Winning Ben

by JoMarie DeGioia

  Her mother waved a hand, flashing the familiar wedding ring set on her left hand. Tammy smiled at the memory those rings brought back to her. They sure could sting when you earned a swat on the butt, all right.

  “Anything you think to do is fine with me, sweetheart,” her mother said.

  “Maybe shopping up in Orlando?”

  “That sounds good. Are you seeing anyone?”

  Tammy almost missed the stop sign on that swift change of subject. Making a show of waiting to drive forward, she let the silence stretch thin.

  “Tamara, are you seeing anyone?” her mother asked again.

  Tammy shook her head. “No one serious,” was all she would answer.

  Her belly twisted. She was serious about Ben, in a way. He was the only guy she wanted and she thought about him both in and out of bed. He was fun and gorgeous and such a good guy. A real Chapman, which she found both attractive and terrifying.

  “Then you are seeing someone,” her mother stated with a nod. “Good. He’ll come to dinner tomorrow night.”

  Tammy knew that arguing would be futile. Rosa Donato didn’t give an inch. She nodded, hopefully setting the entire discussion aside.

  She soon steered into the entrance of Cypress Corners. A long drive bracketed by white ranch fencing and tall leafy trees led them into the center of town. The look of the place never failed to please her. She’d lived here for nearly five years, and still hadn’t grown tired of it. It was quaint and pretty and felt like home.

  “The trees have gotten so tall,” her mother said.

  Tammy flicked her eyes upward as she stopped at the sign in front of the Sales Center. “I guess they have. It’s hard to tell when you walk under them every day.”

  Continuing on to the townhouse, she waved hello to a few of her neighbors out in the late September afternoon. Twilight was coming, and the sky was taking on that purple cast she loved.

  “Look at you,” her mother said. “You feel at home here.”

  “I really do.” Tammy sounded surprised even to her own ears. “It’s my home.”

  “It’s a nice place, Tamara. I’d prefer you someplace near your father and me, but I understand why you like it here.”

  Tammy clicked the garage open and parked the car, and then faced her mother. “Wow. That’s the first time you’ve said that.”

  Her mother smiled. “I might be stubborn but I’m not blind. Besides, maybe this ‘no one serious’ might become Mister Right.”

  Ben was right. All kinds of right, but not what she wanted. Again, she felt like she was lying to herself. She was getting too comfortable having him around, and that could only be trouble.

  “Come on inside, Mom.” She and her mother and the bright pink polka-dot suitcase went on into the house. “How about I order us a pizza for dinner?”

  Her mother’s eyes went round. “Pizza? In Florida?”

  Tammy laughed. “The guy who makes the pies at the tavern is from New York. It’s pretty close to what you’d expect.”

  The woman didn’t look convinced, but she nodded anyway. “All right, then.”

  Tammy ordered the pizza and helped her mother get settled in the spare bedroom upstairs. Dinner would be good. She had no worries about that. The conversation, though? There was no way her mother would drop the subject of men and dating. And now she had to invite Ben to dinner.

  What would he think, coming to dinner to meet her mother? She just hoped he didn’t jump to the conclusion that she was pushing for anything more than what they had going right now. That would lead to drama and, possibly, the end.

  She so wasn’t ready for this to be over.

  ***

  Ben sat on the terrace of the inn on Sunday morning, much like he had on his very first Sunday morning in Cypress Corners. And like that first Sunday morning? He’d woken up alone. It sucked.

  Tammy’s mother was visiting. He’d never been the kind of guy a woman brings home to mom. That’s for sure. Not that mothers didn’t love him. They did. Not in a cougar kind of way but a “I have just the girl for you” way.

  Clients were always inviting him to their homes after they moved into the house he’d designed for them. Their families were always there, celebrating and warming the houses. He’d endured a few fix-ups on those occasions, too. Sprung on him out of nowhere. He never encouraged it and never saw the women in question again no matter how attractive they might have been. It was too messy to get involved, even for one night, with someone connected to a client. Hell, getting involved at all could be a major pain in the ass.

