by Kiki Abbott
“I didn’t know you watched Liam’s season?”
He shrugged. “Mom and Jade were watching, rooting for you. I told them not to tell you this, because I didn’t want to look like a fan stalker.” He smiled at Kat. “I happened to say how cute you were and that Liam was a fool, and they said later that I was watching the TV like it was the Super bowl. And when I watched you roll Liam’s head up in the window, I laughed and said “I want someone like that,’ and pointed at the TV. When they heard you were the next Bachelorette, Jade got the idea to submit my name and photo for an interview.” He looked around the table. “There, my big secret is out.”
Kat’s parents looked like Ben had just crossed the line to future son in law.
“I’m surprised.” She squeezed Ben’s hand and her parents smiled at them both. “And happy that Jade did that. I think your sister is my new best friend.”
Walking her mom and dad to the elevator, Kat was given the stamp of approval for both men. “They are very different. Your life would be good with each of them, so I think you have to ask yourself if you want a readymade family on a ranch in Arkansas with a cowboy at heart, or a city life in Atlanta with a lawyer who doesn’t want to start a family for a few years.” Grace Houston took her daughter’s face in her hands. “Who can’t you imagine life without?” At that, the elevator door opened and her parents left to go back to Napa.
The fantasy suite card had arrived by the time Kat returned to the table and Ben had the invitation in his hand. “It’s addressed to both of us.”
“You open it.”
“Do you know what it is?”
“Yes, don’t you?”
He shook his head and she laughed while the cameras kept rolling. When he read the words ‘fantasy suite’, Ben grinned and looked at Kat. “Does this mean what I think it does?”
“I’m not sure what you’re thinking, but before your thoughts get too carried away, the fantasy suite is a place where the cameras do not come. That’s the fantasy. We get private time with each other, if you choose to accept the invitation.”
He stared at her, still grinning.
“What do you think, Ben?”
“Hell ya!”
Kat laughed at his enthusiasm, and they left the table for the fantasy suite.
The set decorators had turned a large suite into a romantic paradise with scented candles, low lighting, and a bottle of champagne chilling beside a tray of dessert canapés. Soft music played in the background and once the cameras got footage of them staring out the floor to ceiling glass windows at the lights of San Francisco, they were left alone. When the door closed and everyone was gone, Kat had a funny feeling. Unchaperoned, alone with Ben, she suddenly felt shy. “Here we are, alone,” she said strangely. “Is this the first time we’ve ever been completely alone?
“It is.” Ben took her hand and they moved to the couch to open the bubbly. “Let’s take this really slow and just see where it goes, Kitty Kat.” He popped the champagne cork like an expert, and handed her a glass. “To privacy.” He poured them each a glass.
“Thanks for coming here with me.” She took a sip of the champagne.
“Are you kidding? Who wouldn’t want more time with you?” He took her hand and kissed the inside of her forearm, a gesture that was so intimate, she blushed. “I’m crazy about you, Kat, I want you to know that.” He looked sincere, but she called him on it, just the same.
“Oh, now you say that, when we are faced with privacy and a bed.”
He glanced over at the king-sized bed, strewn with rose petals. “Is that a bed?”
They laughed, and he stroked the side of her face with his hand. “I don’t want you to think that’s why I’m here. It’s not. I just want to be with you. The more time I spend with you, the more I don’t want to be without you.”
“I’m not allowed to tell you how I feel, you know.”
“I know, but I’m just hoping I already know how you feel.” He moved in for a kiss and she wouldn’t let him pull away. She led, deepening the kiss, her hands finding his strong arms. When his tongue sought hers and his arms encircled her shoulders, she knew they’d never make it to morning without using that bed. He was just so damned sexy. And, she trusted this man. Things escalated quickly, until Ben broke away and whispered into her hair “I need to stop, if we’re just going to talk.”
