.Wonderful!Just what she needed, more customers.She felt a wave of frustration ripple through her.A table of six to turn and still leave on time was next level impossible.
As Ben’s friends continued to banter back and forth, he casually looked around the diner.Suddenly his eyes landed on the stunning waitress coming toward him.He was impressed she could carry such a large tray, which he imagined must be quite heavy for one so small.But his focus wasn’t really on that.What really grabbed his attention was how beautiful she was.Thin and petite with nicely tanned legs that peeked out from under her blue jean mini dress, the waitress had long, dark hair that was pulled back into a low ponytail that swished behind her as she walked.Ben had always been a leg man, and though this girl was tiny, her legs were perfection.
Ben watched the waitress maneuver the large, cumbersome tray.With surprising expertise for one so petite, she whipped out a stand and set down the tray with precision.Ben was impressed with how quickly she served the table.He was as captivated by her quick, efficient movements as he was struck by her natural beauty.She was hands down the most gorgeous girl he had ever seen.He literally could not take his eyes off her.That’s why when she lost her footing and began to slip backward, he saw a crash coming.Instantly, he sprang out of his seat and caught her before she hit the ground.Scooping her into his arms, he pulled her close.
It took a minute for Ella to react.Adrenaline, embarrassment, and shock all rolled over her in one gigantic wave.One minute she was falling backward, and the next she was being swept up in a stranger’s arms like a ragdoll.Instinctively, she began to struggle to free herself, but the arms around her tightened.
“Settle.It’s okay.I’ve got you.”The stranger’s voice was smooth and reassuring.
At his words, Ella’s eyes flashed to his face.She had every intention of demanding to be put down; however, her words died on her tongue when she locked eyes with him.Her entire body short-circuited.She opened her mouth to speak, but no words came out.Breathing and reasoning ceased to function as well.Instead of catapulting herself out of the stranger’s arms like any normal person would have done, Ella just lay there, staring, lost in his beautiful blue eyes.For what felt like several seconds but could have only been a nanosecond, Ella tried to force her brain to reboot.Though words failed her, her arms and legs still worked, and she tried unsuccessfully to wrench herself free.
Tightening his grip, Ben stilled her movements.“I said settle.”Glancing down at the nametag on her chest and then back up to her face, he gave her a sexy smile that sent her brain reeling all over again.“Ella?Right?”
Ella nodded.“Well then, Ella, it’s all good.I’ve got you.”Then, very slowly, Ben lowered Ella’s leg to the ground.Once he was sure she could stand on her own, he extended his hand in greeting.“Ben Carrington.Nice to meet you.”
Ella looked at Ben’s outstretched hand, blinked twice, then slowly placed her much smaller hand in his.“Ella.Ella Santiago.”Her words were back, but her voice was someone else’s.It was too weak to be hers.First-born girls are not allowed to be weak.They have to be strong and maintain control at all times—especially older sisters with six younger siblings like Ella.She was a master at never showing weakness and always maintaining control, though at the moment, it felt like the only thing Ella had mastered was staring into Ben’s eyes as he continued to hold her hand long after the shake ended.Becoming aware how awkward the whole situation had become, Ella abruptly snatched back her hand.
“Please excuse me.I’ll just put this tray away and be back to take your orders,” Ella mumbled, then spun on her heels, grabbed the empty tray, and disappeared back toward the kitchen.
Watching Ella walk away, Ben assumed she was the girl his buddies had been talking about earlier.Though he was ashamed to admit it, he wondered if Brooksie and Jack had been onto something.If he had seen this girl first, he would have gone all Brooksie on them and called dibs on her—appropriate or not.Watching Ella disappear into the kitchen, Ben assured himself that if anyone at this table was going to be with her, it was going to be him.
Ben had never felt such a powerful attraction to a girl before.He did not believe in love at first sight.To him, that was a silly romantic notion made up to sell sappy movies to teenage girls and middle-aged women, never mind that he’d heard his mother tell the story of how she had fallen in love with his father the first time she laid eyes on him.He did, however, believe inlustat first sight, and at that moment, Ben was knee deep in it.He was under no illusion that he or any of his buddies would end up with some random girl they met in a diner in Napa forever.But that was okay.He wasn’t looking for a relationship with anyone, not now or in the foreseeable future.A little lust though was definitely on the menu.And it looked like they had come to the right place for it.
Meanwhile, in the kitchen, Ella poured herself a glass of very cold water and drank it in one gulp.She had never been so unnerved in her life.Her experience with guys who looked like Ben was limited.She had spent her teen years studying and working with her uncle Pedro in the fields.She had such a singular focus on her future that there had been no time for dating.Until she had gone to college, the only males she had regular contact with were either related to her or customers who were closer to her grandfather’s age than hers.