  When Tammy had called him last night, he’d counted an entirely different kind of invitation. She’d started their short conversation by telling him her mother was visiting, and that she was having a few people over for dinner and wanted to include him as one of the party. Her voice had been clipped, and he correctly guessed from the jump that her mother had probably been within earshot.

  His brothers and sister, and their spouses, had been there too. As much as he liked his siblings, he couldn’t deny that the whole evening had a very domestic feel to it. He’d managed to avoid anything domestic for the whole of his adult life. This was different, though. Tammy was different.

  The food was terrific, and made by both Tammy and her mother. Tammy’s killer lasagna and some kind of Italian bread that was so crusty yet soft he’d eaten about ten pieces. He’d been able to keep from contributing much to the conversation that way too, and didn’t feel guilty about that in the least.

  Her mother was a force of nature. That was clear. Tammy looked a lot like her, and seeing Mrs. Donato was like getting a glimpse of what Tammy would look like in twenty years. Nothing scary there. Tammy would be a knock-out long into her fifties, too.

  The thing was, it was clear that Tammy’s mother was pushing for Ben to date Tammy. If the woman only knew what Ben and Tammy had done all over that townhouse, she’d know she didn’t have to worry about Tammy finding a guy. She’d found him, and what they had was pretty damn terrific.

  What he felt for her, though? What he’d realized only two days ago was pretty damn scary, too. He had to talk to her. Alone. To ask if she was up for seeing where this was going. For real. He’d never said those things to another woman. Never suggested taking anything past the here and now. He couldn’t have that conversation with an audience, and definitely not around her mother.

  His eyes strayed to the stretch of beach near the lake. The loungers were empty this morning. Tammy was probably tied up with her mother’s visit today. He thought she’d told him that the woman was heading back up north tomorrow, so maybe he could man up and talk to Tammy after that.

  His cell rang and he glanced at the screen. Jake. Smiling, he answered.

  “Hello.”

  “Hey, bro,” Jake said. “What are you up to today?”

  “Nothing.” Nothing with Tammy, anyway. “Why?”

  “Barbeque over at Rick’s today. You in?”

  “I guess.”

  There was a long pause. “You don’t sound like yourself.”

  “Who do I sound like?”

  “I don’t know. You sound a little…distracted.”

  “I am.” Before Jake could wheedle a reason out of him, he went on. “The first house is set to break ground.”

  “I heard. Congrats, bro. You’ve been working your ass off.”

  “I have.” Ben took in a breath. “What time?”

  “One o’clock. I’ll tell Harmony to expect you.”

  “Thanks. See you then.”

  He disconnected and stared out a the lake again. Ripples of water caught the sunlight, and the effect was nice. Relaxing. He could see himself settling here, too. Damn, he had to get his shit together.

  “One step at a time, man,” he told himself.

  Rising, he went back to his room to dress for a run along the lakeshore. To clear his head. If he planned on talking to Tammy about the future he better make sure he brought his balls with him to the table.


  By the time Monday came around, he was ready to hit something. His skin felt too tight and he had to keep catching his breath. Thankfully he’d lost himself in a new house design at the office, which killed a few hours. Tammy wasn’t in the Sales Center this morning, since she’d had to take her mother back to the airport. He had this information from Claire, who’d filled him in on Tammy’s itinerary yesterday at Rick and Harmony’s. He’d listened closely, too. He didn’t even care if Jake shot him a smug expression when he caught him.

  He heard the sound of Tammy’s voice when she walked into the Sales Center, and his lungs seized a little. He had it bad.

  Coming deliberately to his feet, he casually made his way to the breakroom. It was as good a time as any for a coffee break, wasn’t it?

  Jessie sat at one of the tables, and her blond brows shot up as she looked from Ben to Tammy and back again. Tammy hadn’t seen him yet, so he looked his fill. She wore her usual outfit, tight in all the right places while still crisp. She did something to him in those clothes. Made him want to get her all wrinkled.

