With Darcy’s hand still in hers, Martha gave her a patient smile. “They are concerned about you. They want you to find a man who is worthy of you.”
“Um, no. They are trying to control me and my life because they all think they know what’s best. Ben is—”
“Ben is wonderful, and they’re not going to find fault with him,” Martha interrupted, and when Darcy looked at her quizzically, she added, “We talked to Riley and Savannah. Based on what they said to your father, I can’t imagine anyone in there having an issue with Ben.”
“Oh, well then, why are they doing this, again? Why couldn’t we come in and sit like normal people?”
“They’re curious. You haven’t brought a boy home in ages.”
That made Darcy laugh. “Ben’s not a boy.”
“No, he’s not. He’s a fine-looking man.”
“Martha!” Darcy cried and then started to giggle.
“What? I know I’m old enough to be his mother—his young mother,” she added. “I can still appreciate an attractive man.”
“I cannot believe we’re having this conversation.” Darcy felt herself blushing and wanted to crawl under the table and hide.
“Oh, stop. I think all your brothers are very attractive, and don’t even get me started on Bobby Hannigan! He grew up to be a very sexy man too.”
“Oh my God! Please don’t ever say that again!” Darcy giggled.
“What? You can’t tell me that seeing that man in uniform isn’t reason enough to speed down Main Street. You have no idea how many of the girls who work for me have said the same thing. There was a city-wide moment of silence when Bobby moved away.”
Darcy shook her head. “Bobby’s cute, but he’s not all that. And please don’t let him hear you talking about him like that or you’ll inflate his already overinflated ego.”
“Oh, I don’t think he’s like that.”
“They’re all like that,” Darcy countered. “Trust me. I saw it with my brothers.”
They shared a smile, and right then and there, Darcy felt a bond. Like they were sharing an important moment.
Looking at the clock on the wall, Martha turned to Darcy. “I think we gave them a solid ten minutes. Let’s go join them and save Ben from any more grilling.”
Darcy considered that for a minute and replied, “Nah. Let’s give them another five. It’s what he planned on.”
Martha’s smile grew. “How about you and I find a place for these pies and then get the potatoes started?”
It felt good to be working together on preparing the meal, she thought. “That sounds great!”
* * *
As far as interrogations went, the Shaughnessys could probably work with the FBI or the CIA. There was a minute or two where Ben seriously started to sweat.
Over the past ten minutes, he’d been asked everything from where he was born to how much he made per year and where he saw his career in five years.
“Darcy lives here, near her family,” Aidan, Darcy’s oldest brother, was saying. “And you’re all the way in Washington state. Don’t you think that’s a little too long-distance for a relationship?”
He did. But he had no doubt they’d find a workable solution for them both. His genuine hope was that she’d come to Washington to live with him.
“Darcy’s not sure where she wants to be right now or where her career might take her,” Ben said casually. “Geography isn’t currently on our side, but it’s not so great of an obstacle that we’re going to let it define our relationship.”
Aidan didn’t look quite so convinced. “She has a job here.”
Ben nodded. “One that she knows isn’t permanent and that you offered to her as a way to fill her time until she found something that she wants to do. I think she’s on her way to figuring that out, but that’s her story to tell and not mine.”
“And yet you went and brought it up,” Hugh, the resort owner, commented.
Man, these guys were tough. It was like Ben couldn’t catch a break. He would have thought for sure they would have been impressed with him not pressuring Darcy to move closer to him, and somehow, they weren’t.
“It was pertinent information,” he countered. “This whole Q and A thing we have going on right now deals specifically with the two of us.”
“More so with you,” Hugh replied.
Ben shrugged. “That may well be, but ultimately, it’s about me and Darcy.” He sighed and straightened in his chair, looking at each of them as he scanned the room. “Look, I never had a sister. I have two brothers. But I can respect how you’re all looking out for Darcy. I’m not some irresponsible guy. I’m a grown man with a good career, I own my own home, and I have a healthy savings account and retirement account. I helped put both of my brothers through college after our parents died, but more than any of that, I love your sister.”
You could have heard a pin drop.
He looked at them all levelly again. “I am in love with your sister. Her happiness means the world to me. You all don’t have to like me. I’m fine with that, because right now, I’m not feeling too kindly toward some of you,” he said honestly. “But what we all have in common is that we love Darcy.”
And then suddenly, there she was beside him. Sitting and taking one of his hands in hers and kissing him on the cheek. Then she looked at her family as she relaxed against him and began to speak.
“Okay, the interview portion of our Thanksgiving is now officially over. For the rest of the day, if you’d like to talk to Ben, you’ll have to talk to me too. And I think you should all think hard before you do, because while Ben was gracious enough to sit here and answer all your ridiculous questions, I’m not going to be quite so accommodating. So choose your words wisely.”
And although her tone was firm, her smile never faltered, and he was beyond impressed with his girl. Unable to help himself, he placed a kiss on her temple and faced the family again.
