Souvenirs

by Mia Kay

  “Please don’t go. Order in. Stay—”

  “Goodnight, Ben. Be careful coming back.”

  She hung up and dropped her phone on the bed. And left it there.

  Chapter 24

  It’s Over?

  “Bennett, are you listening?”

  He yanked his attention from the headline and back to the phone. “Sorry, Mum. What?”

  “Why won’t Grace see me? I’ve invited her to the house, but she won’t come. She won’t meet me anywhere either.”

  Ben stared at the photos of him—and Hillary—littering the front page of the latest gossip rag. She’d ambushed him on the street in Skipton, grabbed his hand, and timed it perfectly. He shouldn’t have been there at all. He should’ve come home.

  “Bennett,” his mother snapped.

  “She’s busy, Mum.”

  “Rubbish. Something’s wrong. What did you say to her?” She pressed on without waiting for an answer. “Grace is a friend regardless of whether she dates you. Nothing gives you the right to—”

  He tuned her out.

  The other picture was worse. Grace, dressed to the nines, with Harry holding her hand, and she was crying. She’d said she’d gone to the National Gallery, but that café was on the other side of the city.

  And she’d not answered her phone last night.

  He thrust his hand through his hair. “I’ll fix it, Mother. I’m sorry I’ve upset you, but I have to go. I have a meeting, and Fe’s here to drive me.”

  He hung up and stared at Fiona, hovering close by.

  “Has Grace seen these?” he croaked.

  “Probably.” Fiona put a hand on his shoulder. “Channel this, or do whatever you do. Let’s go talk to Clive.”

  “But Fe—”

  “She’s a grown woman, and she’s not run yet. Look, Nob,” she started, then paused.

  “What now?” he sighed.

  She looked like she wanted to say something, and he frowned as she hesitated. It wasn’t like Fe to self-edit. “What?”

  “It’ll keep. Get your jacket. Clive’s expecting us.”

  He looked at his phone. Grace hadn’t called.

  Harry?

  No. That was a lie. The press was twisting it, just like they had with him. Picking up his notes, he stalked out the door and into Fiona’s Mini-Cooper.

  Ben stared out the window, watching London pass in a blur. He didn’t want to go to this meeting now, but he had responsibilities to Noah, Fe, Mum, Emily. Grace was only part of it.

  They stopped in front of a glass and steel monstrosity, the sort of building he hated. It was like being in an empty bowl.

  Fe patted his knee, much like his mother did. “You don’t need me with you. I’ll be waiting right here when you’re finished. Good luck.”

  “Yeah.” He didn’t leave the car.

  “Ben?” Fe didn’t continue until he looked at her. “She’s fine. Things are fine. Put it away and get your head in the game. Go show them you’re brilliant.”

  He got through the meeting without sounding like a nutter, and even managed to right a few of Clive’s opinions. On the way down the elevator, Ben blessed Fe’s muppet head for paying attention to his business when he hadn’t.

  Arriving at the library late, he waved at Jenny the librarian as he and Fe slipped upstairs and stood at the back of the room. Grace sat in front, reading aloud, and he drank her in. She’d changed in a day. She’d had a haircut, and her makeup was different. He’d never seen her outfit before. She’d gone shopping. Alone. What else had he missed?

  Her voice danced over the words, and he closed his eyes to watch them come to life in his imagination. Enthusiastic applause ended the first section of the event.

  “Questions?” she asked. He could hear her smile.

  “Did you really meet Bennett Oliver on vacation?”

  “Questions about the book?” Grace teased.

  “Was Bennett always Weathermore? Did you know it when you saw him?”

  “Is he a good kisser?”

  “Are you jealous about his hook-up with Hillary Dunham?”

  “Is he really a beast?”

  Ben gritted his teeth and pushed away from the wall, intent on ending this debacle. Fe stopped him.

  “Let her do it, Nob.”

  Despite the sick feeling in his stomach, he obeyed.

  “All right then. I see we’re going to have to deal with this first. Yes, Ben and I met on vacation last summer. But no, I didn’t swoon at his feet and declare him my Lord Weathermore. I’m embarrassed to admit I didn’t recognize him. He was, and always has been, just Ben. However, fans of the book will be thrilled with his work in this film, and fans of Bennett will be equally thrilled because Weathermore is a dashing hero, if I say so myself.

  “The kissing thing is no one’s business. And as for the rest of it, take it from someone who writes fiction and don’t believe everything you read. Now, book questions?”

  Ben cringed and waited.

  “How did you come up with the plot point on the EMP war?”

  She smiled. “I’m so glad you asked . . .”

  After the questions were over and the signing was completed, he walked to Grace’s side.

  “Hiya, doll,” he whispered as he kissed her cheek. She smelled incredible, and her hand was warm on his arm. But there were shadows under her eyes.

  “How did your meeting go?”

  “Well, I think. Regardless, it gave me a chance to rebuild the relationship with Clive. Archie had told him I wouldn’t take anything other than leads. Since I wasn’t right for this lead, he’d ruled me out. We’ll see what they think of me as a villain. And I hope it’s favorable, because they’re filming in China. Can we have coffee?”