“We are not just going to talk.” She looked into his eyes and kissed him passionately, her hands running up his shirt to his neck, and drawing him to her harder, she repositioned herself so that she was straddling his lap. “We can talk all night. After this.” She took his gorgeous face in her hands and kissed him again. Such nice lips.
He pulled back, his eyes all dreamy. “Wait. Just a minute. Did they lock the door? I do not want one of those nosey cameras waltzing in here.” He moved her aside and went to lock the door and fasten the bolt.
When he returned, he stood looking at her on the couch.
“We are going to do this, aren’t we?” Kat held his gaze.
“If you are sure. But my vote is a definite yes.” He waited.
She downed her champagne in one gulp, and passing him, advanced to the bed, sliding up the silky bedspread, smiling provocatively. When he lowered himself on top of her, she could feel his hardness against her thighs. She pressed herself into his groin and he moaned into the kiss. They were all hands, lips, skin on skin, and heavy breathing while they rolled around the bed, pulling off clothes, exploring each other’s bodies. Ben felt heavenly beneath her fingers and mouth. Playfully she tried to rip off his shirt, tearing all buttons but the last one, which wouldn’t give. They laughed and after she undid the button, he pulled her camisole up and over her head, revealing the lacey lavender underwear she’d chosen to wear tonight, just in case.
Once they were fully naked, they kissed and caressed each other until Ben said they’d have to slow down or it would be all over. “I want it to last,” he said while they paused to quiet the excitement. Their skin colors together, looked beautifully contrasted in the half light.
“Have you got protection?” she suddenly remembered.
He grabbed a condom from his discarded pant pocket and came back to bed. Kat couldn’t help but want more from him. Everything. She wanted this man to make love to her all night, to declare his love for her, and eventually propose to her at the end of all this. But it might not happen, even after this. At that moment, she didn’t care. If Ben didn’t want her she would go home alone if she couldn’t have him after all this. Kat rubbed on him while they waited to let things slow down.
“That is not helping,” He chuckled into her neck.
She could feel him harden under her. “Good. I don’t know what we’re waiting for. You’re young. We have all night.” She moved down his body to his six pack abdomen, groaning at the athleticism of this man. Slowly her tongue and lips explored Ben’s lower half. When he pulled her up and flipped her over on her back, she was ready for him. So ready for this gorgeous man.
They made love three times before morning when Ben dressed and left for his own room to try to keep “my girlfriend’s reputation intact”. Kat missed him as soon as the door was closed. During their night of passion, they’d gotten as close as two people could, making love, talking about what might happen with them after the show finished. “I want you with me as soon as possible, and if that means I have to hang around whatever town you’re hiding in, I will.” He’d joked that he’d go “undercover as a white guy with a blonde moustache and pretend I’m your accountant.”
By the time she dressed for the day, Kat was confident that Ben at least wanted to be with her after the show. Unfortunately, he let it be known that he was still bothered she couldn’t make plans with him. But she’d signed a contract that said she wouldn’t let him know he would be her pick. During their night together, they hadn’t talked about Colton, and she hadn’t mentioned that he’d turned down spending more time with her in the fantasy suite. She owed Colton her silenc
e. And now, with Ben the one, Kat felt badly for Colton. It wasn’t all because they hadn’t had extra time, but the last twelve hours had given her and Ben what they needed to know they were compatible in every way.
That day the show travelled west to Monterrey on the California coast, to overnight at a hotel overlooking the ocean, near the world famous golf course. Kat was exhausted all day and her emotions fluctuated between excited and scared to see what Ben would do once she told him she loved him, and sad to break the news to Colton who probably had them all moved in together and her pregnant already. When she told Mary that she was going to sleep early, the producer teased that she must’ve stayed up all night talking the night before. Kat just grinned, hoping to not give away the fact she’d spent the night being ravaged by a dashing young lawyer from Atlanta who couldn’t seem to get enough of her.