  “Hey, Ben,” Jessie squeaked.

  The girl was always a little bit flustered, and he couldn’t figure out why. Noah had mentioned something about that, too.

  “Hey, Jessie.”

  Tammy turned, letting her eyes run over him in that way she had. “Good morning.”

  He blinked. She sounded off. Clipped, again. Maybe it was being around her mother all weekend. Like she’d picked up a bit of up-north in her voice. He dismissed that idea in the next second. Her mother sounded like she was born and bred at the Jersey shore, and Tammy didn’t draw out her words or drop her R’s even a little.

  “Did your mother get off okay?” he asked.

  She nodded, and then turned away to fuss with the coffee maker. Her movements were smooth but he didn’t miss the stiffness in her shoulders. He shot a look at Jessie, who grabbed her coffee cup and headed past him.

  “See you later,” she rushed out as she left him alone in the breakroom with Tammy.

  “Sure,” he returned absently.

  He walked over to Tammy, where she was staring at the coffee maker as it effortlessly brewed her cup. “You don’t have to watch it, you know.”

  She flattened her palms on the counter. “I wasn’t.”

  Stepping close behind her, he leaned in. “I missed you this weekend,” he said softly.

  Her rigidity seemed to grow. “Oh?”

  “I can’t wait to make up for lost time.”

  He heard her suck in a breath as she finally turned to face him. Her body skimmed over his in the best way even as she leaned away from him.

  “I don’t know if I can.”

  “If you can what?”

  “Come over.”

  “Then I’ll come to your place,” he suggested.

  She placed a hand on his chest, scorching him even as her expression stayed cool. “I don’t think…” Her brow furrowed as she started to move her hand in a caress. “Sure. Your place, I think. That’s fine.”

  “Good. I’ll grab us some takeout from the tavern. Burgers okay?”

  She shrugged, and then nodded. He touched her chin, tipping her face up to his. He wanted to kiss her and wipe away that little pout.

  “What’s wrong?” he asked instead.

  “Nothing’s wrong.” Her smile was a little too bright. “I just have a lot of work to catch up on today.”

  She moved quickly away from him, running her fingers through her hair before tossing it over her shoulder. He’d seen that move before. It was her trademark and he thought that right now she was using it as a diversion. Just what was she hiding?

  Pressing her hand to her belly, she took a breath and straightened. “I’ll see you later then.”

  With that, she breezed out of the room.

  “Okay,” he said into the space she’d left behind.

  Chapter 20

  How was she going to get through this day?

  Tammy and her mother had a surprising heart-to-heart Saturday night, and she’d had to admit her growing feelings for Ben. While her mother was over the moon in the most obvious way, Tammy had to talk her back down to earth. Her relationship with Ben had her confused, to put it mildly. And yesterday morning when she’d felt like crap again? Her mother hadn’t missed it. That was for sure.

  Tammy couldn’t blame the wine she’d had Saturday night. She hadn’t had any because she just hadn’t felt like it. Sweet tea was the unofficial drink of the south, so she’d just drunk that with dinner. She’d been so nervous having Ben over to meet her mother that she’d sure as heck wanted to keep her faculties clear.

  And just why was she feeling like crap, then? Her mother had nailed it on the first try, coming up with an answer that never would have even occurred to Tammy.

  Her eyes stung with tears and she gave in to them for the first time in a very long time. Propping her elbows on her desk, she buried her face in her hands. What the hell was she going to do?

  A soft rapping came at her door, and she immediately dismissed the idea that it was Ollie. Thank God. He would guess what was wrong in a hot minute and she didn’t want to hear his I-told-you-so right now.

  Grabbing up a tissue from the box set on a shelf behind her, she dabbed at her eyes and cleared the thickness from her throat.

  “Yes?” she called.

  The door opened and Claire poked her head in. “Hey, there.” Claire’s eyes went round. “What’s wrong?”

  Tammy tossed the tissue into the small trash can under her desk. “Nothing.” She smiled. “Nothing’s wrong.”

