Sandra’s cheeks flushed two degrees short of second-degree burns. There was nowhere to run. And thanks to her little stinker of a daughter, her true feelings had just been thrown up into the air like a big ball of confetti. She swallowed hard. “Uh, okay, Hannah, that’s enough. Go help your aunt clean up now.”
“Can I have a cupcake, too?” her daughter asked.
“Fine, but you have to help clean first.”
“Okay. I’m going to save Big Bens half of my cupcake, because he didn’t have dessert yet,” she said, skipping out.
Ben wasted no time, cashing in on her daughter’s slip. “So…you like it when I’m home?” Not waiting for a response, he stood and slowly approached her, his eyes taking on a sexy glint that spiked her heart rate. “Because I have to say, I like it when I’m home, too.”
She held out spread hands in a pathetic attempt to protect her heart. But she was afraid if he touched her, she’d say things she wasn’t sure she was ready to admit. “Kids say the darnedest things. Hannah doesn’t understand that your home isn’t in New Jersey.”
Standing before her, he took her hands in his and slowly brought them to her sides. “You know, a few months ago, I would have agreed with you and probably thought nothing of it. But now I know better. Kids are more honest about their feelings than adults are. Something I should’ve been with you since day one. I’m here because I wanted you to be the first to know.”
“Know what?”
“I turned down the role in Heaven Sent.”
She gasped. “You can’t. That role means everything to you.”
He shook his head, his gaze never leaving hers. “It did mean everything. I missed you, Sandra.”
Her throat caught as she stood there, soaking in and pressing those precious words of his into her heart. “I’ve missed you so much, too.”
He leaned forward and put his arms around her. With a deliriously happy exhaustion, she collapsed against him and buried her face in his neck. His arms tightened, and she felt his lips in her hair.
“Okay, then. We’re agreed that we missed each other.” He took her face in his hands and kissed her on the lips with such a deep longing she wanted to melt into a puddle at his feet. “That’s good. That’s a really good start.”
Her brows came together. “A good start?”
“As in beginning. For us. I love you, Sandra. This is real, not pretend. Do you hear what I’m saying to you? I love you. I should have told you before, but I held back, thinking I didn’t have it in me to be a real husband and a father. I was wrong about what I wanted out of life, and when I went back to New York, I realized I had no life without you and Hannah. But I need to know if you feel the same way. I need to know if we have a real future together or if I’m just kidding myself.”
He loves me.
He loved her! She couldn’t believe she’d heard the words. He honestly loved her. The idea made her feel flushed and giddy. So much so that several moments passed before she realized it wasn’t all he’d said.
“Wait,” she said, shaking herself out of her daze. “You…you really did turn down the part? The one for Heaven Sent?”
“Yeah, I’m not going to do anything ever again that might jeopardize our relationship. I was an idiot before. I thought acting—a stupid Oscar—was all I needed, that it was enough to make my life complete. It won’t. You make my life complete. You make me complete. You’re all I need.”
Her heart was in her throat, and her lips trembled so badly she almost couldn’t part them to speak. “I can’t believe you’d give up that role for me.”
“Honey, I’d give up acting and become a plumber if that’s what you wanted.”
She stared at him. “You would?”
“Uh, you don’t really want me to do that, do you?”
He looked so worried, she laughed out loud. “No. No, I don’t want the plumber. I want the actor, and if you really want that role, you should take it. After all, it’s your dream.”
He smiled. “Dreams change, sweetheart.”
“Oh, Ben, I’m so sorry. I was so wrong about you. I love you, too, so much. I didn’t realize it until you were gone. And then I thought I would just die, because I thought you didn’t feel the same way.”
He leaned down again and kissed away any remaining doubt. They loved each other. She realized the answer had always been there, but she’d been afraid to see it. Now she was willing to take the chance. She was willing to trust this man with her heart, and she couldn’t be happier.
“How do you feel about allowing me to do more research?” he murmured against her lips.
She slowly pulled back. “More research?” she asked with a laugh. “For what?”
“It’s research for a new role.” He cleared his throat and, to her surprise, seemed almost shy. “See, I’d be playing the part of a husband of a gorgeous preschool teacher who’s raising a precocious young child. This script is a bit of a stretch for me, but I’m willing to do as much training with you as necessary. So…what do you think?”
She pretended to think it over. “How long do you think this training will take?”
“I’m hoping at least thirty or forty years.”
She couldn’t hold back her smile any longer. “That’s a big undertaking. I don’t know. There might be some pretty heavy-duty make-out sessions required.”
“What a coincidence,” he said with a wicked grin. “That’s the first thing I was going to make sure was in my contract.”
With a smile of her own, she drew back her foot and kicked the door closed. She wouldn’t mind doing a little of her own character preparation as well. And as she slid her arms around his neck, they didn’t waste any time with their first rehearsal.
The End
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About the Author
Jennifer Shirk is the award-winning author of sweet (and sometimes even funny) romances for Montlake Romance and now Entangled Publishing. She won third place in the RWA 2006 NYC’s Kathryn Hayes Love and Laughter Contest for her first book, THE ROLE OF A LIFETIME. Recently, her novel SUNNY DAYS FOR SAM won the 2013 Golden Quill Published Authors Contest for Best Traditional Romance.
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Also by Jennifer Shirk…
Fiancé by Fate
Wedding Date for Hire
Kissing Kendall
A Little Bit Cupid
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