With her head on the hotel pillow, thoughts raced through her mind. All day she’d rehearsed what to say to Colton when he arrived at the final rose ceremony. It was the same position she’d been in only five short months before, with Liam. Kat didn’t relish breaking someone’s heart. Colton was a sweet, handsome man. If she was being honest with herself, bringing Colton to the end had happened because she was so taken with Bug and wanted to be her mother. But, that was no basis for a loving marriage. She assured herself that Colton would have loads of attention from women after this show aired. He’d find someone who wanted to live with them in Arkansas, who felt passionate about him, even though Bug came first in his heart.
For the final rose ceremony, Kat had chosen a dress designed by Jaxie’s friend Phillip, an up and coming designer, now living in Los Angeles. It was a stunning gown. But, as she stepped into the white, one shouldered toga-style dress, she was still thinking about Colton. Telling him goodbye would definitely cloud her happiness at having chosen Ben. When the dress was zipped up and the hair stylist put the finishing touches to her updo, she wondered if Colton was scared, thinking he was going to be sent home to his little girl that night without a fiancée. It was with these thoughts she watched Mary, the producer walk through her hotel suite door.
“Wow! You look like a million bucks,” Mary said from the doorway, wearing her usual khaki pants and jean jacket with her ponytail flopping around in the back.
“Thanks. I’m worried about what to say to Colton.” The hairstylist sprayed a final curl and fiddled.
“I came to tell you that you have a visitor.” Mary moved aside to show the camera that was setting up a shot like someone was coming through the door.
The knock was loud, and Kat startled before she walked over and pulled it open. Colton stood in a pair of jeans, a shirt and his cowboy hat, not dressed for the rose ceremony.
He spoke first. “May I come in?”
“Of course.” This man was going home, she felt it. “What’s going on?” She motioned for him to sit on the couch and the cameraman backed up to get the shot.
They sat. “I’m leaving. I can’t do this Kat.” He took her hand. “It just isn’t right for me, and I’m hoping you feel it too.”
Kat felt like she’d been slapped in the face, even though she knew he was right.
He bit his lips together while gathering his words. “We have differences that I just can’t get over. I think you’re amazing, but I can’t propose to you.”
Rejection was staring her in the face, and that hurt but she had to remind herself that she was just about to reject him. She took a deep breath, and smiled sympathetically. “I understand, Colton. I think the world of you. You need to get back to your Bug.” She didn’t want to tell him he’d be doing that anyhow.
He nodded. “I’m not sure I’m ready for another wife. As much as I think Bug needs a mamma.” He shook his head.
She took his hands in hers. “We’ve had fun, haven’t we? You’re a good guy Colton, and when you are ready, you’ll know it.”
“I’m sorry to do this now.” He looked around the room. “… but I did a lot of soul searching last night and this is what I woke up with.”
“I understand.”
When he left the room, Kat’s eyes widened and she smiled at Mary. “Ben!”
“Was he your choice today?” Mary smiled tentatively.
Kat nodded. “I am totally head over heels in love with that man. Bring him on!” Kat twirled around in her dress, as the hairstylist frowned at her and motioned for her to stop.
The setting at the beach was perfect. Kat positioned herself between two low palm trees on the stage they’d set up. The ocean pounded on the rocks in the background, and beyond that the sun crept towards the horizon. God, she hoped Ben wouldn’t leave her standing here at the end of this thing. Her feelings for him were so much more than her feelings for Liam had been when she stood on a similar stage in Tahiti six months earlier. At least today, she’d been spared the agony of letting Colton go. Before this, she’d done an interview on camera about how upsetting it was to see him go. They let her add that Colton was right about something just not working in their relationship. She didn’t want anyone, mostly Ben, thinking that she’d just decided today who would to choose. She’d known for a week, maybe two, deep in her heart, but had wanted to leave options open in case anything changed as she got to know each man better.