Ella was homeschooled through eighth grade.She had tried the school her siblings attended, but she had been bored.Her mother made the decision to pull her out in first grade.Things might have been different if she had been able to go to a regular high school as had been the plan.But Covid happened.Although she still switched over to Napa High School in the ninth grade, thanks to the school being closed due to the pandemic, she spent her two years of high school studying from home.That was great because it allowed her to graduate high school at sixteen.She had attended Cal Poly Tech remotely for the past three years.
Ella met lots of young men through her coursework, but none of them were interested in dating a sixteen-year-old.They were all older and more experienced.A few of the guys in her classes had befriended her, but none had gone so far as to ask her out.Truthfully, no one she had ever met had ever sparked her interest the way the guy who saved her from busting it moments before did with one look.If the guys at school had been anything like him, maybe Ella’s college experience would not have been so bland and boring.
After downing the water, Ella walked out of the kitchen, pretending to be way more cool, calm, and collected than she actually was.As she approached the guy’s table, she took a deep breath and let it out, pasting a fake smile on her face.“Okay, guys, what are we having today?”
Ben looked directly at Ella and flashed her another one of his way-too-sexy grins.Ella had to remind herself to breathe.Leaning his body over the table in a bid to get closer to her, Ben asked, “What do you suggest?”
Ella could hear just a smidge of a Southern accent in Ben’s voice.She had become very good at placing accents because she had been serving tourists from all over the world for years.Her instinct was to pull back from where Ben was leaning toward her.She forced herself to remain steady and met his gaze, which was not easy.Just looking at him made her pulse race.She could literally feel excitement zigzagging through her.For out of whack as she felt inside, she was proud of how normal her voice sounded when she replied, “If you like spicy food, the special is good.”
“Is that what you like?”Ben asked.“Do you like it spicy?”
Silence descended over the table as everyone turned and looked at Ben.It was the perfect opening for one of his buddies to annihilate him.Shockingly, no one ripped an inappropriate crack regarding Ben’s faux pas.That was significant, given the level of his friends’ ability to destroy each other.None of them said a word, most likely to keep from embarrassing the cute waitress who looked like she was about to pass out.
At Ben’s question, Ella’s eyebrows shot up.Before she could respond, Ben rushed to add, “Sorry.That came out wrong.What I meant to ask was, what do you like best here?”
Ben seemed as flustered and affected by Ella as she was by him.Interesting,she thought.Then she looked directly at him and replied, “I am a more traditional breakfast girl.Give me bacon and eggs every time.”
Turning to the group, she added, “I must tell you the best thing on the menu is the cinnamon rolls.My mom makes them fresh every morning.I highly recommend them.No matter what else you order, you don’t want to miss those.”Ella was rambling and seemed unable to stop herself, which was crazy because she never rambled.Not a day in her life.So much for trying to be cool.Her heart was about to beat out of her chest.Getting a mental hold on herself, Ella gave the table a small smile and asked, “Who wants to go first?”
It only took a matter of minutes to get everyone’s order.Once the guys started ordering, Ella’s brain finally switched over to autopilot, and she was able to take it all down without making a total fool of herself.
All of the guys ordered cinnamon rolls, so Ella promised to bring a plate back for them to enjoy as they waited for the rest of their food.Over the next twenty minutes, Ella found herself circling the guys’ table like a hawk.The minute Ben would try to make eye contact though she would look away.It was so weird.She could feel a pull between them.She was almost convinced that he was feeling it too, but what if she was wrong?Ella worried that she was acting worse than Lydia, her youngest sister, who was known to spend weeks mooning over a boy who did not even know she existed.Ella had naively thought she was above such foolishness.Now she was not so sure.She hoped her brothers and sisters did not notice how silly she was acting.If they did, she was in for some merciless teasing later.
As the clock edged closer to 11:00, Ella knew she was going to have to hand the guys’ table off to her sister.Signaling to Sophie she was leaving, Ella quickly collected her things and then headed toward the exit.As she walked by the guys’ table, she stopped long enough to say, “I hope you enjoyed the cinnamon rolls.I have to leave now.My little sister Sophie will be taking care of you.”She was shocked at how normal she sounded when she felt like bubbles were about to start flowing out of her from the fuzzy feeling inside.
Ben immediately responded, “You’re leaving?”He had a strange look on his face as once again his eyes bored into hers.“Where are you going?”
Before Ella could answer, Madison blurted out, “Don’t leave us.We need you.”
