11
Ben
The rest of the house was as magnificent as what Ben had seen so far. He didn’t look into any of the bedrooms—people deserved their privacy after all—but the public living spaces were amazing. The house had three living rooms: one that looked super formal, one that was more of a TV room, with built in bookshelves lining the walls, and one that featured wall-to-wall windows and a glass door that led out to the pool. Even the wine cellar was as impressive as Sam had told him it would be. A thousand bottles of wine. Ben was fairly sure he would need about half of those by the time the weekend was over.
As Sam finished up the tour, a short, older woman who could only be Sam’s grandma approached them. Unlike Sam’s parents, she didn’t exude wealth. She wore a slate blue skirt that reached her calves, a colorful top, and a cardigan. In a lot of ways, she reminded Ben of his own grandma.
“You must be Ben,” she said, holding out her hand. “I’m Sam’s grandma Hattie.”
Ben took her hand. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, ma’am. Sam’s told me so much about you.”
Well, he’d told him that Ben would probably like her.
“Oh do, call me Hattie. ‘Ma’am’ makes me feel old—older than I already am, anyway!”
That had all three of them laughing.
“Grandma, do you know if the aunts and uncles are here yet?” Sam asked. He looked a bit anxious, and Ben understood why. He hoped for a bit more time for the two of them to settle in before having to introduce Ben to the extended family.
“Not yet. Richmond and Louise are driving up after they get off work, and George just texted that they’re on their way.”
Sam visibly relaxed, the tension in his shoulders easing. They still had time.
“I think maybe we should go find the others,” he said.
“I think you should come out into the sun porch and talk to your grandma. I’ve not seen you since April!”
Ben looked over at Sam as they walked, confused. “I thought you said you hadn’t seen your family since Christmas.”
“I haven’t seen the rest of them since Christmas, but Grandma came up to visit for a week. You remember that week I was off?”
He did. At first, he’d thought Sam had left and found another job. His heart had done funny things, until Faith told him that he had taken a week off.
“Yeah, I remember.”
“I surprised him for his birthday.”
Shit. That was something he hadn’t thought to ask about. He didn’t know Sam’s birthday and Sam didn’t know his. He took a seat beside Sam as they reached the sun porch.
“I think that’s sweet. I would have loved for my grandma to do that when she was around.”
“When did you lose her?” Hattie’s eyes were kind and sympathetic.
“When I was a kid. She was older when she had my dad. I have my mom’s mom, of course, but that doesn’t replace Grandma.”
A hand slipped inside his, and he realized belatedly that it was Sam’s. Ben blinked, then remembered they were supposed to be a couple. Couples comforted one another when they were sad.
“Nor should it,” Hattie said. “Sam lost his grandfather, my husband, when he was young. He knows what it’s like to lose a grandparent.”
A part of Ben wanted to ask where his other grandparents were, but that wasn’t appropriate in front of Hattie. She was much different than he had anticipated she would be. The entire family was. Ben couldn’t see what the big deal was about Sam’s family. They definitely weren’t the horrible, stuck up people that Sam thought they were. If their situations had been reversed, and Ben had grown up with Sam’s family, he was fairly sure he would have enjoyed it. But then, he also knew that families hid their secrets when guests were around, and he was most certainly a guest.
“You know, Sam, now that I’ve met Ben, I still don’t understand why you wouldn’t introduce me to him when I came up to visit. Here I was, half expecting you to bring some kind of troll, and instead he’s a very polite young man.”
Sam’s hand tightened in his. “Well, I, um…”
“It’s my fault,” Ben said quickly. “You’ll have to forgive me. My last relationship ended badly and it took a lot for Sam to get me to go out with him. It was still pretty new, and I was skittish. I didn’t want to meet any family in case things didn’t work out between us.”
Hattie smiled and it lit up her entire face. “I can’t say I’m happy your last relationship didn’t end well, but I’m so glad you ended up with my Sam. He’s quite the catch, isn’t he?”
Ben’s mouth went dry. He knew this was coming. At some point, it would become necessary to talk about how much he liked Sam and how great Sam was. He could do that, but it came dangerously close to exposing his true feelings. There had to be a way to deflect the situation.
He cleared his throat. “He definitely is a catch. Except when he doesn’t do his laundry.”
“Oh, you two are living together now?”
That was infinitely worse than what he had intended. “Don’t say anything to Bradley or Rosalind. It’s really new and we’re just trying it out to see how it goes.”
There was a good chance that his pants were going to spontaneously combust at any time. His cheeks already felt like they were on fire.
“I won’t say a word. I know how to keep a secret. You know, I was the first person Sam told he was gay.” She smiled and folded her arms across her chest. “I told him I didn’t mind if he liked boys. As long as he met someone nice. Someone who could see how special he was. He’s never been like Bradley or Rosalind. Not even like Ambra. They were driven by their own desires to get ahead. But Sam? He just wanted to be happy. And I’m so glad that he’s found happiness with you.”
The urge to sink down into the sofa was nearly overwhelming. It was one thing, lying to the family Sam didn’t like, but Hattie was sweet and only wanted the best for her grandson. If this whole thing blew up, she would be so disappointed—not just because they weren’t actually a couple, but because they had lied about it. He pulled his hand from Sam’s.
“Excuse me, but which way’s the restroom?”
Hattie chuckled. “It’s a big house, isn’t it? Back down the hall and to the left. The door stays open, so you don’t have to look very hard.”
Eager for the escape, Ben stood and walked away.