But she wasn't an old friend, at least, not in his eyes. Why would he go to all this trouble for her daughter. "Why?" she said out loud.
"Because I could never resist the soulful look of a lovely lady," Ben answered.
After taking Hayley's small hand, he brought it to his lips and kissed it lightly, continental style. Hayley looked utterly entranced, holding her hand with her other one as if the limb had suddenly turned to gold. Not to leave Hannah out, Ben kissed her hand, as well.
It was the first time both her daughters had been rendered speechless at the same time. The man was a miracle worker, Heather thought.
"You have two very lovely daughters, Heather," he told her.
She doubted if he had any idea how much his words pleased her. But she had to be practical. She was going to be their mother long after this Prince Charming disappeared into the night, leaving her to deal with the aftermath of his actions.
"Yes, thank you, I know that and I don't want to see them become spoiled."
His smile was warm, intimate, somehow causing the eighty or so patrons in the restaurant to vanish into nothingness as if they'd never existed.
"One time isn't going to spoil them," he assured her. "Takes a whole lot more than that, trust me."
Trust me. Now there was an ironic line, coming from a man who'd made her world stand still, only to disappear from it almost the next instant.
She looked at Hayley, then glanced over toward Hannah as both girls scrambled up, taking opposite sides of the booth. Both girls resembled love-struck puppies, gazing at Ben as if he were the reigning teen idol.
In a way he was. For as long as she could remember, Ben had always been every woman's fantasy in Hades. And he'd just gotten himself a new generation of fans.
"You girls aren't spoiled, are you?" Ben asked, glancing from one to the other, his expression dead serious. The girls vigorously shook their heads in unison. He grinned and looked at Heather. "I rest my case."
Ben hadn't lost his touch. If anything, he had perfected the ability to seduce a woman with a single word, a single look. Echoes of the one night that they had spent together came back to her. It was a night she relived in her mind time and again, despite all her efforts to leave it in the past.
But the memories refused to stay buried. Instead they were always in front of her. Every time she looked at Hannah, she could see traces of Ben in her face. Was reminded of the night the child had come into existence.
"Heather, so you did come back. And you brought the girls."
Turning, Heather saw that Lily had come up behind them and was now smiling a greeting at her daughters. The woman looked a great deal better than she had this morning.
"We got our special table, Aunt Lily," Hayley told her, scrambling up on her knees.
Not to be left out, Hannah added, "Dr. Ben got it for us."
Lily looked amused. "Looks like 'Dr. Ben' has a lot of magic tricks up his sleeve."
Hayley's jaw dropped low enough to almost touch the table. The look in her eyes was pure hero worship. "You do magic, too?"
"Sometimes." He winked at both girls. And then he looked up at the petite woman standing beside their table. The chalky pallor was gone from her face. "You look a lot better this evening, Lily."
"Thanks to you," she acknowledged. "Ginger really works."
Ben picked up a menu and opened it. "Glad I could help."
"Dinner is on the house," Lily told them, wanting to show her appreciation.
Hannah frowned at her mother's friend. Unlike Hayley, she was not one to buck authority. "We have to sit on the roof?"
Heather bit back a laugh. "No, honey, that's just an expression Aunt Lily used. It means we don't have to pay for dinner."
"You paying for dinner was never part of the plan," Ben informed her. "This was going to be my treat. I never ask a lady out if I don't intend to pay."
"Well, tonight your money's no good here," Lily told him. "I haven't felt this good in four months." She looked at Heather's daughters. "Order anything you like." Just before Lily stepped away, she leaned over and whispered to Heather, "Good luck."
Wanting to protest the assumption she knew Lily had just made, she succeeded only in getting the air caught in her throat.
Ben lowered his menu, raising his eyes to Heather. "What did she say?"
Heather pressed her lips together, deliberately avoiding making eye contact. "Nothing."
"Couldn't be nothing," he said easily. "You're turning crimson."
"No, she's not," Hannah contradicted after eyeing her mother. "Mama's turning red."
Amused, Ben took it upon himself to broaden the little girl's world a shade. He put it in terms he thought she would relate to. "Crimson's in the red family. It's a deep, dark red."
The look on Hayley's face told Heather that her daughter was taking in Ben's words as if he were Moses on the Mount, coming down with a second set of commandments. Observing, Heather could only shake her head as she laughed shortly to herself. No female was immune to Ben.
Catching the expression on her face, his eyes narrowed. "What?"
Heather gestured to his small audience of two. "You have them eating out of your hand."
"No, we're not, Mama," Hannah protested, bewildered. "We're eating out of the dish." She pointed to the plate that held the hot dinner rolls that Lily had served with every meal. The girls had each already claimed one and were busy making them disappear, bit by bit.
Heather pretended to take the correction in stride. "My mistake."
Her eyes met Ben's. The amusement she saw there took her completely prisoner. She should have realized that he could very easily storm her ramparts with just a look. Just as he had seven years ago. Seeing him being so nice to her girls made her feel she was in jeopardy of losing her heart to him all over again.
