by Wren Mingua
"He's not your type," Kyle repeated with a chuckle. "How old is he?"
"What does it matter?!" Ben spoke up for himself. "The fact of the matter is... I like Zoe, she likes me, and I would never cheat on her. And she obviously doesn't want to see you, so if you would let us go into our flat..."
Zoe winced. Our flat. Did he really have to say it like that? She knew that was going to raise some questions.
"Wait a second... are you living with him?!" Kyle shrieked. "I thought you said it wasn't serious?"
"It's not what it looks like," Zoe said. "I needed a place to stay, and Ben gave me a place. My mom didn't tell you about that?"
"No." Kyle crossed his arms over his chest, an intimidating gesture for a man of his size. "So you're just living with some random British boy? And notice my emphasis on the word boy."
"He's not just some random British boy." Zoe glanced in Ben's direction as she defended him. "I really like him."
Kyle's puppy dog eyes were back, determined to disarm her. "What about me? You haven't thought about me?"
"Of course I've thought about you..."
"You haven't missed me?"
"I--"
Before she could reply, Kyle scooped her into his arms and pulled her against his chest. He nuzzled his face against her hair and took a deep breath. "Zoe, I've missed you so much."
When Zoe didn't pull away from Kyle right away, Ben glanced away and started scratching his head in frustration. He couldn't stand to see her cozying up to another man. "Zoe... let's just go into the flat. You can deal with him later."
Kyle took Zoe's face in his hands, caressing her cheeks. Her body sagged in his direction, as if he had melted her. "Kyle..." she whispered his name.
"I love you," Kyle said. "I love you so, so much. You're all I've been able to think about. Ever since you left, I haven't been seeing anyone." He brushed a thumb across her lips. "You're all I want."
"Okay, that's enough!" Ben exclaimed. He grabbed Zoe's arm and tried to drag her away, but Kyle held tight, and Zoe seemed to have molded against him.
"Kyle..."
"Zoe... come back with me," Kyle begged her. "I don't know why you ended up staying with this guy, but I'm sure you had a reason. I'm staying at a hotel in London... will you come with me?"
Zoe glanced over her shoulder, trying to find Ben. But he had walked several paces away, clutching his hair in despair. "I don't know, Kyle..."
"Please. I'll get down on my hands and knees if I have to." He pulled her fingers to his lips and kissed them several times. "I need you. You can't imagine how guilty I feel... how sorry I am. I have so many regrets. The only way I can forgive myself is if I can get you to forgive me. I'd do anything to get you to forgive me... to be with me again."
Zoe could feel her knees buckling, weakened by the passion in Kyle's voice. He always had that affect on her.
When Ben returned, she thought she could see tears in his eyes--which had just as much of an affect on her as Kyle's ardor. "Zoe... don't go."
"I'm staying at the Savoy. I think you'll like it... it's really nice," Kyle said. "If you're not comfortable sharing a room, I'll book another one for you. I just want to know where you are. I want to know you're close to me."
Zoe squinted her eyes, trying to block out both of their voices. She was being pulled in opposite directions--with equal force. She couldn't remember a time in her life when she had felt more conflicted.
Finally, she turned to Ben and said, "I'm sorry."
"You're sorry. What does that mean? You're choosing him over me?!"
"I'm sorry..." she repeated, because there was no good explanation for her choice. "I should go."
A moan slipped through Ben's lips. "Noo. Zoe, please. He shows up, and just like that, you abandon me? Please don't do this!"
"It's not like I'm abandoning you, Ben! I'm just going someplace where I'm more comfortable," she tried to explain.
"And you'd be more comfortable in some hotel than with me?" Ben's eyes, fiery with fury, were fastened on Kyle. "Or... it's him, isn't it? You'd feel more comfortable with him?"
"Ben..."
"Just like that, you're finishing with me." Ben pursed his lips and shook his head. He looked furious, but she could see the hurt in his eyes. "That's really unbelievable."
"Ben, please don't be mad."
"I'll be crushed, you know. Crushed." Ben pinched the bridge of his nose, pinching away tears. “You're really okay with crushing my heart?"