  She looked over his shoulder, and he suspected she saw Fe in the doorway.

  “Alone,” he persisted. “My favorite shop. We’ll even walk.”

  “Don’t do this to prove a point.”

  He lifted her chin so she would see his face before he kissed her. “I missed you. That’s all I want to prove.”

  “Then let’s have coffee here,” she said. “There’s a café on the top floor, and it’s been tempting me all morning.”

  Once they were sitting at a table with a great view of the London skyline, he gazed at her over the top of the cup. “She ambushed me.”

  “I know.”

  “I should’ve come home. I shouldn’t have—”

  “You shouldn’t have to run,” she snapped. “Neither of us should.”

  “What happened yesterday? Why did you lie about where you were?”

  “I didn’t lie. I changed my plans. Paul needed me to meet with Harry.”

  “I wish you’d told me.”

  “Why do I have to call you, and interrupt filming, when my plans change?” She leaned forward and whispered. “You think I’d sleep with Harry, Ben? Really?”

  “Of course not. I’m more worried you were crying.”

  “I went for a spa day and I ran into a few of Hillary’s friends. Violet and some short woman with hideous taste in jewelry.”

  “Cecile,” he groaned. “I wish I’d known you wanted a day. There’s a great spot around the corner from the office. Emily could’ve set it up.”

  “Am I not allowed to leave Hammersmith?” she asked. “Ben, you have to stop this. London is a big city, and I want to see it.”

  He couldn’t have made a bigger hash of this if he’d tried. “I’m sorry I smothered you, but I was trying, in my own way, to protect you.” He took her hand, anxious to convince her. “I swear.”

  “Sweetheart, I gave up my anonymity in L.A. and I’m not hiding anymore. Not from my own life, and sure as hell not from yours.”
<
br />   As she talked, she curved her warm, strong fingers around his. Though he hated like hell to be wrong, he loved the way she fought with, and for, him.

  “Fe and Noah have invited us for dinner tonight,” he said. “Until then we could go to the National Gallery, or maybe to the Line of Kings at the Tower of London. I think you’d like that.” He stopped himself. “Would you?”

  She nodded, and her smile was brighter. The tension in his shoulders lightened.

  They spent the whole morning together and stayed under the radar. Ben presumed the photographers thought he was in Yorkshire, and he didn’t mind if it gave him time with Grace. Even if she was quieter than normal. However, when she dozed off in the cab between sites, he redirected the driver to his home.

  As they stopped, she looked up and sagged against him. “Thank you. I didn’t sleep well last night.”

  “We could cancel dinner,” he offered as they walked into the house.

  She shook her head. “I’ll be fine after a nap.”

  Tucking her into bed, Ben kissed her. “Get some rest and we’ll see how you feel. You’ve been pushing yourself too hard.”

  She snuggled into the pillow and pulled the covers to her chin. He’d have sat there for hours watching her sleep if someone hadn’t rung the bell, and kept ringing. Closing the bedroom door, he jogged down the hall toward the persistent visitor.

  His good mood vanished as he recognized the reporter waiting on his stoop. “What?”

  “Umm, Reg Drew, with the—”

  “I know who you are. What do you want?”

  “A quote about how it feels to be an expectant father.”

  “What?”

  “C’mon, Ben. Hillary’s all but sending out announcements.”

  “If Hillary Dunham is pregnant, it’s not mine,” Ben snarled as he pushed the door shut.

  “What about Grace? Is her child someone else’s? Like the bloke from yesterday?”

  Grace’s child?

  “Would you like to comment?” Reg persisted. “She said she was at the clinic with a friend, but she went in alone and she came out alone.”

  He scrambled for his thoughts. “The bloke from yesterday is a business acquaintance. As for anything else, I have no comment. Get off my property before I call a patrolman.”

  He slammed the door. Pregnant? It wasn’t possible. Was it?

  Striding back through the house, intent on answers, Ben opened the bedroom door. Grace still slept, curled in his bed with her nose buried in his pillow. He hadn’t been careful enough with her. Since Buckden, he’d not been careful at all.

  A baby.

  He closed the door and wandered aimlessly from room to room. Why hadn’t she said something? Should he bring it up? What was he supposed to do?

  They could turn one of the office closets into a nursery, or put a playpen in his office. Or Grace could share his space and they’d convert her office to a nursery. When should they start baby-proofing?

  Did the elevator at the office work? She shouldn’t take the stairs.

  He stared out the kitchen window at the garden. Would a playground fit back there? Was it wise to have children playing so near the river? Was the Rover dependable enough? Could Grace drive it?

  He went upstairs into his living room. Did he need to move? Two people were a tight fit. How would three do?

  Incremental changes in his life had given way to cracks shifting and reforming the ground in front of him. By rights he should be bricking it, but he wasn’t. Grace would be with him.

  Cuddling with him on the sofa, playing with a baby, late nights, nappies . . . They could get a dog. Children should have pets. They could spend Christmas in Yorkshire. Would she like to have more than one? Would they look like him or her? He hoped they got her freckles.

  Resisting the urge to wake her, he went outside to the deck. They couldn’t live here. Babies shouldn’t play on the roof. What if it fell off?

