“Ben, I’m . . . I’m sorry . . . to just show up like this.” Her eyes glistening, she sniffed back tears. “But I didn’t know whether you would see me or not.”
“Murph, I would always see you,” I said, knowing it was true. My heart lashed at my mind over how I’d ignored all her messages, giving her the impression I wouldn’t see her. “Come in.”
She walked slowly over the threshold. “Ben,” she said, her voice hoarse and strained. “I’m sorry.”
I noticed she was wearing those boots I loved, and couldn’t help the small jolt of lust running through my body.
“It’s not your fault,” I said, leading her toward the family room that had no family to enjoy it. Speaking to her as we traversed the hall was the coward’s way. “Your family is your family, and I can’t change that.”
“Ben, look at me,” she said, taking control of the conversation, and I did as she asked, turning and leaning my hip into the wall. “It was a shock seeing my parents like that. It took me totally by surprise. For all my life, they said jump, and I did exactly that. I didn’t know any better. When they walked through the door of the Bean, I couldn’t reconcile this life here with the life I’ve lived for the majority of my life.”
She approached and hesitated before placing her palm on my chest. I wasn’t sure what she wanted to do, but I nodded. Her hand landed over my heart, her gaze still locked on mine.
“I left New York because of the terrible way they treated me, and you were the one person who didn’t judge me about what happened. Your heart has always been larger than life. Even back at Pressman, you never judged me. I took all of that for granted years ago, and then again when we went to the inn.”
Her gaze fell to the floor, and mine dropped to watch her chest rising and falling. She was trying to catch her breath.
“You didn’t deserve what I did,” she said. “I can’t apologize for my parents’ actions, but I can apologize for mine.”
Her hand slid down my chest before she turned and walked away, and I followed her every move. My head thought it was a good thing she was leaving, but my heart started to crack at the idea of her going, despite what I was about to do myself.
But then she stopped in front of the sectional sofa and slid to the floor, her back to the front of the sofa, her legs stretched out in front of her.
Dropping her head back, she blew out a long breath. “I can’t stand it anymore,” she said matter-of-factly.
“Can I get you some water?” I asked.
When she shook her head, I joined her on the floor, plopping my ass down next to her. Unable to resist this woman anymore, I wove my fingers through hers and squeezed her hand.
“Murphy, here’s the thing,” I said, turning to look at her. Her eyes met mine for a second before her gaze dropped to the carpet. “Look at me,” I told her, and when her red-rimmed eyes locked onto mine, I said, “The thing is . . . I love you.”
The weight that had been sitting on my chest was back in earnest. Pressure rang in my ears. Does she love me too?
“I don’t deserve your love,” she said, squeezing my hand back. “Ben, what I did was awful. I should have stood up to my parents in the Bean, told them we had plans. Then I dragged you to the inn with them, when it should have been just us. They were terrible to you and me, and I let it go on. The thing is . . .”
I thought she was going to say she loved me back, but she continued to ramble.
“I like Vermont. It’s growing on me. The syrup, the honey, and all the trees. The weather. My boots,” she said, looking at her feet, and then her gorgeous green eyes met mine again. “And you.”
The weight fell away from my chest, and my heart soared with hope.
“I don’t belong in my parents’ world,” she said firmly. “I never want to go back there, and I told them so the next morning. I like serving coffee and helping Hunnie. I want to be here for Gigi’s wedding, and strangely, I think your sister and I could be friends. Apparently, these boots are made for staying.”
Her words seeped into places I didn’t know existed. Tiny crevices where I held my feelings tight.
“Murphy,” I said quickly. “There are some things I should tell you—”
“No, let me finish. I need to apologize and make this right. You see, I went to see Hunnie and she told me this story, actually it was a lesson from her grandmother, about the sweet in your life and holding on to it. Ben, I want to hold on to you because you’re my sweet.”
I needed to tell Murphy what I’d just signed, but my mouth had a mind of its own and found its way over to her lips. We kissed with all the pent-up emotions we’d been struggling with, and I had no idea how long we stayed like that.
Minutes melted into each other as I made love to Murphy’s mouth. At first, we were tender and then we weren’t, punishing each other’s mouths with the tension of this past week.
Finally, when we needed to breathe and I was certain her lips were bruised, I broke away, panting. Still on the floor, my ass full of pins and needles, I blurted, “I don’t know the right way to say this, but I’ve been hired to work on a full exercise and nutrition line, complete with an app and training program.”
“Ben, that’s amazing,” she said, her palm cupping my cheek.
“The thing is . . . it’s going to take me away from here. From my family, and now, I guess, from you.”
“Where are you
