The Trouble With Love

by Claire Contreras

  “Oh, my God.” I launch myself at him, throwing my arms around his neck. “I’m so, so, so, so happy. Now I don’t have to pretend to like your stupid team.”

  He laughs. “You never pretended to like them.”

  “You’re right.” I squeal, letting go of him. “Oh, my gosh, I’m so excited. What number will you be? Do you get to pick? Wait, are you moving back in here?”

  “That’s one of the things I wanted to talk to you about. I don’t mind us all living here for a little while, but I was thinking I could get you your own place. There’s a unit in this building—”

  “Nope.” I put a hand up. “First of all, I love you, but no, thank you. I can afford my own place. Second of all, I’m moving in with Bennett.”

  He stares at me. “What do you mean?”

  “We’re moving in together.”

  “You . . . you’re serious.”

  “Of course I’m serious. Why wouldn’t I be serious?”

  He frowns, taking his phone out and typing something. He puts it up to his ear. “Hey, yeah, thanks. I know. I’m glad to be back. Eh, Nora likes it here. She’ll get used to it. Right. Actually, I wanted to talk to you about Morgan.” He looks at me.

  My mouth drops. “Devon.”

  “Yeah, no, she’s standing right here talking about moving in with you—”

  “Devon, I swear to God.” I launch myself at him, reaching for the phone, but he dodges every attempt and continues talking as if nothing is happening.

  “I love you, you’re my brother, but I swear if I see my baby sister cry again, I’ll kill you,” he says in the most nonchalant tone. I stop fighting him and stare at him again. I’m going to kill him for this. “Yep. See you tomorrow.”

  I take a step back and cover my mouth. “I can’t believe you just said that.”

  “I had to warn him.”

  “Yeah, but we haven’t talked about moving in together again after we got back together. Oh, my God I’m going to kill you in your sleep.”

  “Sure.” He laughs.

  “I’ll take all the sage you brought and flush it down the toilet.”

  His expression turns serious. “Don’t you fucking dare.”

  My phone vibrates in the back pocket of my jeans. I take it out and look at it.

  Bennett: I heard we’re moving in together

  Me: I’m going to kill him

  Bennett: I want to

  Bennett: Move in with you, not kill your brother

  Me: Okay good.

  Bennett: Want me to come help you pack?

  Me: Right now?

  Bennett: Why not?

  Me: Because we just got back from an exhausting trip and we have all the time in the world to pack and move?

  Bennett: Fine, then I’ll just come over because I can’t stand the thought of not sharing a bed with you another night

  Me: Okay : - )

  I put my phone back in my pocket.

  “You’re smiling,” Devon says. “What did he say? He’s coming over?”

  “Yeah.”

  “Yes.” He lifts a fist in the air. “I brought Madden.”

  I groan. “You’re joking.”

  “Hey, that’s what you get for dating my best friend.” He shrugs. “Now you have to compete for his affection.”

  I laugh at his ridiculousness and go to my room to unwind. I fall asleep before Bennett gets there, but wake up to the feel of his arm wrapping around me and his mouth on my shoulder.

  “Did you play Madden already?” I turn in his arms and face him.

  “Not yet. I wanted to kiss my girl before I kick his ass.”

  “Hm.”

  He kisses me, a sweet peck on the lips, and then my eyelids and cheeks.

  “I love you, baby.”

  “I love you,” I murmur.

  I fall asleep smiling.

  Chapter Fifty-One

  Bennett

  I slide into the booth with two drinks in my hand, sliding one to the beautiful woman sitting across from me.

  “Thanks,” she says, looking around. “This seems like a good place to pick up women.”

  “If I came in here, you’d be the only woman I’d look at.”

  “You’re just saying that because I’m the one sitting across from you,” she says, smiling. She glances out the window. “It’s such a pretty day.”

  “It’s a beautiful day to get married.”

  Her gaze flashes back to mine. “That was random.”

  “Was it?” I frown. “Because ever since you moved in with me, the only thing I seem to think about is marrying you.”