"I'm not choosing him over you. I just don't want to be a burden..."
"WHY do you think you'd be a burden on me? You'd really believe that, after all this time?" Ben turned away from them and gave them a dismissive flick of the hand. "Just go. It's fine. You've obviously made your decision."
When Kyle started kissing her on the head, Zoe was glad Ben wasn't facing their direction. "Ben... please don't be mad. We'll be in contact."
"Yeah. We'll be in contact. That sounds warm and fuzzy, doesn't it? Like a proper business arrangement." Ben started heading toward the flat, away from the reunited couple. "Goodbye."
"Ben! Wait!"
"Zoe..." Kyle gave her shoulder a gentle squeeze. "Don't worry about him. Let's just go..."
"But--"
"Come on, sweetheart." Kyle slid an arm around her waist and led her away. "There's a lot we need to talk about."
Zoe looked over her shoulder, trying to catch another glimpse of Ben. She hoped Ben would turn around, that he would see the silent plea in her eyes before they parted ways.
But he never looked back.
Chapter Twenty Four
Excerpt from Zoe's blog--
Wow. I just realized something.
If my fiance never cheated on me, I would have been a married woman by now!
Kyle purchased Zoe her own room at the Savoy. She felt a bit guilty about that, since it looked like an extremely expensive hotel. But for some reason, she felt more comfortable taking advantage of Kyle's kindness. Maybe she felt that way because they had known each other for so long?
Though she had her own room, Kyle didn't stay away too long. Twenty minutes after checking into the hotel, he was knocking on her door. As soon as she opened the door, Kyle held out an enormous bouquet of roses, quite possibly the biggest and most impressive floral arrangement she had ever seen.
When Zoe took the flowers, all she could say was, "wow..."
"Do you like them?"
"I do. They're really nice."
"I brought you a vase too." Kyle pulled out an ornate, oblong vase from behind his back. "I thought they might last longer."
"Thanks." Zoe went to fill the vase and tend to the flowers. When she returned, Kyle was sitting in a chair in a distant corner of the room.
"I really have missed you, you know," he said.
"I've missed you too."
"Have you?" Kyle leaned back in the chair and crossed his left foot over his right knee. "It looks like it didn't take you too long to hook up with someone else."
"We didn't hook up."
"Really? You were living with him. He looked pretty gutted when you left," Kyle observed. "And how old is he, anyway? He looked pretty young."
Zoe fidgeted with the roses as she gave her answer. "Twenty three."
"Twenty three?! Seriously? So he's, like... nine years younger than you. Thirteen years younger than me. Wow." Kyle's eyebrows raised, etching a few deep wrinkles across his forehead, which was a blight on his handsome face. "I thought you didn't like younger guys. You were always very adamant about that."
"Ben is sweet."
"Is he?"
"He is," Zoe insisted. "He's really been taking care of me these last few days."
Kyle snickered a bit. Under his breath, he whispered, "I bet he is..."
He hadn't expected Zoe to hear him, but she did. "Kyle!"
"I'm sorry!"
"I know what you're thinking, but it wasn't like that! We weren't having sex or anything like that," Zoe said. "And
even if we were, it wouldn't be any of your business."
Clinkle clinkle.
She had an incoming text. Zoe ran to her purse and pulled out her phone. The message from Ben made her heart skip a beat.
To Zoe: you're making me cry, you know
Was he serious? Zoe tried to picture Ben with tears rolling down his cheeks, but it didn't seem right. He was too strong, self-assured and confident to succumb to crying.
"Is that from him?" Kyle asked, pointing at her phone. "The twenty-three-year-old?" When Zoe didn't respond right away, he assumed he was correct. "He's probably begging you to come back to him."
"It's really none of your business, Kyle."
"If he's anything like me, he didn't realize what he had until you were gone." Kyle ran to Zoe's side and knelt beside her feet. "I know I lost the best thing I ever had. You mean everything to me, Zoe. I wanted to spend the rest of my life with you."
"Kyle... you don't have to grovel."
