Taking His Woman(11)

“I always thought about Chris. We’re great friends, and we’d probably make a kick-ass married couple, but we’d never be in love. Settling for second best is not what I want from my life.”

“The pain is what you want? Chris crushed your heart back then. Are you going to let him do it a second time?” he asked.

She shrugged, sitting down next to him. “People change. He could have changed. If I don’t give him a chance to prove it then I’m no better off. I don’t want to live a life of regrets.”

Ben took her hand in a gesture like so many times before. This time it felt right. They were friends with the truth in front of them. “Well, I’m going to be living a life constantly looking at my best friend and the women he dates. It is so fucking awful watching him with a different woman every day.”

“Have you thought about telling him?” she asked.

“No way. I would rather deal with watching him with different women than risk losing his friendship.”

She nodded her head.

“Are you going to give him a chance?”

Erica glanced down at their joined hands. “I’m going to try. This time will be different than last.”

“How will it?”

“I’m not going to wear my heart on my sleeve. The past between us is over, but it’s still there. I no longer have the freedom to love him openly.”

Ben gave her a look.

“What?” she asked.

“You’ve never fallen out of love. I know you, Erica Black. You love with your whole heart. Even the pain this guy has given you hasn’t stopped you from wanting a second chance.”

Tears blurred her vision. “I really wish I could have fallen in love with you.”

“You and me both. I don’t think Martin will be giving me a love bite like that any time soon.”

She burst out laughing, wiping the tears that fell to her cheeks.

“Can I stay with you tonight?” he asked.

“Yes.”

They got ready for bed. He wore a pair of boxers while she put on her nightshirt. She climbed in and stared at him. They held hands, talking.

“If he hurts you, I’ll kick his ass.”

“If he hurts me again, I’m hoping you won’t need to because I’ll kick his ass.” Ben leaned over, kissed her head and settled down. She thought it was strange having a man in her bed and still wanting a different one. The revelations she’d brought to the surface had made their friendship stronger. She hoped her relationship with Chris could prove to be stronger.

****

Chris let himself in at home. There was a light shining in the sitting room. It was past midnight, so he knew it couldn’t be Blaze or Cassie. The two love-birds would be spending as much time together in private. He put his dress shoes by the door and made his way into the room. His father, David, sat with a glass of something in his hand. Looking at the colour of the liquid, Chris guessed it was a really strong whiskey. His father stared at the fire in front of him, lost deep in thought.

“Hi, son.”

“Hi, dad.” The whole house was silent. “What are you doing in here?”

Chris’s father took a swig of the dark amber liquid. “I can’t stand to be in that room on my own. For twenty-five years, Molly has slept by my side. I never thought I’d be like this when she decided to leave my bed.”

Molly was his father’s second wife. She’d been a wife to his three sons and made two of her own.

“You didn’t expect her to be second best forever, did you?” Chris asked, taking the seat next to his father.

“I never expected to have a second wife. Let alone consider an empty bed.” David sighed. “I wish I could go back and do everything differently.”

“We can’t go back and rectify what we’ve done to the people we love.”

“Ain’t that shit the truth? I need another one. Do you want one?” Chris nodded, watching the fire while David made drinks. “How did your date go?”

“Fine. I think.” His lips tingled from where they’d kissed. He was sure he could still taste her in his mouth.

“I hope it works well for you, son.” David gave him his drink. “Molly is going to leave me when Luke and John leave home and are done with college.”

Chris knew she’d planned to eventually leave his father. “Do you have a problem with that?”

“Of course I have a problem with it. Molly is my wife, and I don’t want her to go.”

Chris took a drink of his whiskey and winced at the taste. His father liked the stronger stuff. “You’ve spent most of your twenty-five years telling a woman she would never be good enough. What did you expect to happen?”