If there had been a cue, he missed it, but everyone stood and started talking to one another at once. He was taken aback by the abrupt change, but Darcy turned to him and explained.
“Sometimes they need to be reminded of their manners,” she said softly. “And for what it’s worth, you were brilliant.”
“I don’t know about that. I almost wish I had brought another shirt with me. I’m pretty sure I sweated through this one.”
She laughed as she stood and tugged him to his feet.
Hugh and Aubrey walked over first. “I have a question,” Aubrey said with a sassy grin.
“If it’s about bank accounts or history of heart disease in his family, you’re out of luck,” Darcy teased, and they all laughed.
“No, but I’m almost sorry I didn’t think of that sooner!” Aubrey said with another quick laugh. “I was kind of wondering if you do things like tree houses. Custom tree houses.”
Interesting, Ben thought. “You know, I’ve read a lot about them, and I know there are companies out there who do them, but no one’s ever approached me about one before. I think that could be fascinating to try.”
“Well, if you ever want to do a test run, we would be more than happy to serve as the guinea pigs. Our little boy Connor would love one.”
“He’s five,” Hugh added.
Ben considered them both for a moment. “Tell you what, why don’t the two of you work on making up a list of things you’d like to see in a tree house, and after Christmas, I’ll try to sketch it. That’s probably the soonest I could get to it.”
“That sounds perfect. And it wouldn’t be a huge rush,” Aubrey commented. “If anything, maybe something for next Christmas?”
Ben nodded. “If I can figure out how to do it, I’ll make it happen.” Then he paused. “Oh, and if you could send me some pictures of your yard and the tree you want it in or the spot in the yard you want it—if you decide to go with
a clubhouse sort of thing—that would be great.”
“I know I’d feel better with a clubhouse on the ground,” Aubrey said as she looked at Hugh.
He immediately shook his head. “A boy should have a tree house. Hell, he loves to climb everything now. Think how excited he’d be to have his own fort up in a tree!”
Aubrey didn’t look too convinced, but Ben didn’t have time to hear any more of their discussion, because as soon as they stepped away, Quinn and Anna walked over.
“Hi, I’m Anna. I figured you got hit with a lot of names when you first came in, so I wanted to reintroduce myself and my husband, Quinn.” She turned and frowned at Quinn. “And I wanted to talk to you about your work.”
He was noticing a pattern here.
“I own a pub in town, and I want to make some changes. It’s been there forever and is due for a facelift. I always wanted a custom bar. Do you do anything like that?”
Before Ben could answer, Darcy started bragging about the furniture he had in his house. She and Anna stepped to the side, and that’s when Quinn moved in.
Great.
For a minute, it was like a standoff, and Ben felt that if he blinked first, this was the brother who would pounce all over him. So he waited.
“So,” Quinn began after a moment, “you’re seriously in love with my sister?”
Standing a little straighter, Ben nodded. “I am.”
“You realize how this will end for you if you hurt her, right?”
Another nod. “I do.”
Quinn studied him before giving a curt nod. “Do you know anything about this bar Anna mentioned?”
And that was pretty much how the rest of the day went.
* * *
The next day, Ben glanced at the kitchen clock and tried not to be annoyed.
Eight hours.
Darcy had been gone—shopping!—for eight hours!
He tried not to let it bother him. After all, this was some kind of family tradition. But he’d been hoping they’d spend that time together.
Throwing out the remnants of his lunch, he decided to see what was on the TV to kill some time. Just as he got comfortable and found a home improvement show to watch, he heard the front door open. He instantly got to his feet and went to meet her at the door.
And was tackled to the ground.
“Oof,” he grunted as his back hit the floor. Darcy was straddling him and laughing as she kissed his face. Ben’s hands immediately went to her ass to hold her still, but he soon found himself laughing with her. After a minute, he moved his hands to put some space between them. “Quite the greeting.”
Her smile was dazzling. “Did you miss me?”
“Hell yeah,” he replied, smiling back at her. “But maybe next time we can skip the surprise throwdown. I’m not as young as I used to be.”
That started her laughing again. “Sorry,” she said as she moved off of him and climbed to her feet. “I just felt like I was never going to get home, and once I was through the door, I just couldn’t wait to touch you.”
Ben stood up and stretched before hauling her into his arms and kissing her properly. When they broke apart, he noticed that the front door was still open, and there were about a dozen packages strewn around the floor. “I take it you were successful?”
“Oh yeah,” she said, stepping away and making her way around to pick up the bags and shut the door. “I still have a few more things to get, but overall, it was a good trip.” She stripped off her coat and kicked off her sneakers.
“I’m curious,” he said, sitting back down on the couch. “How is it possible to shop for eight hours?”
Giggling, she sat down beside him and put her head on his shoulder. “We didn’t shop the entire time. There was drive time, coffee breaks, and then lunch.”
“Oh, well, that makes it much better. So seven hours of shopping?”
Darcy playfully swatted at his arm. Then she sighed against him, snuggling close. “I’m sorry I was gone so long.”