"But I do!" Kyle exclaimed. "I know it's not going to be easy to win your forgiveness, but I'll do everything in my power to get you to give me a second chance."
When Zoe sat at the end of the bed, Kyle immediately laid his head in her lap. "Well, you came all the way to England. I guess that's a start." Sensing his need for reassurance, she gave his hair a few gentle strokes. "You're not seeing Cynthia, are you?"
"Of course not!" Kyle pouted at her. "You think I'd come all this way if I was still with her? You are the one I want... and I'm more certain of that than ever."
Zoe started texting Ben. Kyle, who was still sitting at her feet, tried to sneak a peek at her phone.
"What are you saying to him?" Kyle asked.
"Kyle... what did I tell you?" Zoe sighed. "It's--"
"None of my business, I know." Kyle scraped himself off the ground and retreated to his chair. "It's just that... it kills me to think you've been spending time with some other guy! Do you really like him?"
To Ben: Are you really crying, or is that an exaggeration? You aren't mad at me, are you?
"Zoe!" Kyle shouted her name, hoping to steal her attention away from her phone. "Do you like him?"
"I do."
"Do you like me?" Kyle asked. "Or have you totally fallen out of love with me?"
Zoe laid on the bed and held the phone over her face, awaiting Ben's reply. "Of course I still have feelings for you, Kyle..."
"Then let's go out. Do you want to go out? I'm getting stir crazy in this hotel. Let's go get some coffee or something."
"Or tea," Zoe added. "I find I have a new fondness for tea." She heard Kyle chuckling, so she had to ask, "What's so funny?"
"You!" he exclaimed. "You sounded British just then."
"Did I?"
"You did!" Kyle exclaimed. "You run away to England for a month, and you're already picking up on the accent."
"Am I??" If Zoe had picked up on some of their inflections, she had failed to notice. "Anyway, do you want to go out for tea or what?"
"Sure."
Zoe grabbed her purse, headed for the door, and motioned for Kyle to come with her. "I can show you the proper way to make tea."
When Kyle met her at the door, he took her by the hand. In his best attempt at a British accent--which was a really poor attempt--Kyle said, "I'm quite certain you can, Miss Zoe."
* * *
Two hours, two scones, and one teapot later, Zoe had yet to receive a reply from Ben. Even though she would have heard an incoming text, she kept checking her phone every few minutes, hoping to hear from him.
Nothing.
"So..." Kyle poured himself another cup of tea. "Are you going to be spending the night with me tonight?"
"In your bed?!" If he told her aliens walked through the door, she wouldn't have looked more shocked. "Are you serious? No!"
"Well, you can't blame me for trying."
Zoe couldn't stop herself: she needed to send Ben another text. She didn't want to look desperate, but she was dying to hear from him.
To Ben: Well, you MUST be mad, because you're not writing back. I really want to hear from you, so please reply!
"Who are you texting now?" Kyle asked. "That guy again?"
"No," Zoe lied. "I made some other friends since I've been here."
"Oh yeah? What are their names?"
Kyle had always been the nosy sort, but he was really outdoing himself today. "Chris. James. Jordan..." Though they weren't quite what she would call friends, she liked to make herself sound popular.
"Jesus... are they all guys?!" Kyle gasped. "Those sound like guy names!"
"They are."
"So should I assume one of these guys will be my eventual replacement, or do I still have hope?"
"Chris is the little boy I looked after when I was working as a nanny," Zoe said with a chuckle. "I'm assuming my mom told you about that?"
"Yeah... she did."
"Which is why I'm shocked she didn't tell you I was living with Ben..." Zoe grabbed a third scone and slathered it with clotted cream. She knew she was probably killing herself with the consumption of so many sweet treats, but it was the least of her concerns.
"So you won't come to my room tonight..." Kyle said with a sigh. "Will you at least go out to dinner with me tomorrow?"
"I don't see why not."
"We can go somewhere nice. Someplace where we'll need reservations."
"I don't know about that. I wouldn't have anything to wear." She gobbled a third of her scone in a single bite. After she swallowed, she added, "I left most of my clothes at the Eastham's."