  He was searching real estate listings when she walked through the door.

  “Feel better?” he asked.

  “Yes, but you let me sleep too long. Don’t we need to go?”

  “Yep. Let’s take the car.”

  “We can walk, Ben. I’m fine.”

  “Let’s not push it, just in case.”

  All the way to Noah’s, Ben snatched glances of Grace in the passenger seat. She finally caught him doing it.

  “What?”

  “Nothing,” he lied. “Making sure you’re well.”

  “Please don’t worry.” She fidgeted in her seat. “Ben?”

  He stopped in front of Noah’s building and wrapped his hands around the steering wheel. Here it comes. “Yes?”

  She stared at him, chewing on her bottom lip. “I’ve had a really good time today. Thank you.”

  He didn’t think that’s what she wanted to say. She was afraid to tell him. He looked at his white knuckles on the wheel. No wonder. Taking a deep breath, he loosened his grip.

  “It wasn’t a favor, doll,” he said as he lifted her hand to his lips. “I like spending time with you, whether we’re at work, here, or on a bus full of pensioners. Nothing you can say changes how I feel. Now, why don’t you hop out and wait inside with the doorman? I’ll park and be back in a tick.”

  Once he joined her, Ben steered her to the lift. She tapped her foot and leaned on the button. “The stairs would be quicker.”

  “It’ll be here in a moment,” Ben assured her. They were going to the eighth floor. She wasn’t climbing eight flights on his watch.

  The lift finally arrived, and when the doors closed she turned to him. “How about a run tomorrow?”

  “We’ll see how you feel and what the weather’s like. Yeah?”

  They quick-stepped down the hall, and Noah opened the door before they could knock. His eyes were wide, and his lips were pressed together.

  “Hi,” he said. “Umm-”

  “No, no, no. You can’t do that again,” Fe snarled from the kitchen. “How difficult should this be? It’s just flour and water.”

  “She’s doing pasta again, isn’t she?” Ben asked, only to groan when Noah nodded. “When will she give up?”

  “I’ve tried to tell her I’ve quit eating it, but you know how she is.”

  Ben looked down at Grace and whispered. “Fe can’t cook, Idgie.”

  “And noodles are the worst,” Noah confided. “They’re practically glue. She insists on doing them because I said I liked them on our honeymoon. I lied to make her feel good.”

  Grace patted his shoulder. “Let me see if I can help. You two stay out of the kitchen. You probably make her nervous.”

  As he and Noah relaxed and debated football, Fe’s growls and grumbles in the kitchen faded to laughter and then to muted conversation. Grace had worked her magic again.

  “Dinner,” Fe called as she walked into the dining area balancing a salad bowl in one hand and a breadbasket in the other. “Ben, grab the drinks, would you?”

  Drinks? Grace shouldn’t drink. “What are we having?”

  “Mint sparkle.”

  In the kitchen, Grace was tossing the pasta. When he snatched a noodle, she slapped his hands.

  “Bennett Oliver, stop that.”

  “Want it back?” he teased as he dropped the strand into his mouth. Olive oil, basil, garlic, perfect texture. He looked down at her. “You can cook.”

  “I know,” she mocked him as she lifted the bowl. “Let’s go eat.”

  It was the most enjoyable dinner he’d had in years. Laughter, stories, teasing; all of it still hanging in the air as he reached into his pocket for the ring he’d brought with him. He wanted to share this with them.

  Fe put a gift on the table in front of Noah. “It’s
a belated birthday gift, love,” she whispered. “Open it.”

  When he lifted the lid, Noah froze. His smile wobbled, then the box shook in his hands. He looked up at Fiona, who was nodding and wiping her eyes. Then he was doing the same.

  “We’re pregnant,” he whispered before he pulled Fe to him and kissed her forehead. “My clever, lovely Fe.”

  Ben’s eyes burned as his lungs tightened. Finally. They’d tried for so long and been disappointed so many times. He left the ring in his pocket. They’d save their news for later.

  “Smart move, mate. She’s stuck with you now,” he joked as he stood, first hugging Noah and then scooping Fiona into a gentle embrace.

  “You’ll be a great mum, muppet,” he whispered.

  A loud sniff drew his attention to Grace, who had tears running down her cheeks and the most beautiful smile on her face.

  He reached for her, and she walked into his arms. They’d be parents, Noah and Fe would be parents. Their children could be mates. Joint vacations, football games, cricket matches.

  Family.

  The celebration ended early, and they drove home in happy silence. Ben waited until they were in the house to wrap his arms around Grace.

  “I’m glad you were here for that,” he whispered against her lips.

  “Me too. They’re so sweet together.”

  “Mm-hmm.” He nuzzled her neck and traced the muscles in her back before resting a gentle hand in the curve of her waist. “Marry me, Grace.”

  She pulled back. “What?”

  “Marry me.” He pulled the ring from his pocket and the emerald cut diamond sparkled in the low light.

  “Is this about Fe and Noah?”

  “No,” he said as he stroked her abdomen. “It’s about us.”

  Grace blinked up at him. “Oh, my God. You think I’m pregnant.”