“Oh yeah,” I reply with a giggle. “I forgot. My brain is in a sex haze. What time do we have to be there?”
“Noon,” Ben replies, as he reaches for his phone on his nightstand and takes a peek. “It’s 10 am now…” His voice trails off as he puts the phone down and shoots me a suggestive look.
“So we still havesometime to spend in bed,” I say cheekily as I wriggle towards him for a kiss.
“You read my mind exactly.”
“Good thing I grabbed a second condom from the bathroom cabinet earlier.”
Ben gives me a look of surprise—and then a slow smile of pleasure spreads across his face.
“Just when I thought you couldn’t get any better, you still manage to surprise me,” he says. “Talk about a dream girl.”
My heart flutters with excitement at his words, and I feel my cheeks flush with pleasure. Hearing Ben call me his dream girl is surreal. But it’s also fitting.
Because after last night, and this morning, I have no doubt that Ben is my dream guy.
Chapter Fourteen
Benjamin
ImeantwhatIsaid when I called Lacy my dream girl. She’s got everything I want, that I neverknewI wanted, in a girl. Seeing her increasingly come out of her shell in LA confirmed that for me. We’ve been having an amazing time together and I want to keep having an amazing time together. There’s nothing more to it. It’s as simple as that.
By the time we leave for the press junket, we’re both floating on cloud nine and in a happy, post-sex haze. As we Uber over to the venue, coffee cups in hand, Lacy keeps resting her head on my shoulder and giving me these sleepy, sexy smiles.
“You tired?” I ask as she lets out a giant yawn.
“Well, we didn’t get too much sleep, now did we?” She replies slyly.
“Hey, we had other priorities.”
“True. At least we’re on the same page on these things.”
“You mean on the importance of sleep versus sex?”
“Shh,” Lacy hushes me and shoots an anxious look to the Uber driver, who isn’t paying us any attention, or is doing a great job of pretending like he’s not paying any attention.
“Hey, you’re going to have to get used to opening up to the world, remember?” I say with a joking nudge.
“Notthoseparts of my life. Anyway, today is my chance to see how the pros do PR, right?”
“I’ll do my best to impress.”
“Seriously though, Ben, thanks for doing this,” she says quietly. “You know how I feel about the media stuff.”
“Yeah, I hear you. Putting yourself out there is scary. It’s even scarier when you’re putting your creative work out there.”
“For other people to judge,” she adds with consternation.
“Or for other people to appreciate,” I remind her boldly. I’m feeling confident and calm after the last few days. My music is coming along well ever since Lacy arrived at Rose Manor. The renovations on Rose Manor have been a fun diversion. And on top of it all, I’m having a great time with Lacy. After years of being convinced that I’m somehow cursed, that I’m never going to find a woman that really gets me, I’m feeling—for once—like a lucky guy. I thought that this kind of connection was out of reach for me, and I definitely didn’t think I’d find it with my nerdy ex-stepsister, of all people.
By the time we get to the press junket, we’ve downed our coffees and woken up a bit. My manager, James, is already on site when we arrive. The press junket is being held at a ritzy hotel downtown. We’ll start with a series of one-on-one interviews in a private room, and then have a listening party for the press, playing them one of the tracks I’ve been working on at Rose Manor.
“Ben! Long time, no see,” James greets me with his characteristic enthusiasm. He’s got his sunglasses on, a permanent fixture, and his blonde hair is slicked back with loads of gel. In his ripped jeans and black t-shirt, he looks more like a roadie or a member of the band than my manager. But he’s a consummate professional and I trust him like no other.
“Hey, James, good to see you,” I say as we exchange a hug“This is Lacy.”
“Of course! The muse from the live stream,” James says, shaking Lacy’s hand eagerly. “That little stunt really helped get the buzz going about Ben’s new music. Well done.”