As if her heart had ever truly been hers after that night by the lake. Even all those years while she lay in Joe's bed, trying to be the wife the miner both needed and deserved, a piece of her had always belonged to Ben. Would have belonged to him, she knew, even if they'd never shared that night together.
At the ripe old age of fourteen and a half, around the same time that her father had finally left her mother, she'd fallen for Ben. From that time forward, there had been no turning back for her, no recapturing what had been lost. She could only try to make the best of it.
And the best was definitely here tonight. Heather listened to her girls, even Hannah, talk up a storm as they competed for Ben's attention.
* * *
A little more than two hours later, as Ben brought them home, Heather realized this night would be one she would press between the pages of her memory, to take out and examine whenever her heart needed lifting.
Unbeknownst to Ben, she'd sat back at Lily's and watched him interact with her girls, pretending that he was not only Hannah's father but Hayley's, as well. Pretending, too, that she belonged to him not just in spirit, but by lawful decree.
She had allowed her heart to embrace the thought that they were actually a family unit. It had been a lovely fantasy. But now the evening was over and she had to box up her fantasies and place them out of reach.
She turned in her seat and looked behind her. Secure in their car seats, Hannah and Hayley had both fallen asleep. "I never thought it would happen. They're both worn-out at the same time."
Ben pulled her car up into her driveway. Despite her protests, he'd insisted on driving them home, saying it was a nice night and that he would walk back to his brother's home. It was only a mile, and daylight was only now slipping away.
She undid her seat belt, fumbling for a second because she was used to finding the release on her right, not the left. "It'll just take me a minute to carry Hannah in. I'll be right back for Hayley."
But he had no intention of letting her carry in both girls while he sat back. He was out of the car, rounding the hood and opening her door before she had a chance to do it herself.
"I'll carry them
in," he told her. His tone said that he wasn't about to debate the offer. He undid the belts that secured Hannah in her seat, then lifted her out, careful not to wake the little girl. "To tell you the truth, I was beginning to have my doubts that they were capable of being tired out."
"Same thought crosses my mind," Heather confessed. "A lot."
After lifting Hayley out of her seat, Heather made her way to the front door behind Ben. Under the guise of pretending to search for her keys, Heather covertly took in the sight of Ben holding Hannah in his arms. Her heart swelled.
If only…
With lightning speed, she banked down the thought. She couldn't allow herself to go there. There was no "if only." Everyone believed that Hannah had been Joe's daughter. Hannah believed she was Joe's daughter. She had to leave it at that.
"What are you doing?" Ben asked.
"Looking for my keys." In earnest this time, she stretched her fingers down to the bottom of her purse.
"I've got them," he reminded her, holding the key ring out to her. "I drove, remember?"
She flushed but said nothing as she took the keys from him. Opening the door, she motioned for him to follow her. "Their room's this way," she told him in a whisper.
Walking through the living room to the staircase, Heather half expected to be waylaid by her mother. But there was no sign of Martha Ryan, no sound of the wheelchair crossing the wooden floor. Heather released the breath she'd been holding as she went up to the room that her girls shared. The inquisition had been placed on hold. Temporarily.
Once she gently deposited Hayley in her junior bed, she slipped off the girl's shoes and then simply covered her with the comforter. Finished, she moved over to Hannah's bed, only to see that Ben had already taken off the little girl's shoes and was covering her just as she'd done with Hayley. She smiled, nodding her approval.
Ben lowered his head in order to reach her ear. "Think they'll sleep until morning?"
A shiver slithered through her, but she managed not to react. "God willing," she murmured, turning on the fairy-princess lamp that stood between the two beds. Both girls were afraid of the dark. The lamp was the compromise that they had struck.
Turning from the beds, Ben placed his hand on the small of her back and guided her out.
Every single pulse point and nerve ending in her body focused itself on that part of her anatomy. She reminded herself to breathe.
Heather softly closed the door once they were outside the room. "Most mothers would have gotten them into their pajamas," Ben commented.
She'd learned long ago that some rules could be bent in order to achieve the desired end result.
"Most mothers don't have junior commandos who run on ever-recharging batteries for children." This was not the first time her girls had slept in their clothes. "Clothes can be washed, wrinkles can be ironed out."
He laughed. "Practical as well as beautiful."
"Stop."
"Stop what?" Without thinking, he pushed back the curl that fell into her face.
She willed her knees to return to their previous solid state and concentrated on the words and not the butterflies.
"That," she said thickly. "You don't have to say nice things to me."
"Somehow, putting a curse on you and your entire lineage didn't seem the way to go after the evening we shared tonight." His eyes on hers, Ben's smile softened, growing intimate. Heather felt her heart leap high into her throat. "Why wouldn't I want to say nice things to you?"
Words floated away from her brain like so many shards of ice, melting into nothingness. She shrugged. "You don't have to."
"Why don't you leave that decision to me?" he suggested.
Before she could answer, before she could even draw a single breath into her suddenly oxygen-depleted lungs, Ben was framing her face with his hands, mingling her space with his own.
And then, just like that, there was no space left between them at all.