  “Wha . . . what? We’ve only been living together for like four weeks.”

  I shrug. “I’ve been struck with Cupid’s arrow.”

  “You’re . . . are you serious right now?” She searches my face.

  “Dead serious.”

  “Are you proposing to me?” she asks, frowning.

  “I’m proposing we go down to the courthouse and get married.”

  “Today,” she says, as if she’s still trying to wrap her head around this.

  “We took the day off. We’re sitting at a bar with alcoholic beverages in our hands at ten o’clock.”

  “Mimosas,” she says. “You make it sound like we’re having whiskey straight.”

  “What’s the difference?”

  “Mimosas are acceptable at ten o’clock in the morning.”

  “Let’s ditch this place and go get married, Morgan Elizabeth.” I reach for her other hand. “It’s going to happen anyway, whether we do it today, tomorrow, in twenty years, so why beat around the bush?”

  She’s quiet for a long moment, just staring at me, as if she’s mulling over every single scenario. If she says no, I’ll accept that. Maybe she wants me to propose with a grand gesture or plan a formal wedding like Devon and Nora. Maybe she wants to wait a couple of years. Either way, I’m not going anywhere.

  “Hey, Ben,” she says after a while.

  “Yeah?”

  “Let’s go get married.”

  Epilogue

  One Year Later . . .

  Morgan

  My mother has been in and out of rehab since I dropped her off, not because she’s been using, but because she’s had weak moments. Weak moments that Devon and I have been with her for. We all started family counseling. At first, I thought it was ridiculous, us going all the way out to California once a month for counseling with someone we didn’t even live with. It turned out to be the best thing we could’ve done for ourselves and our family.

  Mom and I aren’t best friends by any stretch, but we are definitely closer. We speak on the phone almost daily, and I’m not the least bit threatened whenever she asks about Bennett, which was a big no-no in the beginning. I trust Bennett, but it has been really hard to let go of past grudges, even if they were things that had absolutely nothing to do with him.

  Bennett whistles as we stop in front of Rodney’s house. “This is the place?”

  “Yep.”

  “He must own a very successful production company.”

  I laugh. “He does.”

  He glances over at me. “You sure you’re ready to be back here?”

  “I’m ready.” I reach out and thread my fingers through his. “As long as you’re with me.”

  He grins, bringing my hand up and pressing a kiss to it. “Always.”

  We walk up to the house and are greeted by my mother, who’s wearing a pretty spring dress and a huge smile on her face. She throws her arms around me.

  “Thank you for coming. I’m so happy you’re here.” She pulls back, holding my hands as she looks at my face before turning to Bennett. “She’s such a beautiful girl.”

  “The most beautiful girl,” he says, grinning at me before kissing my mom on the cheek. “You look well.”

  “Oh, I feel so great. Yoga has done wonders for me.” She steps back. “Please come in. Make yourselves at home. Rod will be in later on. He had a corporate golf tourname
nt today that he, unfortunately, couldn’t back out of. Do you play golf, Bennett?”

  “Not well.” He chuckles. “Devon should come out here and play with Rodney.”

  “I’ve been asking him to. He says he will in a couple of months when Nora is out of the first trimester, you know she’s been having a difficult time.” Mom smiles over at me and walks over to the stove as we reach the kitchen.

  Devon and I were so skeptical of Rodney and this entire arrangement in the beginning, but after a year of seeing the guy, we decided he really is that kind. I guess it’s hard to accept kindness for what it is when you grow up in the environment we did.

  “The butler isn’t with us today. He had a family emergency, so my food will have to do,” Mom says.

  “Your food is great,” I say. “What’d you make?”

  “Chicken Cacciatore.”

  I smile at her. That was always my favorite dish that she used to make when we were growing up.

  “It smells great,” Bennett says.

  “Bennett, please, sit down. Morg, will you grab the lemonade from the fridge?”

  I walk over and take it out of the fridge as Mom finishes setting the table. Once we sit down and start eating, I have a moment where I can’t quite believe I’m having a meal with the love of my life and my mother, and it’s not at the rehab center, but in her beautiful house, and we’re not fighting or arguing, but genuinely happy. I bite down on my lip to keep my emotions in check.

