Her fingers flexed in and out of her palm. “Give me your phone so you stop getting distracted by things that do not affect your vacation in any way.”
“She’s right. Whether Drew got in has no bearing on the rest of this week.”
“You both are awful.” Benson gave Eden his phone. “Anyway, I’ll find out when we have wi-fi again in the cabin.”
“Are you gonna finally join me in the cabana?”
Benson scoffed at Liam. “I’ll take a little walk and be back in ten.”
“Bring me back a drink if you go by the bar,” Eden said. “I’m thirsty. Something fruity.”
“Something fruity for me, too,” Liam said. “Ooh, shaved ice.”
“Yeah, shaved ice!”
“Wait, am I your assistant or something?”
They both went back to their reading as if they hadn’t heard him.
Typical.Benson wandered toward the surf, where his sandy toes were quickly washed away by seawater. He growled a little as the warm Caribbean lapped at his feet and dampened the bottoms of his white linen pants, the same ones that had made him a friend at La Mariposa several months ago.She’s back there right now.Sitting on the beach, being beyond beautiful, as she perused a magazine as if that was her biggest hobby. The fact that Benson happened to look back as Liam reached down to stroke Eden’s head was like a cherry on a delicious sundae.
It had been several months since they met on a different Caribbean island. Now, here they were, on a Labor Day excursion, more confident than ever that this would last.
But Benson wouldn’t get ahead of himself. As much as he was a romantic at heart, he saved such declarations for the late-night confessions that came naturally when a man had the one he loved in his arms.
Besides, there had been plenty of bumps along the way. After weeks of conversations, Eden agreed to move in with him when her lease was up. That July, Benson cleared out half of his closets and reassessed most of his décor before Eden and her movers arrived with what she wanted to keep. Liam had sacrificed his sanity to rent a U-Haul truck to take her furniture donations to the local charity shop, but she still had her loveseat, a couple of small tables, andlamps.What did a woman need with so many lamps? Benson did not understand. Nor did he understand how Eden so effortlessly moved his shit around his room to accommodate where she wantedherthings.
She also had the gall to swap out his black and cream-colored bedspreads for forest green sheets and textured quilts that depicted nature in a way that she hoped wouldn’t offend his older – and masculine – sensibilities. It took Benson a few days to get used to it, but he had to admit – they were actually more comfortable than the ones he had chosen himself, and if it meant better sleep, he would doze beneath a hot pink duvet.
The biggest hiccup, of course, was Drew’s reaction, especially since she preferred to stay with her father when she was in town. That summer saw the biggest blowup between father and daughter once he informed Drew that Eden would be moving in with him. Sydney, thankfully, did not get involved again, although he didn’t doubt that his ex-wife had been ranted at until her ears fell off. Things quieted down when the move-in happened, and Drew apparently realized that she had to shape up or ship out. For a while, during her summer break, she was only interested in having dinner out of the house with her father, but lately, she had been back to staying in the guest room and even helped Eden pick out a dress for one of the charity dinners the three of them went to.“She’ll get over it,”Liam had told him more than once.“It’s just a shock that you’re dating someone so young and already moving her in. Once she realizes that Eden is absolutely not a gold digger and genuinely cares about you, which will be easier now that she lives with you, maybe they can be friends.”
Now he had a text from his daughter ready for him to read once he had some kind of connection again. He hoped Drew made it into her program. Why wouldn’t she? She was bright. Her professors loved her! But what if she didn’t? Benson would be angry on her behalf, but also…it might make her mood worse.
He bent to pick up a small shell he found in the fresh surf. After wiping off the wet sand, he returned to the cabana, whereEden had joined Liam, the two of them lying on their stomachs and kicking their feet up behind them.
“Am I interrupting something?” Benson asked with deadpanned fervor before handing Eden his find.
She snatched it with a grin, turning the iridescent shell over in her hand. Liam said, “Well, I was falling asleep, so she came to slap me. By the way, aren’t you getting us drinks?”
“I never said I was.”
“Shaved ice,” Eden reminded him. “He was getting us shaved ice.”
“Right, right. I want pineapple.”
“I’ll take anything berry. Like cherry. Or raspberry. Ooh, blueberry, if they have it!”
“What am I? Your father?”
Both Liam and Eden laughed. “We’re just joking, Ben,” Liam said. “Anyway, what’s with the poignant face, bro?”
He’s calling me “bro” again.He noticed that Liam never used that word in the bedroom. “Just got a lot on my mind. Actually, there’s something I need to talk to you two about.”
Eden perked up while Liam’s smile dropped off his face. “Oh? How serious is it?”
“Serious enough that I’m gonna commandeer part of our vacation to talk about it.”
“How life and death is it?” Liam asked, sitting up and grabbing his phone – wait, did he have service?How?“Because there’s something I really wanna talk about with you two, too.”