"The Eastham's?"
"I was working for the Easthams... as their nanny," she explained. "Ben is an Eastham."
Speaking of Ben, Zoe decided to send him yet another text.
To Ben: I really miss you. Why won't you write to me? Can I come see you soon? What are you doing tomorrow?
"So were you Ben's nanny too?" Kyle asked with a snort. "He's practically young enough."
"Kyle! Don't be an ass!"
"Sorry!"
"You have no right to get on my case, because you're the one who cheated on me with your ex-girlfriend!" With a sneer, she added, "maybe you should chase after her instead?"
To Ben: :(
* * *
When Ben pulled into the driveway, he was finally able to check Zoe's texts. All four of them. He parked the Vespa and unzipped his phone from the pocket of his jacket.
To Zoe: sorry, couldnt reply, I was traveling. to answer your questions, no, i'm not mad at u. 'devastated' is more like it. and yes i cried REAL tears after u left. :(
So he wouldn't look pitiful, he sent her another text right away.
To Zoe: only 2 tears tho.
To Ben: Aww, so I'm only worth two tears? You suck! When can I see you again?
Ben held the phone against his forehead, as if doing so would somehow help him string together a passionate sentence. There were a million questions swimming in his head, but he didn't know where to start. Was she with Kyle right now? Was she choosing Kyle? Did he have any hope whatsoever? He was imagining all sorts of things in his mind, each image more painful than the next.
To Zoe: sweetheart, you can come see me whenever you want. you know i would never turn u away.
He waited a few seconds, then sent another text. Ben knew it was an inappropriate question, but his curiosity was too much to bear.
To Zoe: you're not having sex with him, are you?
To Ben: NO I'm not having sex with him!!! Are you serious?!
To Zoe: sorry. its just that the thought of you w him is destroying my heart. :( i will be busy 4 a lil while & won't be able to respond. i will write later.
Ben turned off his phone and returned it to his pocket. Then he headed in the direction of the house.
His brother's house.
Chapter Twenty Five
Excerpt from Zoe's blog--
Someone just told me Buckingham Palace was built on the site of a brothel. Do you think the ghosts of pros
titutes are hanging out in the queen's bedroom?
"LEWIS!" Ben pounded on the door a third time. "Lewis, answer the door!"
Finally, he heard his brother's response from the other side. "Ben, go away! You're not welcome here!"
"Yeah? Well I'm not leaving until you face me!" Ben slammed his fist against the door as hard as he could. "Open the door!"
"Bugger off!"
"OPEN THE DOOR!"
"No! You're mental!"
"I just want to talk to you!"
"You expect me to believe that?!" Lewis shouted through the door. "I know why you're here!"
"Oh? And why am I here?" When Lewis didn't respond right away, Ben asked, "What would mum think... if she knew you wouldn't talk to your own brother?!"
After a long pause, Lewis squeaked, "if I open the door, you promise not to hit me?"
"Of course I'm not going to hit you!"
A few seconds later, the door opened about an inch. Not one to miss his opportunity, Ben shoved open the door and forced his way into the house. As soon as he was inside, his fist connected with Lewis' jaw.
"Ow!" the older brother whined. "You lied!"
Ben grabbed Lewis by the scruff of his shirt and slammed him against the wall. "What did you do to Zoe?!"
"What do you mean?!"
"I want to hear it from you!" Ben kept his brother pinned to the wall. Lewis tried to break free, and while he wasn't a small man, he lacked his younger brother's strength and fury. "Tell me what you did to her!"
"I didn't do anything!"
"Don't lie to me!" He pulled Lewis forward and slammed him against the wall again. "I saw the bruises. Tell me!"
"Bruises?" Lewis raised an eyebrow. "She has bruises? I didn't think I--"
"You didn't think you what?!"
"Benjamin, let go! I can't talk to you when you're screaming in my face!"
Ben released his brother's collar and raked a hand through his hair. He stayed close to Lewis, ready to stop him if he tried to flee. "You have some explaining to do."
"Do I?" Lewis smoothed his hands over his shirt, trying to reclaim his lost dignity.
