From Fake to Forever (13 page)

“Yes, she did see it.” Missy turned away to get the class’s attention.

That’s it?
Just “yes, she did see it.” What the heck kind of information could he take from that?

“Okay, everyone sit down,” Missy called out. “We’re going to begin making our trick-or-treat bags.” She looked down at the little boy in the Spider-Man outfit and frowned. “That means you too, Blade.” Still ignoring Ben standing there, she took a stack of paper bags off the desk behind her and began handing one out to each child.

Ben watched Missy move at a slower-than-a-tortoise rate and wanted to beat his head against the wall. There had to be more to what Sandra had thought about the article. Had he redeemed himself at all in her eyes? His future with her depended on knowing that. And he had to know now. So taking matters into his own hands, he grabbed crayon boxes and markers and chucked them onto the children’s tables.

“Take it easy, Ben,” Missy said with a confused smile. “Two weeks out of this and you’re already rusty.”

“Yeah, yeah, rusty. Listen, Missy, you didn’t finish what you were saying before…you know, about my interview. What exactly did Sandra say?”

She looked thoughtful for a moment, hugging the bags to her chest. “That was so sweet of you to mention the preschool. We were all bowled over, and Sandra said she didn’t know how to thank you enough.”

Ben had a suggestion. Okay, a few suggestions.
For as long as they both shall live…

“She did?” His heart lifted, and he could have laughed out loud in relief and hope. “Then Sandra liked it? She didn’t think it was too over-the-top?”

“Why don’t you ask me yourself?”

He spun around at her voice. Sandra stood at the door, only three feet away. She didn’t have a costume on like Missy or Carol, but the grim set of her lips and the haunted look in her eyes more than befitted the Halloween theme. She still looked beautiful to him, so beautiful he wanted to reach out and take her in his arms. There was so much he wanted to say to her, so much he had to say to her. But his thoughts clogged together.

“Still going with the pirate facade, I see,” she said, wheeling in a cart of orange and black cupcakes, snacks, and juice boxes. “The Long John Silver family must have taken you in for research as well.”

Her cheap shot was a direct hit, but it only proved she had some sort of feelings toward him. Good or bad, he’d take it. He shrugged and tried a smile. “Old habits die hard.”

“So I’ve noticed.”

“And I’ve noticed you still hate me.”

She looked surprised. “No, Ben, I don’t hate you. I could never hate you. I—” She stopped herself short and, in her usual all-business attitude he’d always admired, began sorting the food onto Halloween plates. Then, all of a sudden, she stopped and hung her head. “Thank you,” she said softly.

He moved closer, wanting to give his words more privacy while Missy gave instructions to the children. Sandra’s sweet, peachy scent, so uniquely her, made his knees go weak, but he kept himself together. “I told you I cared and would do anything for you. You don’t need to thank me.”

“No, I do. That simple plug you gave the school in that interview has my phone ringing off its hook. I already have a waiting list for next semester, as well as next year.” She finally looked up, her blue eyes glistening with tears. “Thanks to you, I don’t have to worry about supporting my daughter. I have everything I could ever possibly want.”

He touched her then, just a hand on her arm, but he didn’t think he’d ever be able to let go again. “Do you really? Do you really have
everything
you want?” He hadn’t meant to sound so desperate, but…well…he was.

“I don’t—I think so. I mean…” Her delicate brows drew together. “What are you doing here, Ben? I thought your research was done.”

“I hated the way we left things. I wanted to see you, to see how you were doing.” His gaze shot to Hannah. “And I wanted to fulfill a promise to my favorite little princess.”

Sandra looked at him in stunned disbelief. After everything she’d thought him capable of, he supposed it was par for the course—but a kick in the teeth just the same.

“Ben, you should know some of the parents are coming here for the party. We’re going to have a Halloween parade for them. They’ll be arriving soon, so you may want to leave now, or you might be bombarded with some excited mothers.”

“I don’t care if any of the parents see me. They might not even recognize me with my costume. Besides, Hannah invited me. She wants me here.” He prayed a small part of Sandra wanted him here, too.

