“No Gretchen dear. You deserved none of it. Rainor’s cruel and heartless behavior just showed how small a man he was. A man isn’t strong if he uses his strength against others. The proof of a man’s strength is his willingness to be kind, gentle, and generous. Tina taught me that.”
“Tina is a good woman!” Gretchen said in wonder. “And you are the strongest man I know.”
Ben took her face between his hands and she immediately rose up on her knees to accept his kiss. When they pulled back her eyes were twinkling with happiness and Ben was beginning to feel a little cramped for space in his pants.
He looked at the time and saw it was almost time for him to go pick up Gabriella from the airport. Catherine had let him know she was flying in for the wedding and he was thrilled. He immediately offered to pick her up and Catherine just grinned at him and nodded like there was any question.
“I have to go pick up Gabriella. I don’t know what we’re doing for dinner-”
“Dinner will be at Karen and Penny’s place. Lucy told me she’s picking up Middle Eastern food. Everyone will be there as this is going to be the practice ceremony for Catherine’s wedding.” Gretchen explained.
“Ah! Great!” he said with a smile. He lifted her to her feet and stepped aside so she could take the chair. “Enjoy! I’ll see you later at dinner.”
“Thank you Ben!” she said touching his arm.
“It’s my pleasure,” he replied and headed out. She followed him to the door to the garage where he put on his coat and boots. She grinned when he realized she was following him to get another kiss before he left. He gave her what she wanted and out he went.
A car was pulling into his driveway as he tried to back out. He cleared the garage door but had to stop before it could close. He got out and saw Walter hustling up to him with his briefcase in hand.
“Sorry to be late but you said I could stop by for the signatures,” the man said.
“Ah right. I was on my way to the airport but let’s have them,” Ben said patting the hood of his truck.
Walter opened his case and pulled out a stack of papers. The signature spots were tagged so they made their way through the forms, Walter explaining what each was and Ben signing them. The lawyer collected them from Ben afterwards and put them back in the briefcase.
“Thanks Ben! I’ll get out of your way now. These will go out to Captain Kendricks on Monday,” Walter explained.
Ben blinked at him. “Did they need to be signed now?”
Walter blushed. “Well… it gives me an excuse to be in the neighborhood.”
Ben grinned at the man and patted him on the shoulder. “Go! Say hello to Daphne for me as well.”
Walter grinned and rushed back to his own car as Ben got into his truck. He reversed out and closed the garage door before he headed out of the neighborhood.
The drive to the airport took longer than he wanted as the traffic was heavy and he ran through the terminal to get to the arrivals area. He saw people streaming out of the doors and worried that he’d missed her but the next time the doors parted she walked through. His face lit up in a big smile. She was in his arms moments later and he kissed her passionately, loving the feel of her incredibly soft lips and tongue on his. Her body felt incredible as well.
“Phew! Ben! My god! Now, that was a kiss!” she gasped happily when they finally pulled back to look at each other.
“I missed you!” he said and she hugged him, resting her cheek on his chest.
“I missed you too!” she sighed.
“Let’s get you home. There are a lot of people waiting to say hello!” Ben said, smiling down at her.
She nodded and Ben took her suitcase. He was surprised by how heavy it was. Then he remembered all the outfits Miriam wore at the party. Gabriella was likely bringing Miriam the clothes from Brezza. He recalled with a smile how much the girl loved the clothing line.
“What’s the smile for?” she asked as they made their way to the truck.
“I was just recalling how much fun Miriam and Daniel had at the Brezza party,” he said with a smile.
Her face lit up with a smile of her own. “Oh my god Ben that was such a wonderful night! The kids had such a good time the whole weekend and they emailed me afterwards to tell me how impressed they were with the whole Brezza operation. It was such a fantastic growing experience for them both! Miriam has decided marketing is definitely what she wants to do and they’re actually using some of Daniel’s photos in Brezza’s US campaign. He’s made some income from his photography!”
“He’s a pro!” Ben said with a grin.
She hugged him again then she got into the truck as he put the suitcase in the backseat.
“How are you feeling about Catherine’s wedding?” Gabriella asked.
“I feel really good about it. Chanel is so good for her and Catherine clearly indicated to both Chanel and I that her relationship with me isn’t over. I hope Chanel is able to cope with that. I haven’t spoken with Catherine about her reaction yet.”
