Anna and Ben rode back to her house in silence. She was more than grateful that he didn’t bring up the awkward encounter with Cara in front of Johnny. She didn’t know the man very well and didn’t feel comfortable discussing her client’s issues with him around.
“So…” he began. “That Cara seems like a nice woman.”
“Ha! I used to think she was a nice woman, too, but it seems I’ve been reading people wrong lately.”
“Why did she say all that stuff about her husband and you?”
Anna shook her head. “Ethan is a free-spirited kind of guy who likes to tease. I don’t know what he says about me to his wife, but he’s nothing but professional when we’re together.” She lied, not wanting him to become jealous and full of questions she didn’t know how to answer.
He pulled up to her house and parked against the curb.
“Are you expecting someone?” Ben nodded towards the rental car in the driveway.
Anna rolled her eyes. “No. Thanks to your ex-girlfriend, I had to have my car towed to the dealership for repair, and they lent me this one.”
Ben opened his mouth to speak but she interrupted him. “I walked out to my driveway this morning and found all the tires slashed and large gashes from a key all along each side. I don’t know how much more of her behavior I can take, Ben. When I signed up for this relationship, I didn’t ask for some crazy lady to vandalize my property and scare the wits out of me.”
He turned the car off and exited it, going around the car to open Anna’s door. “Anna, please listen to my words carefully. There is something I haven’t told you yet. Danielle? The ex I believed to be the person tormenting you? She’s dead. She overdosed on drugs a couple months ago, making it hard for her to be the responsible party for the recent events.”
Anna wrinkled her eyebrows, trying to decipher his words. “Wait, what?” The ex-girlfriend is dead? She replayed that thought over and over in her head while she and Ben walked to her front door. Once they were inside, she shut off her alarm and turned towards him.
“How do you know this?”
Ben stared at the ground with his next declaration. “I visited her home a few days ago. Danielle died two months ago.” He looked back up at her. “That’s how I know she isn’t responsible for this. Someone else is and I have no idea who they’re after making it unsafe for both of us to stay here.”
Anna felt sick. It wasn’t what she expected to hear. “Are you sure there’s no one else?”
Ben shook his head. “As far as I know, there is no other woman stalking me. Have you pissed anyone off lately? Could this be a reflection of you?”
She was appalled at the thought. “For your information, my life was completely normal until you came along.”
Ben threw his hands up in defense. “I’m not trying to accuse you. I’m just trying to rule out all options. It’s possible that I was the one who pissed someone off, and now they’re taking it out on you.”
Anna rubbed her temples. “So, now what?”
“You can’t stay here.”
“Don’t be ridiculous,” Anna started. “My door’s locked and the alarm is armed. If anyone was to enter this door,” she pointed to the front door, “I would be alerted of it.”
“I’m not willing to take that chance. I’d rather you stay with me.”
Anna thought he was overreacting by making her stay with him, but she wasn’t about to fight with him over it. “I’ll drive myself over there.”
“No, you will ride with me.”
“Please, Ben. I don’t need you to act all macho about it. I will need a car so that I can get to and from work.”
He shook his head. “You can drive my car.”
“What about you?”
“Don’t worry about it. I’ll get to where I need to go.”
Feeling exhausted and mentally drained, Anna let it go. She did as she was told and packed a small bag and then climbed back into his car. Staying at a hotel wasn’t ideal, but the thought of being in her own home alone made her nervous.
Once her small suitcase was full, Anna re-entered Ben’s car feeling overwhelmed. He began driving down the street and she suddenly dozed off. Visions of the dead squirrel and her vandalized car swam in her head. Luckily, Ben’s piercing gaze pushed the horror from her mind and she reached up to caress his cheek.
“Anna, sweetheart. Time to wake up.”
Anna slowly opened her eyes and blinked a couple times. She peered up at Ben’s smiling face and smiled back before looking out the window. She expected to see his hotel but instead found an enormous home with a giant fountain in the front.
“Where are we?” she asked, puzzled.
“Fountain Hills. We are at my house.”
Anna rubbed her hand along her face to wake herself up. “House? You live in the area?”
Ben nodded.
“I’m confused. Why have you been staying at the hotel?”
“Because the hotel is closer to the field, making my commute easier. You know how awful the traffic can be sometimes.”
She looked out the window again still in awe over its beauty and vastness. “This is your house?”
Ben exited the vehicle and opened her door. “Yes, this is my house.”
Anna shook her head. Today had been one of the most confusing days of her life. “Why didn’t you tell me that you lived here?”
He looked at her guiltily. “You have to understand…”
Oh, she understood. Ben kept a room at the hotel to bring all the women he planned to sleep with there so they didn’t follow him to his house. She gave him a hard stare.
He chuckled. “I can see from the look on your face what you’re thinking.”
“How do you know what I’m thinking?”
“You’re wondering why I stay at the hotel and not here.”
Anna smirked and nodded.
“It’s not because I prefer to take women to the hotel and not my home.” It was like he read her mind. “Well, it was like that in my younger years, but not anymore. I only stay at the hotel during spring training because it’s easier and I like to hang out with my teammates. Once the season begins, I stay here.”
