Hannah gave her a puzzled look. “Why is this the first time we’ve heard of him?”
Beth looked down at her hands. “I needed… I needed to prove this was something I could do on my own.” She gave Ben a guilty look. “Your life has taken on larger-than-life proportions. I wanted to make sure everything about Keith and I was driven by our desire for each other. This was for me. Sorry, Ben.”
Hannah frowned angrily, but Ben held up his hand to stop her response. He sighed. “No, I totally get it. I’d leap at the chance if there was a way to separate myself from the noise surrounding me.” He smiled fondly at Beth. “He makes you happy?”
Beth had tears of joy in her eyes. “So much!”
“Then we’re happy for you!” Ben pulled Beth into a warm hug then Hannah held Beth’s hands between hers.
“I understand you being upset with me,” Beth said to her. “But this was something I needed to do. Keith asked me to marry him last weekend, and I said yes. I’m going to move to his home in Vancouver with my kids. They’re sad to be leaving their friends here but excited about their new home. They said they’ll keep in touch and play together over the Internet, whatever that means.” She shrugged and looked at Ben. “Would-would you be interested in buying my house?” she asked timidly.
Ben grinned at her. “Of course, I will!”
“Whatever you think is a fair price,” Beth said with a relieved smile.
Ben shook his head. “I’ll have Trish’s cousin Shelly work out the comps, and you’ll get top dollar.” Beth grinned with happy tears in her eyes. She plucked a tissue from the box to dab them.
“When do you leave?” Hannah asked.
“In two days, as I need to get my kids enrolled in the local high school. I’ve already begun that process.”
“Such exciting news! We’ll be sad to see you go, but we’re so glad you found someone that makes you happy!” Ben said, and Hannah nodded in agreement.
There didn’t seem to be anything more significant they wanted to talk about after Beth’s news, so they decided to end the session there.
Ben gave them hugs at the door, and they went on their way. Ben wandered back into the living room and saw Tina and Lucy working on their tablets. They looked up and smiled at him.
“Your session was short tonight!” Lucy said.
“Yes, Beth had news that kind of topped anything else we had to say, so we decided to call it.” He saw their curious expressions and knew Beth’s news was no longer a secret, so he assumed it was shareable. “Beth is getting married to a University Professor in Canada. She’s moving to Vancouver, B. C., with her kids in two days. I’ll be buying her home.”
Tina and Lucy had identical looks of surprise on their faces. Ben chuckled. “I imagine Hannah and I looked just like you two a few minutes ago when she sprung the news on us.”
“It is such a surprise. She said nothing!” Tina said.
Ben shrugged. “Beth met him here last year. She’s visited him in Canada, and he came here to meet her kids. He’s a widow with a boy and girl the same ages as hers. She didn’t mention anything to us and didn’t introduce him to anyone. She told me that she wanted to ensure their relationship was purely driven by their interest in each other and wasn’t affected by the drama in my life.” He saw their frowns and quickly spoke again. “Those were my words, not hers. She said she wanted to prove she could do this on her own.”
“Still, it feels like she was ashamed of us,” Tina said softly.
Ben shook his head, then sighed. “She’s not. I actually envy her ability to remain under the media’s radar.”
“What are you going to do with Beth’s house?” Lucy asked.
“I have some ideas. First, though, I have to buy it. I need to call Shelly,” Ben said as he looked up her number on his cell. He dialed as the ladies watched him.
“Hi, Ben!” Shelly answered.
“Hi, Shelly! I’m hoping you might be available to create a comp report for Beth Wilson. She’s selling me her home as she’s moving to Canada to get married. She leaves in two days. The quicker we can move, the simpler this process will be.”
“Wow! That’s soon! Do you have her number? I’ll give her a call,” Shelly said.
Ben read out the digits to her.
“You know, most of the comps will be purchases you made,” Shelly said with a grin in her voice.
“That’s fine. She deserves a good price, and I want her to feel comfortable about this,” Ben replied.
“Okay. I’ll let you know. Thanks, Ben!”
“Thanks, Shelly!”
Hanging up, he looked at the curious expressions on Tina’s and Lucy’s faces. “I think it might be nice to have a guest house available for when Dan and Willow visit or the Noskovs. When I visited Jerry, I saw some beautiful modern architecture that blended in with the forest surrounding the building. I think that design would look awesome here as well. Beth’s lot is extra-large, so I’m imagining a wide, deep ranch with loft bedrooms with decks for private sunbathing facing the forest.”
