Better With Ben
Page 19
Jack was looking at the street, or the house next-door—anywhere but at them, the girls were watching like two little hawks, letting out nearly silent giggles from behind their clenched fists. Henry was concentrating on nothing except the huge bite of cookie he was chewing. Taylor let out a little laugh/sigh at the impossibility of choosing the right words at a moment like that.
She threw her hands up and made a so what expression. "I mean, obviously I love you back or whatever," she said. He laughed at how precious she was when she felt awkward or on the spot. She did little things that most people wouldn't pick up on, like bite at her lower lip. He knew she loved him and didn't really care how it came out.
"You're definitely getting married," Henry said from around a mouthful of cookie.
Within a few minutes, the kids were finishing up with their snacks. Taylor stood to collect their trash, but sat down again once she realized Abby was still working on her fruit cup. She opened her purse and fished around for the pack of gum she knew in there somewhere.
"I'll take a piece," Ben said, holding a hand out.
"Me too," said at least two of the others. By the time she was done handing out gum, everyone at the table had a slice.
"Okay, everybody make a paper airplane out of your wrapper," Taylor said. "The one that flies the farthest wins."
Everybody, including Henry slumped over the table working on their masterpiece.
"We're gonna line up against the wall," Taylor said as she folded, "and let em fly at the same time."
"Mine's gonna go so far we won't be able to find it," Ben said.
Henry looked up at him with adoring eyes but Taylor just rolled hers knowing it was impossible to make a paper airplane out of a gum wrapper that would fly very far.
"Mine's gonna go to outer space," Taylor said, playing along.
Henry, who was already done with his airplane, stared toward the sky thinking about how cool it would be if Taylor's airplane made it out there. They lined up with their backs along the front wall of the coffee house. In front of them was about eight feet of wooden porch, then beyond that, outdoor tables with umbrellas on a gravel front yard, then beyond that, a sidewalk, then a small patch of grass before the street. They all stood in a throw my paper airplane posture—all except for Ben. He'd been pretty secretive with his folding techniques, and Taylor couldn't help but wonder what in the world kind of airplane he'd built. She wouldn't be surprised if it made it off the porch.
Only one way to find out… "Ready, set, throw," Taylor said.
Four airplanes landed in front of their respective throwers a few feet onto the porch. The one that Lexie made had barely been folded at all, so it caught in the wind and landed a few feet to the side, but they were all really close. It was going to be hard to judge since they all pretty much sucked. While they were comparing distance, one of the girls said, "We're missing one."
"I didn't fly mine yet," Ben said.
Everyone looked at him wondering why he hadn't participated. Without a word, he flicked something off of his palm. The small silver item went sailing through the air—off the patio and to the far end of the gravel yard. Taylor's jaw dropped. It happened so quickly that she hadn't seen the design of the plane or how he'd let go of it.
"That was just a ball. You just balled it up and flicked it," Jack said.
Ben shrugged. "You didn't specify the shape," he said. "My airplane was ball-shaped. What do I win?" He smiled at Taylor as if he wanted her to offer carnal rewards, even though both of them knew they'd never say that out loud in front of the kids.
She smiled. "You already have all this," she waved her hand through the air gesturing to herself and the kids.
He knew her comment was tongue in cheek because she was self-conscious about her family. He wrapped an arm around her and leaned in to whisper in her ear. "I love all of you and you'll just have to get used to it."
She smiled against his chest thinking that was something she could get used to with no effort at all.
The End
(till book 4)
This time I didn't leave you with a clue about who will be starring in book 4. You've been introduced to the hero in books 1-3, but the heroine is still a stranger at this point. I've met her, though, and she's a cool girl who fits right in with the whole crew. Hugs and happy reading, Casey Mac
Thanks for reading Book 3 of the How to Tame a Heartbreaker series! I hope you enjoyed Ben and Taylor's story.
For more with them and the rest of the gang, be sure to look for Book 4 (scheduled to be released 2014).
Book 1 You're Dangerous
Book 2 A Few Little Scars
Book 3 Better with Ben
In the meantime (if you haven't done so already) I'd be honored if you'd check out my other books.
There are 5 books in the In Too Deep series.
Book 1 Three Years Later
Book 2 Seeing Clearly
Book 3 Second String
Book 4 Mind the Gap
Book 5 Three Months and You're Mine
I also have a fun stand-alone romance called Julien's Book.
Much love and happy reading!