“I will speak with Chanel when I get a chance,” Gabriella said to assure Ben.
He did feel better knowing his personal ‘Goddess of Love’ was on the case. If anyone could clear up misconceptions of love it was Gabriella.
They headed home and Ben made better time as he was moving against traffic now. Soon they pulled onto Ashburn Court and Gabriella sighed happily. “Home,” she said and Ben smiled with a nod. He felt the same way.
They saw people walking up the driveway to Karen and Penny’s place and realised it was Ashley with her children.
“Let’s drop your suitcase off and head over,” Ben said. Gabriella nodded with a smile.
The house was quiet as the kids had already headed over to the party. Ben left the suitcase in the foyer and they walked over to join the others.
Going inside they were immediately surrounded and many hugs ensued.
Rain gave Ben a big hug and kiss. She had come home first to let the guests in and get the party going. The girls and Lucy were on their way with the food.
She’d also been the one to reach out to the rest of the neighborhood with invites. The Hernandez family weren’t available this weekend but sent their best wishes. She’d learned from Jayden that Rochelle was in California with his sister. The Browns, both the parents and the two ladies who worked in the daycare with the twins, were out of town visiting relatives this weekend. And finally their new neighbors Dominic and Sophia were in Las Vegas celebrating their anniversary.
Ben learned from Trish that Hannah would be over later with Ryan and Trish’s son Mason was already downstairs playing with the others.
Lily was there as well and gave Ben a kiss on the cheek which he was fine with.
He gave Beth a big hug and a kiss as her kids were downstairs and wouldn’t see and embarrass her.
Lisa and Lori were there looking ravishing as always. They got their kisses and told him their mom was out on yet another date with Walter. Then they joined Lily who was listening to Rain talk about her new job.
Ben suddenly found himself in a tight hug from Ashley. “I heard you were in the hospital for a week and I’ve been worried about you!” she whispered into his neck as she clung to him.
“I’m much better now. On the road to recovery at last,” he said as he wrapped his arms around her.
She suddenly realized how clingy she was being and blushed furiously as she glanced around. Her kids were downstairs so it was just the adults who were smiling back at her. She kissed Ben and moved back to let others greet him. Gabriella gave her a hug too.
Miriam and Daniel charged into the living room and rushed over to hug their mother. Ben watched with a big smile on his face as they showed how much they missed and loved their mom. They really were great kids!
When Catherine and Chanel arrived they rushed over to Gabriella and encircled the family. Catherine’s parents followed them in with smiles on their faces as well. Beth introduced herself as did Lily.
Ben shook Jack’s hand and kissed Lynda’s cheek.
“How went your meeting with the girls?” Ben asked with a smile.
“They called to say they were delayed but they’ll be here after dinner for the rehearsal,” Jack said. They both actually looked a little nervous about meeting their grandkids.
“They are wonderful, intelligent, and well-adjusted young ladies,” Ben assured them.
“All the more reason to kick myself in the ass for being such a stubborn fool all these years,” Jack grumbled.
“You may not forgive yourself but I think you’ll find they are a forgiving bunch,” Ben smiled.
Cat waved at her parents to come see Gabriella. This gave Daniel the opportunity to escape the group hug to walk over to Ben. He stopped to shake Jack’s and Lynda’s hand on his way over. “Hi Ben. We really need to get Karen and Penny their own game console,” he said.
“Oh yeah, sorry about that. I’ve been a little bit occupied. You mentioned a newer model?” Ben replied.
“Actually I think it might be a good idea to get two and a second TV considering the crowd at these parties. We could get more people playing at once!”
“Daniel! Don’t be spending Ben’s money for him!” Gabriella gasped as she overheard him.
“No. I rely on Daniel’s expertise for these issues!” Ben said to his mother. He turned to the boy. “Show me what you mean.”
Daniel led the way down stairs and described how he would set up a second TV on the opposite wall so they could have tournaments or play different games without distracting each other… aside from the noise of course. Ben looked at the wall in question and realized he did have access to electricity there and could easily run the cables for the game. The second TV wouldn’t have access to cable or movies unless he set up a wireless streamer but that was less useful.
“Are you available to go with me to the store to pick up the stuff on Sunday?” Ben asked.
“Sure!” Daniel said with a grin.
“Great! I will call you around the lunch hour,” Ben replied and heard a call from upstairs. The food had arrived.