“That sounds gorgeous!” Lucy said.
“I think it will be. The lot is the perfect size for the design I have in mind.” He frowned. “Of course, with Dominic retiring and his team moving to a new construction company, I’m not sure if I can get them back to work on this project. I’ll talk to him tomorrow.”
He looked towards the kitchen. “I think I’ll soak in the hot tub. Anyone else interested?”
Lucy and Tina shared smiles, and Tina tipped her chin towards Ben, indicating Lucy should go. She looked at Ben. “I will watch over the children. The hot tub drowns out the sound of the baby monitor.”
Ben snorted and dipped down to give Tina a kiss. “Your turn next time then?”
She bit her lip and looked up at him with heat in her eyes. “Yes!”
“Can you set the privacy curtain?” he asked her, and Tina nodded.
Ben smiled and went to get changed for the tub. Lucy gave Tina a sweet kiss, then moved quickly to join him. Tina rushed to the kitchen to press the switch, which dropped the curtain over the deck to ensure no one could see what they were up to in the tub.
Once they both were wearing only their robes, Ben and Lucy walked back to the kitchen, stepping out onto the deck. They hung the robes on the warming rack and climbed into the hot bubbling water.
Lucy smiled at Ben and eased herself closer to press her naked body against his.
They both sighed happily.
Bliss!
-=-
The doorbell rang, and Tina answered it to see Shelly smiling back at her.
“Hello, Ms. Spencer! We weren’t expecting to see you tonight,” Tina said in surprise.
“I was just over at Trish’s when Ben called. I printed off an agreement, spoke with Mrs. Wilson, and then reviewed her home with her. I showed her the comparable sales, and we quickly settled on a price.” She held up the purchase agreement in her hand. “Ben indicated he was in a hurry, so I thought I’d just drop by to fill him in. Mrs. Wilson is willing to complete the transaction tonight. Is he available?”
Tina glanced back towards the kitchen, then smiled at Shelly. That smile began to grow, and Shelly wondered what delighted the petite woman so much.
“Yes, please come in,” Tina said, stepping back. Shelly came inside, and Tina closed and locked the door as Shelly slipped her sandals off.
“Have you met Lucy?” she asked the tall blonde.
Shelly shook her head. “No, I don’t believe so.”
Tina’s smile got a little wider and more mischievous. “She lives with Ben and me, and we share everything.” She raised an eyebrow, and Shelly’s eyes widened as she picked up Tina’s meaning. “Lucy can do what you can do for Ben, but I believe she would greatly appreciate learning from you.”
Shelly’s eyes were locked on Tina’s, and the tip of her tongue unconsciously slipped out to moisten her lips as her mind took her back to that magical night. Tina was offering her another chance. She wanted that so much! She nodded nervously, and her smile trembled.
“Come with me,” Tina said and led Shelly into the kitchen.
Standing next to the counter, Shelly could hear the hot tub bubbling on the deck through the open door.
“Undress. They are not wearing anything in the water,” Tina instructed.
In surprise, Shelly looked at the small woman, quickly slipped out of her sundress, and slipped her bra and panties off. She felt a little self-conscious before Tina, but she knew the woman was doing this for Ben, not herself.
Tina took Shelly’s hand and guided her onto the deck next to the tub. Ben was resting back against the padded headrest, but there was no sign of anyone else in the tub. He moaned gently, and they suddenly knew where Lucy was.
She surfaced and brushed the water from her face. She froze when she saw the tall naked blonde standing next to the tub. Then she saw Tina holding her hand, and her eyes widened in excitement as she realized who this might be. Her eyes met Tina’s in question, and Tina nodded.
“What!?!” Ben jolted as he suddenly became aware of the company.
“Ben, Shelly has come to speak with you, but first, I would like her to show Lucy what she can do for you. While I have described the evening, Lucy would very much like to see and learn from Shelly.”
“I-I don’t–”
“Please,” Tina said sweetly.
Ben looked up at Shelly and saw the hope in her eyes. He looked back at Tina, then at Lucy, who was trembling with excitement.
He huffed as he felt outnumbered. He nodded, and Shelly’s smile bloomed. She moved gently into the tub and purred at the heat from the water.
Tina dipped forward and kissed Ben. “Thank you for helping Lucy learn new ways to please you,” she said softly.
He gave her a hot look, and she slipped back into the house to check on the kids.
Tina’s body was tingling as she knew Ben would exact some delicious revenge on her later.