He kissed the top of her head. “Quite all right. I can’t buck tradition. Plus, I’ve heard how this is the best day to do Christmas shopping, so who am I to say no?”
“That’s very kind of you,” she teased.
He sighed dramatically. “It was very lonely here, but I guess it’s okay, since I’m sure I’m going to benefit from some of that shopping.”
Beside him, he felt Darcy go still.
Pulling back, he looked at her. “Seriously? There are a ton of bags there and nothing in them is for me?” He did his best to look appalled. “And here I was, all by myself, eating a sad peanut butter sandwich and imagining you buying something for me. You know, since I got left behind today.”
Rolling her eyes, Darcy sat up and straddled his lap. “Okay, okay, okay.” She sighed. “And there is no way you had a sad peanut butter sandwich for lunch. There isn’t any peanut butter here. All the food is top-notch, so don’t even try to play that card.” He knew she was trying to sound firm, but her lips were twitching.
“Okay, fine. It wasn’t a sad sandwich. But it was still me here all by myself. Missing you.”
“Poor baby,” she cooed as she leaned down and kissed him slowly, leisurely, on the lips. “Lucky for you that I have no plans for the rest of the day, so I’m all yours.”
He definitely liked the sound of that.
She pulled back and smiled at him. “I told everyone to leave us alone until dinner tomorrow night. So not only am I all yours for the rest of the day but a good portion of tomorrow, too.”
He liked the sound of that even more.
“I’ve had an awful lot of time to think about what I’d do if I had you all to myself again,” he said, trying to be serious.
“You have, huh? Can I guess what you were thinking?”
Unable to help himself, he laughed. “Sure. Go ahead.”
Wiggling in his lap, she looked like she was giving this a lot of thought. “You were thinking that you’d like to…play a board game.”
He shook his head. “Nope. Try again.”
“Hmm, you want us to…go sightseeing.”
Ben’s eyes went a little wide. “Sightseeing? Why?”
Darcy gave him a curious look. “This is your first time to North Carolina, and all you’ve seen is my brother’s apartment and my dad’s house. Not very exciting.”
“I don’t know about that. This apartment has provided plenty of excitement,” he said, waggling his eyebrows at her. “However, I think I’ll pass on the sightseeing,” he began and immediately noticed the disappointment on her face. “But I’d love to take you out to dinner later.”
Her smile was back, and it grew as she crawled off his lap and walked over to her pile of shopping bags. She picked up a small one before walking over and taking him by the hand.
“Where are we going?” he asked coyly.
“I’ve also been thinking about what I’d do if I had you all to myself,” she said with a sassy wink. She shook the small shopping bag at him. “And part of it involves modeling the lingerie in this bag.”
And as he let her lead him to the bed, he couldn’t help but marvel at how much they thought alike.
* * *
“This is the part I hate.”
“Me too.”
“Can’t you…I mean, is there any way—”
“Darce, I have to go home. I’ve got things that I have to do and take care of before we go to New York. And besides, it’s only a week.”
She sighed and kept her eyes on the road. “It’s still going to feel like forever.”
“I know,” he said quietly.
They drove on toward the airport in silence. It wasn’t as if this was a surprise—they’d known Ben had to leave on Sunday, and Darcy swore she was going to be okay with it.
But she wasn’t.
They hadn’t talked about their geographical challenges. There hadn’t been a good time to bring it up. After she had dragged him to bed on Friday, they’d spent the afternoon consumed with each other. Then Ben had surprised her by insisting that they go someplace romantic for dinner. She had planned on casual, but it was nice to dress up a bit and experience a real date with him.
And what a date it was!
Dinner, dancing, a romantic—albeit chilly—walk on the beach under the moonlight. They’d ordered dessert to go, and back at the apartment, they had spent hours sitting on the couch talking about everything and nothing at all while feeding each other cake.
Looking back, Darcy realized that might have been the perfect opportunity to bring up where they saw themselves going from here, but hindsight and all…
“You’re quiet,” he said, turning to look at her.
She shrugged. “Just thinking.”
He nodded. “I’ve come to discover that when you stay quiet for too long, it’s not always a good thing.” He chuckled, and she knew he was trying to lighten the mood, but she wasn’t feeling it.
“So, um, what else do you need to do before you go? You know, to get ready?”
“I’ve got calls to make on some upcoming commissions and some general stuff around the house. Nothing major.”
“You could do that all from here, you know,” she said carefully. “You have access to your emails, so you have the contact information for your clients. We can buy you more clothes if you need them for New York. You could totally stay and—”
Ben reached over and took one of her hands in his. “We talked about this. Believe me, no one hates all this traveling more than me, but it’s the way it is for right now. It’s only a week, and then we’ll have all that time together. It will be like a vacation for us both.”
She sighed. “I know.”
“What are you looking forward to seeing the most while we’re in the city?” he asked.
“You.”
He laughed softly. “Oh, come on. I’ve never been to New York City before. I know there are a ton of things I want to see and do while we’re there.”
Holiday Spice Page 21