She nodded and turned toward the door.

“Sandals,” he rushed out, snapping her attention back to him. He glanced at Missy and the class and lowered his voice. “If I didn’t want to be here, I wouldn’t have told Hannah that I’d come. You might as well learn now that when some people make a promise, they keep it. And I’m one of those people.”

She looked down, her voice just above a whisper. “I know, Ben. I know that.
Now.
”

“Good. Because I’m not going anywhere until we settle a few things. I think it’s about time we figure out exactly what we have between us, don’t you?”

Her mouth opened, but she didn’t answer. It didn’t matter. Sandra didn’t know it, but as she nervously turned and ran out the door, she had already given Ben the encouragement he was looking for.

…

Sandra stayed out of his way the rest of the morning and tried her best to appear as busy as possible, avoiding even the simplest of small talk with him. Her efforts to avoid Ben worked against her, though, since she was forced to avoid conversations with the parents as well. Some of the mothers had recognized him and even asked for autographs. Of course, Ben was his usual charming self, making the children laugh as he posed for pictures with them and helped pass out the food. He fit right in to the whole preschool atmosphere and appeared to have a wonderful time.

She was glad someone had. Because she sure hadn’t.

Ben’s words about settling what was going on between them troubled her, turning her into a mass of frayed nerves. She felt terrible about comparing Ben to Steve. Ben was the type to keep his promises. He wasn’t anything like her ex-husband.

What exactly had Ben come here looking for? She loved him and wanted him so much. She knew now he wasn’t the bad guy she’d made him out to be. Maybe she’d known it all along, but she’d been afraid to let her guard down, afraid she’d be swept right back into his web of magnetism and get hurt all over again like she had been with Steve. So she kept her real feelings carefully contained.

As the last child left for the day, she took out a broom and began sweeping up the cupcake sprinkles that had made their way out into the hall. When she was done, she carried the broom to her office and was surprised to see Ben and Hannah waiting for her there. He had taken off his pirate wig and eye patch, and she noticed his sandy-colored hair was now cut short, making him look every square inch the handsome icon he was. They both looked up, shooting glowing smiles at her. Her heart fluttered at the sight of Hannah nestled in his lap with his arm wrapped around her in a loving gesture. She never wanted the picture of the two of them together like that to fade from her mind.

“What are you guys doing?” she asked.

Ben waved a book. “Reading. And waiting for you. Which has been a long time, for your information. You still don’t know how to give it a rest, do you?”

“Yeah, Mommy,” Hannah chimed in. “Don’t you know how to give it a rest?”

She bit back a laugh and leaned the broom against the wall. “Old habits die hard.”

“I guess we both need to work on that,” he said, his eyes never leaving hers.

Hannah patted Ben’s cheek to get his attention. “Are you leaving or are you coming home? Because I like it when you’re home better.”

Ben’s brows knitted together. “Home? You mean your home?”

“Yeah. I like it when you’re home with us better,” she said, sliding off his lap. “And you know who else likes it when you’re home?”

“Who?” he asked.

“My mommy. She’s not happy when you’re not home.”

Ben’s eyes flashed with amusement, and as his gaze shot to Sandra, he let out a slow I-think-I-might-have-just-won-the-lottery grin.

“See?” Hannah said, pointing. “My mommy’s happy today.”

Sandra’s cheeks flushed two degrees short of second-degree burns. There was nowhere to run. And thanks to her little stinker of a daughter, her true feelings had just been thrown up into the air like a big ball of confetti. She swallowed hard. “Uh, okay, Hannah, that’s enough. Go help your aunt clean up now.”

“Can I have a cupcake, too?” her daughter asked.

“Fine, but you have to help clean first.”

“Okay. I’m going to save Big Bens half of my cupcake, because he didn’t have dessert yet,” she said, skipping out.

Ben wasted no time, cashing in on her daughter’s slip. “So…you like it when I’m home?” Not waiting for a response, he stood and slowly approached her, his eyes taking on a sexy glint that spiked her heart rate. “Because I have to say, I like it when I’m home, too.”