As a professional baseball player and a man who made enough money to buy a mansion in Fountain Hills, she had a hard time believing it.
Reading her mind again, he grabbed her hands and kissed them. “Just give me a chance.”
Anna had already fallen in love with the man. Giving him a chance was a no brainer, but she wasn’t about to tell him that. Hands still in his, Ben guided Anna to the front door and it opened as they approached.
“Oh, hey, Ben!” The young man waved. “Just stopping in to check on the tanks.”
Ben shook his hand. “And?” he asked.
“All is well. I left my card on the kitchen counter in case there is a fish emergency.”
Ben chuckled. “Thanks, Tony. I’ll see you soon.”
Tony waved again and walked away.
“Fish tanks?” Anna questioned.
“Yeah. Tony comes by every week to check on the tanks I have and cleans them if necessary. I don’t have the time or knowledge to care for them, so I hired him.”
She was about to question him again but realized what he was talking about as soon as she walked through the front door. A massive circular fish tank stood alone in the foyer filled with fish of all sizes and colors. Anna got closer to the glass and saw many types of smaller fish hiding within the rocks while others danced along with the algae. It was bright and beautiful.
“Wow,” she breathed.
“I know, right?” Ben came to her side. “This house used to be my parents. When they built it, my father insisted on installing fish tanks in every room. My mom on the other hand was totally against that idea, so they compromised and he got this one and a few others. When he died, she couldn’t bring herself to sell the house, but she also didn’t want to live in it anymore. When my baseball career took off, she talked me into buying the house from her, and she bought a condo in New York to be closer to my sister and her grandchildren.”
Ben had never spoken of his family until that very moment. Come to think of it, neither of them had spoken of their families. In less than thirty seconds, she learned that his dad had died and his sister had children. And this massive house she judged him for purchasing was bought only because his mother wanted him to preserve his father’s memory. Ben was a saint.
“Ben, I don’t know what to say.” She stood on her tippy toes and wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling him into a tight hug.
He chuckled. “Was it something I said?”
Anna shook her head. “I’m sorry your dad died.”
“Please,” he began, “You have nothing to be sorry about. It happened a long time ago. Heart attack.”
She looked around the entrance and saw the kitchen to her left and a formal living room to her right. “I guess, lead the way?”
He smirked and he took her bag off the ground. “Follow me.”
Ben walked up the large wooden staircase and she followed closely, peering into every room they passed. She counted five bedrooms and four bathrooms before they reached the master suite.
Spectacular was an understatement.
The bed sat in the middle of the room against the wall with a floor to ceiling padded headboard. Across from the bed were floor to ceiling windows that looked out over the Sonoran Desert and had incredible views of the vistas.
The farthest side of the room had accordion glass doors that lead to a patio with unobstructed views of the scenery. Some incredible features of the room included its own sitting area, a fireplace and a beautiful chandelier. When she turned towards the bathroom, she saw another one of his father’s prized fish tanks that separated the room from the entrance to the bathroom.
The bathroom was just as incredible. She saw his and her sinks, his and her toilets, a standing shower that could fit ten people with many shower heads and an enormous Jacuzzi tub.
“Are you overwhelmed?”
Anna shook her head. “I’m just trying to wrap my mind around all of this. Why didn’t you tell me that you actually lived here? Like owned a home here?”
Ben shrugged one of his shoulders. “Me owning a house here isn’t new news. If you looked me up on the internet, you’d see that.”
She cocked her head to the side and he chuckled. “Look, I’m sorry this came as a surprise.” He walked to her side and put his arms around her. “That was not my intention.”
Why am I so bothered by this? she asked herself. Probably because a part of her still thought that he was playing her, which was ridiculous. If he was playing her, he wouldn’t have brought her back to the home his parents built. He would have just taken her to stay at the hotel until they were able to figure out what was going on.
Anna sighed. “So, what do we do now?”
* * *
Ben wasn’t prepared for the negative reaction he received from Anna after arriving at his house. He just wanted to protect her and thought this was the more logical place to go since it was gated and had a twenty-four-hour monitoring system. While driving there, he realized that he was really excited to show it off to her. He was proud of the home his parents spent years creating. It revealed both of their personalities and living in it kept his father’s memory alive. He was grateful his mom talked him into buying it from her. He wouldn’t have had it any other way.
“Did you happen to call the police when you found your car that way?”
Anna shook her head. “Dumb move, I know. I didn’t even think about it.”
“Don’t worry. We’ll figure something out. For now, I’m going to have someone install some outdoor cameras at your house in case the perpetrator comes back for more.”
She nodded then ran and dove head first into the bed. Ben chuckled when she rolled onto her back and closed her eyes.
“This house is incredible, Ben.” She sat up. “Thank you for bringing me here.”
Ben sat down beside her. He wrapped his arms around her and she placed her head on his shoulder. “I would have taken you to the moon if I could.”
She giggled. “You’re adorable.”
He kissed the top of her head. “Thank you.” He wasn’t sure if she believed him or not and knew that he would spend all his energy trying to fix that.