Chapter Eight
The moment Ben's lips touched hers, Heather felt transported back to that magical evening they had shared. Closing her eyes, she could see the whole scene unfolding: the golden rays of the sun had begun to lengthen across the lake like long, thin fingers.
It had been warm then, too. So warm she felt as if her very skin would melt. And her heart had pounded exactly this way, desperate for air that was nowhere to be had.
Allowing herself to remember, to savor, to relive, Heather stood on tiptoe, lacing her arms around Ben's neck.
Lacing her heart to the moment.
She could feel the heat radiating from his body, growing in intensity. Felt, too, the long-dormant desires springing up like fresh buds through the newly tilled, newly nurtured earth.
She was his for the taking. Just as she had been years ago. But this was wrong and she couldn't allow herself to get swept away. And she wouldn't, Heather resolved. She'd stay right here with her feet firmly planted on the ground, the mother of two, a level-headed, responsible adult—in a minute from now.
Just one sweet, sugar-coated minute. That was all she wanted.
She wasn't asking so much, was she? To feel desirable, to feel beautiful. To feel. Just for the briefest time. Heather surrendered herself to the moment, swearing she could find her way back.
* * *
Ben had lost count of the number of women he'd kissed throughout his life. Not that they had all blended together into some huge, swirling cauldron in his mind. In one fashion or another, he'd cared about all the women who had passed through his life. He enjoyed kissing women, enjoyed making love with them when the occasion arose.
He loved women, period. And they had always, always returned the compliment.
Despite the number, there were things, however minute, that set them apart from one another. And he could distinctly remember making love with Heather. Distinctly remember the flavor of her lips, the sweetness that poured through his veins when he'd held her, when he'd kissed her. Remember the fire that arose when he explored the secrets of her body. Both his own fire and hers. That night she had been an arousing combination of innocence and eagerness. It had excited him beyond description.
He was excited to rediscover her sweetness. He could taste it in her kiss. She was still innocent. And still eager.
But now she had an extra layer. Just beyond the perimeter, Ben detected a wariness. Not quite distrust, not quite trust.
Life had done that to her, Ben thought.
Life had left a mark on all of them.
Though he knew everyone perceived him to be the very personification of confidence, his experience with Lila had left a deep, grave mark on him.
Lila had been the first woman he had ever loved to the point that he wanted to settle down, to devote himself only to her. When she'd refused to marry him, only live together, he'd accepted it. Because he'd loved her. And she had taken that love and thrown it back in his face when she'd taken off. Deserted him not once but twice.
The first time had been when she'd left Hades. He'd pulled himself together and pretended so hard that it didn't matter that eventually, he'd come to believe his nonchalance. Until she returned. The second time she'd left him, he had been completely devastated, although he never admitted it to anyone, not even to himself. At least, not to the full extent of his wounds. He'd declared Lila legally dead in his mind. Although he didn't think himself capable of giving his heart again, he sure relished this moment with Heather.
The kiss deepened, moving from friendly contact to something more. Ben's breath grew short and his blood heated. He caught himself wishing that they could be back at the lake again.
But they weren't. They were on the doorstep of the house that her late husband had built for her. With the two little girls she and Joe had created sleeping a few yards away.
He couldn't allow this to go further, no matter how much he wanted it to.
Still holding her to him, Ben drew his lips from hers. The sensation of loss whispered over him. He smiled into her eyes, se
eing himself mirrored there. "You still pack quite a punch, Heather."
Her insides were shaking. Heather drew in a long breath. Her eyes fluttered closed for a second as she sealed his touch within her soul.
Resistance is futile. The mantra echoed through her brain. She did her best to ignore it.
"So do you," she replied.
The old Heather would never have been able to find her tongue, much less say anything as glib as that. But the old Heather had wanted nothing more that to bask in the light of his smile. There had been no responsibilities, no thought given to consequences.
Her mouth curved as the irony mocked her. She'd been a babe in the woods. The consequences of her actions had been a baby. The greatest gift she could have ever received.
The yearning inside reminded her that she was still a young woman. A woman with needs that had suddenly exploded into existence. She struggled to overcome them as best as she could. It wasn't easy. Not when he was looking at her like that. Smiling at her like that.
Ben loosened his hold on her waist. "I'd better let you go in before I give in to the temptation to carry you off to the lake."
Her eyes widened. "You remember that?"
"Of course I remember that." Reluctant to break contact completely, his hands rested on the soft swell of her hips. Two children and she felt as small, as delicate as she had that night. "You left a very big impression on me, Heather."
He could lie so smoothly, Heather thought. And she would have given anything to believe him. But she knew better. All she had been was a momentary diversion in his life.
"So big that you ran off with Lila less than a month later."
The moment the words were out of her mouth, she regretted them. Regretted them because they reopened his wound and made her seem petty. She wasn't petty. All she had ever wanted was for him to be happy.
"I'm sorry, I had no business saying that." She offered a fleeting, tight smile. "It's just that I know my place in the scheme of things."
Ben had been her first lover. Her only lover, except for Joe and he had come afterward. She had no vast experience to dazzle him with, no beauty to take his breath away. A man could hardly be expected to remember someone like that.
The Prodigal M.D. Returns Page 8