  “I don’t want to be the nagging mother,” Mom says, “but now that Nora and Devon are having a baby, I feel like I have to ask . . . “

  I laugh. “No baby here.”

  “Not yet anyway,” Bennett adds, raising an eyebrow at me.

  We’ve been going to specialists for months, not because we’re in dire need to start a family, but because we want answers as to why his sperm count is so low. We’ve both decided to foster and hopefully adopt when we’re ready, and if later on, we want to have a child the traditional way and can, we’ll go that route.

  “We just found each other,” I say, “Sometimes it feels like a lifetime ago, but in reality, it’s been just a few years. We’re both so busy with work right now and we’re just happy to have each other.” I reach over and squeeze Bennett’s hand.

  “She’s right. I have everything I’ll ever need right here.” He says it with so much conviction and love in his eyes, that I absolutely believe him.

  “Well, you’re both young. You definitely don’t need to be rushing into anything,” Mom says. “But I just want you to know that grandkids, whether they’re adopted or not, are always welcome in our house.”

  Later, we’re outside on her massive deck, watching the sunset, when Rodney gets home. He walks through the back doors like he only has eyes for Mom. When he reaches her, he throws his arms around her and gives her a huge kiss on the mouth.

  “I missed you.”

  “Missed you.” She smiles. “We have company.”

  He laughs, standing straight and glancing over at Bennett and me. He shakes Ben’s hand first, giving him a pat on the back, and then turns to me and gives me a bear hug that doesn’t replace all of the ones I missed from my own father, but definitely fills some of the void. Not for the first time, am I completely blown away by the way things have turned out for all of us. I take a seat beside Bennett and he wraps an arm around me. Rodney takes a seat beside my mom on the other side of the deck and wraps his arm around her, and we watch as the desert sky begins to bleed orange and red.

  “I love you, Morgan Elizabeth,” Bennett says against my head.

  “I love you.” I look up at him. “You’re my favorite match.”

  “Your only match.” He raises an eyebrow.

  “Well, I didn’t have much of a choice on the matter.”

  “You didn’t, and that’s why I know we’re the perfect match.”

  I laugh.

  We’ve discussed this before, and every time he finds a way to bring it back to the idea that any app would match us together because we’re perfect for each other. I always argue that, but I love that he feels the same way I do.

  “I don’t know,” I muse. “There are a lot of people in the universe.”

  “A lot,” he agrees. “But there’s only one for me.”

  “Yeah?”

  “Of course, Mrs. Cruz.” He winks.

  Acknowledgments

  First and foremost, thank YOU for buying my book and reading it. I hope you enjoyed it as much as I enjoyed writing it!

  Nana Malone - thank you so much for listening to me go on and on about this story and for helping me “un-fuck it” numerous times.

  Sarah Sentz - I am forever in your debt for the feedback you provide me. Seriously.

  Tiffany - THANK YOU for reading this and giving me your feedback! Come braid my hair <3

  Clarissa LaFirst - I don’t know what I would do without you. Probably die. In a very messy state. LOL I love you so much.

  Kimberly Brower - thank you for always being in my corner

  My Crew - THANK YOU for being so supportive these last 7 years. You have no idea how much happiness and peace you bring me. I love and appreciate you so much. - If you want to join us on Facebook, please do. We love newcomers! — Claire’s FB Crew!

  LBEdits - I love working with you!

  Lori - for always having my back and fixing my messes lol

  Nina Grinstead and Hilary Suppes - thank you for always having my back

  My ST girls - your wisdom is invaluable.

  DT girls - thank you for being YOU.

  All of my friends, you know who you are because I can’t live my life without you but I don’t want to sit here taking up more space so I’ll just say - thank you, I love you, I appreciate you, it’s a privilege to walk this earth with you.

  Xoxo

  Also by Claire Contreras

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  Then There Was You - Childhood friends turned lovers

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