When Ben’s smiling face came around the corner of the golf clubhouse, Kat was deliriously happy he was still here. Thank God! Dressed in a black suit, white shirt and a striped tie, Ben was all class. He looked good enough to eat and when she remembered she’d seen him naked, at his most vulnerable, a jolt shot through her like electricity. Ben was a beautiful man. Stunning to look at, but also such a sweet person. Oh God, when she told him she was in love with him, would he say the words too?
“Hi Handsome.”
They hugged and he whispered into her hair. “You look so pretty, Kitty Kat. Please tell me I’m not going home without you.” They drew back, joined hands, and faced each other, as instructed by the director earlier.
She wanted to blurt it all out, even though she’d rehearsed the speech with a production assistant earlier and was supposed to synopsize their relationship from the first moment they met. “Oh Ben. You sweet man.” She didn’t know she could smile this big and hoped that Ben took that as a good sign. “The night we met, I knew you were someone special when we shared a moment out by the pool.”
He smiled.
“And as the days went by, I became more and more interested in you. You watched from the sidelines, waited patiently, and whenever we had time together, things between us got more interesting. To tell the truth,” she laughed, “you seemed too good to be true.”
He grinned.
“And, in Maui, things changed between us. I realized that I had feelings for you that weren’t like the others. And then in Taiwan. You showed me with every new experience and every day that you are someone special. Someone honest, caring and a person I admire. That foot rub in Taiwan put you in whole different category.”
He smiled sweetly and squeezed her hand. He knew what she meant about coming to her room to make her feel better when she’d been frustrated in Taiwan.
“And then on hometowns, and meeting my family, I felt like I was your girl and that felt right. My mother told me to imagine who I couldn’t imagine life without and that would be you. I’ve fallen in love with you, Ben, and I’m really hoping that you feel the same.”
He squeezed her hands and finally smiled. “I’m there, Baby. You know I love you too.” He took her in his arms, lifted her off the ground, spun her around, and kissed her neck. “I love you Kat,” he whispered. “Are you ready for your proposal?” he set her down and dropping to one knee, reached inside his coat pocket.
She gasped, not expecting this from him. He said he wouldn’t do this at the end. Hadn’t he?
Katherine Grace Houston, I love you with all my heart and can’t imagine life without you. Since we met, I’ve felt like the man I always wanted to be. And I want to spend the rest of my life with you. Wi
th us. Will you marry me?” He opened the top of the Neil Lane box to present the ring, but by that time she was pulling him up, into her arms, tears pooling in her eyes.
“Yes. I will. I do. Yes!”
He put the ring on her finger and she didn’t even look at it, only gazed into his sweet face. Sweeping her up in his arms, Ben kissed her passionately. “We are going to be so happy,” he whispered to only her.
Kat couldn’t stop smiling. She didn’t see the cameras, didn’t care, and later when she watched this moment from the couch backstage at ABC, she and Ben laughed. “Look,” she said to him beside her. “I haven’t even glanced at this gorgeous ring.” She held up her hand where the ring lived, now joined by a simple band. They watched the final few moments of the show and waited for their final interview with Crane to show off their happiness to America on national television. And to tell them they hadn’t waited to be married.
“Are you ready to go out there without me, Mrs. Ben Workman?”
It sounded wonderful to be called that, even though she’d kept her own last name for professional purposes. “Honey, I never want to go anywhere without you again, after this.”
He kissed her tenderly. “Soon we will be a normal couple, fade into obscurity, go out to dinner, get married, make babies.”
They’d made a pact that once they were finished with this last show, neither wanted to ever be seen on the cover of a magazine, do another interview for TV, or have a wedding that would be broadcast all over America. And that was only one reason why they’d tied the knot secretly with only families attending, a week earlier. They didn’t want to leave themselves vulnerable to all the speculation and media attention during a long engagement. Both agreed, it was best to go straight to marriage and obscurity. Kat was looking forward to settling down to paint, travel with her new husband and be the love of Ben’s life. “No more TV,” she said.