She held out spread hands in a pathetic attempt to protect her heart. But she was afraid if he touched her, she’d say things she wasn’t sure she was ready to admit. “Kids say the darnedest things. Hannah doesn’t understand that your home isn’t in New Jersey.”

Standing before her, he took her hands in his and slowly brought them to her sides. “You know, a few months ago, I would have agreed with you and probably thought nothing of it. But now I know better. Kids are more honest about their feelings than adults are. Something I should’ve been with you since day one. I’m here because I wanted you to be the first to know.”

“Know what?”

“I turned down the role in
Heaven Sent
.”

She gasped. “You can’t. That role means everything to you.”

He shook his head, his gaze never leaving hers. “It
did
mean everything. I missed you, Sandra.”

Her throat caught as she stood there, soaking in and pressing those precious words of his into her heart. “I’ve missed you so much, too.”

He leaned forward and put his arms around her. With a deliriously happy exhaustion, she collapsed against him and buried her face in his neck. His arms tightened, and she felt his lips in her hair.

“Okay, then. We’re agreed that we missed each other.” He took her face in his hands and kissed her on the lips with such a deep longing she wanted to melt into a puddle at his feet. “That’s good. That’s a really good start.”

Her brows came together. “A good start?”

“As in beginning. For us. I love you, Sandra. This is real, not pretend. Do you hear what I’m saying to you? I
love
you. I should have told you before, but I held back, thinking I didn’t have it in me to be a real husband and a father. I was wrong about what I wanted out of life, and when I went back to New York, I realized I had no life without you and Hannah. But I need to know if you feel the same way. I need to know if we have a real future together or if I’m just kidding myself.”

He loves me.

He loved her! She couldn’t believe she’d heard the words. He honestly loved her. The idea made her feel flushed and giddy. So much so that several moments passed before she realized it wasn’t all he’d said.

“Wait,” she said, shaking herself out of her daze. “You…you really did turn down the part? The one for
Heaven Sent
?”

“Yeah, I’m not going to do anything ever again that might jeopardize our relationship. I was an idiot before. I thought acting—a stupid Oscar—was all I needed, that it was enough to make my life complete. It won’t. You make my life complete. You make me complete. You’re all I need.”

Her heart was in her throat, and her lips trembled so badly she almost couldn’t part them to speak. “I can’t believe you’d give up that role for me.”

“Honey, I’d give up acting and become a plumber if that’s what you wanted.”

She stared at him. “You
would
?”

“Uh, you don’t really want me to do that, do you?”

He looked so worried, she laughed out loud. “No. No, I don’t want the plumber. I want the actor, and if you really want that role, you should take it. After all, it’s your dream.”

He smiled. “Dreams change, sweetheart.”

“Oh, Ben, I’m so sorry. I was so wrong about you. I love you, too, so much. I didn’t realize it until you were gone. And then I thought I would just die, because I thought you didn’t feel the same way
.
”

He leaned down again and kissed away any remaining doubt. They loved each other. She realized the answer had always been there, but she’d been afraid to see it. Now she was willing to take the chance. She was willing to trust this man with her heart, and she couldn’t be happier.

“How do you feel about allowing me to do more research?” he murmured against her lips.

She slowly pulled back. “More research?” she asked with a laugh. “For what?”

“It’s research for a new role.” He cleared his throat and, to her surprise, seemed almost shy. “See, I’d be playing the part of a husband of a gorgeous preschool teacher who’s raising a precocious young child. This script is a bit of a stretch for me, but I’m willing to do as much training with you as necessary. So…what do you think?”

She pretended to think it over. “How long do you think this training will take?”

“I’m hoping at least thirty or forty years.”

She couldn’t hold back her smile any longer. “That’s a big undertaking. I don’t know. There might be some pretty heavy-duty make-out sessions required.”

“What a coincidence,” he said with a wicked grin. “That’s the first thing I was going to make sure was in my contract.”

With a smile of her own, she drew back her foot and kicked the door closed. She wouldn’t mind doing a little of her own character preparation as well. And as she slid her arms around his neck, they didn’t waste any time with their first rehearsal.

The End