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Her sister just smiled.

Was Benny that transparent? Because the truth had been hitting her over the head for the past couple of weeks, but she’d refused to accept it. She studied her hands. “That I love him.”

“Yeah, you dope. That you love him. Have you seen him at all since last night?”

Benny shook her head. “No, I’ve been hiding out in my bedroom all day up until now.”

“Chicken.”

Benny laughed, even though the prospect of doing what her sister was proposing—telling Henry that she loved him—had her absolutely terrified.

She came to her feet, already feeling the tiniest bit hopeful.

“Heading home already?”

“I’ve got a lot of thinking to do. A few people to speak to.”

One person she needed to speak to. Needed to tell how she really felt, now that she was ready to recognize it herself.


Henry had been stalking his front door, listening for the sound of the elevator all day with the hopes of catching a glimpse of Benny.

He felt horrible for how things had gone last night, for things that were said. And he needed to know whether she finally came clean to Luke about everything. Let him truly see who she was.

Even if that prospect completely terrified Henry.

Because Luke was everything that Benny wanted. A true hero who was compassionate and honorable, not at all superficial or—how had she described Henry? With no substance. There was nothing stopping them from being crazy happy together.

And so what? So she’d be happy. Henry had been perfectly happy before Benny Sorensen came into his life, and he’d continue to be happy long after she rode off on that priggish white horse with Saint Luke.

He was happy, damn it.

Someone knocked on the door, bringing his pacing to a halt. He was certain that he hadn’t heard the elevator. Henry sauntered to the door, curious.

It was Benny.

He opened the door, noticing her flushed face and her heavy breathing. Had she taken the stairs to the tenth floor?

“Hey,” she said breathlessly.

That’s it? Okay, he could be casual, too. “Good evening.”

“Can I come in? I promise I won’t yell at you or insult you,” she said in a tone that was almost…upbeat.

“Of course.”

He stepped aside to let her in and shut the door. Had he imagined the evening before? Or put too much weight on their words, spoken in anger? He was new at this ‘just friends’ stuff. Maybe blowups like that were par for the course.

“Is everything okay?” He studied her face, finally noticing the red-tinged, swollen eyes. She’d been crying? “What happened, did something happen with Luke?” he demanded, more abruptly than he’d intended.

“No,” she said and smiled slightly. “Nothing like that. I, uh…well, I’ve been doing some soul-searching since our talk yesterday. And after a conversation with Daisy today, I’ve reached a few realizations.”

He nodded, trying not to feel alarmed. “Do you want to have a seat?”

“No. I don’t think I could sit right now. I’m too nervous. I just need to get this off my chest.” She took a few steps closer, her gaze on the floor, as if gathering her thoughts. “The past few weeks have really surprised me. Not just because I liked my haircut or my new clothes, or the attention I suddenly was getting. It surprised me because I found myself actually enjoying one more unexpected thing…spending time with you.” She looked up now, meeting his gaze. “I like hanging out with you.”

She couldn’t like at him like that. All soft and hopeful. It was playing havoc with his head. He swallowed but remained still as she went on.


Tags: Ashlee Mallory The Sorensen Family Romance