  Jeez, was she going to have to say that all day?

  Claire clicked her tongue and came fully into the office, shutting the door tight behind her. “Something’s wrong. Is it Ben?”

  Tammy shook her head. “No. Ben's fine.” She thought back to his leaning close like he’d wanted to kiss her. “He's perfect.”

  “Then tell me what's bothering you, Tammy. You can tell me anything.”

  She stared into Claire’s big blue eyes and felt her heart give a sorry thump. She could tell her anything? How could she tell Claire, her best friend, that the very thing she and her husband have been trying to achieve for months now had just fallen unwanted into her lap?

  She couldn’t. Not right now. This was all too new, and it began right at the moment her mother stated what should have been obvious to Tammy.

  “It’s nothing, Claire,” she lied. “I guess having my mother here was just a little overwhelming.”

  She risked a glance out the window to make sure there were no gray clouds in the sky. No sign of lightning. Maybe God wouldn’t strike her down for lying and for blaming her mother.

  Claire’s brows drew together, and then she smiled a little. “My mother has been gone for so long I’d forgotten the particular set of skills they can have.”

  Tammy nodded, feeling worse by the moment. “So you get it.”

  “Oh, yeah. My mom was good at the guilt. Whenever I said anything less-than-nice about my dad she got right on me.”

  Claire’s dad had a gambling problem that still dogged him. He kept a lid on it with his daughter’s help, but it was a problem that would never really go away.

  Claire stood. “I’ll let you decompress, then. Maybe we can go to yoga tomorrow? I know I could use a stretch.”

  “Sure. Sounds good.”

  Claire patted Tammy’s shoulder, making her feel like a piece of crap all over again, and left the office. Damn, that was really cruddy. Tammy had no choice, though. Claire and Jake were trying so hard for a baby and now it seemed that she would be the one with the newest little Chapman.

  Leaning back in her chair, she eyed her belly. It was so hard to wrap her head around all of this. She was pregnant? What the hell? How had that happened?

  Yes, she and Ben had been together too many times to count. It didn’t matter that they’d only known each other for a little over a month. Even though she’d tried so hard to k
eep him in the friend zone for half that time, they’d more than made up for that when she’d finally admitted to herself that she had to have him.

  “So much for making a decision and sticking with it,” she grumbled to herself.

  She’d never wanted to give in to what had been between them from the second she’d met him. That made her think about her vow to never make a commitment. She didn’t want the family thing. She didn’t even want a boyfriend, for God’s sake. And now a great big family thing—okay, a teeny-tiny family thing but still—was staring her in the face.

  She couldn’t tell Ben. She knew just what he’d do if he found out. He was a friggin’ Chapman, after all. Forever and family was all over him no matter what he might say to the contrary. Just look at Rick and Jake. Rick had been as free-wheeling as Jake had been, if not as upfront about it. Yet now they were both tried-and-true family men. That struck her hard in the chest. All Jake needed was the family.

  Ben would push for them to stay together for good. A chill ran through her. She never stayed for good. Not once. She seemed to be missing that gene. All the other Donatos made that family stuff work but she’d never had even the slightest temptation to try it on for size with any of the guys she’d gone out with. Or fooled around with, for that matter. Ben would want forever and she just wasn’t built that way.

  Here she sat, virtually on the nest. She didn’t know what she was going to do about her little ravioli. The nickname her mother had used for the coming baby made her smile. A warmth spread through her and her eyes pricked again.

  “Jeez, hormones are a real bitch,” she whispered, reaching for another tissue.

  How could she rationally think about her future when she was brewing and bubbling inside?

  Ben wanted her to come over tonight, and if she was a stronger woman maybe she could resist the lure. She’d tried. Oh, how she’d tried. In the end, she couldn’t. No matter how much she should put some distance between them, she didn’t want that distance tonight. No. Tonight she’d have him every way she wanted him. And afterwards?

  Afterwards, she’d say good bye and make it stick.