The following day was only a repeat of the last, that is until there was a knocking on the door, and I thought to myself, that’s all I need right now. I should have just stayed in bed. Wearing my sweatpants and camisole, I peeked through the peephole.

Jules.

“Hi.” Her gaze raked me over, head to toe. “Ben called me, said you needed fixin’ so I’m here to do that.”

Damn him.

“Or at least try.”

She squeezed by me as I rolled my eyes.

“I’m unfixable,” I said, falling back on the couch.

“Tell me what happened.”

I rolled over, away from her stare.

“I didn’t believe Ben when he warned me. Steel, he only wanted one thing, and once I told him I wasn’t ready, he dumped me.”

My words were mumbled, and I refused to see the pity in her eyes.

“What he did was unforgiveable.” She laid a hand on my back, gently rubbing and patting as if comforting a child. “Sometimes people are broken, Jordan. Maybe he only gave you what he could.”

I turned to face her, my eyes welling up. “That doesn’t give him the right…”

Then the floodgates opened, and she held me while I cried on her shoulder.

“I know. That’s precisely why you need to let it go. You’ve already veered back towards Ben, remember, your true love for the last ten years?”

I pulled away from her embrace and gave her a level look, considering her words of advice. Her hands braced my shoulders in place.

“Do me a favor Jordan, listen to your heart.” She was right. A hint of a smile escaped my lips.

“Mark my words: karma’s a bitch.” And moved out of the room towards the kitchen.

“Hungry?” she asked.

“No.”

“How about tea?

“That sounds nice.”

Once I joined her in the kitchen, I turned on the faucet to fill the kettle, but a trickle of water started to leak at the base, and it grew in size quickly.

“Jules, hand me a towel!”

She quickly wrapped the towel around the base and I lowered the handle, but the water still poured out. Fountains of high-pressure water begin to spirt and drench us both.

“Turn off the main!”

“Where’s that?”

“I don’t know—it’s your house, look underneath!”

Jules was dripping in water, still attempting to shield the spout now flooding the countertops and floors.

I found a dial and turned it to the right. Righty-tighty.

“That’s not working. Go to the basement, look for a dial maybe by the water heater, but hurry the fuck up,” Jules commanded.

I battled my way down the slippery steps drenched, leaving a trail of water behind me. I finally found the dial, and once again, turned it to the right.

“Did that do it?” I yelled up to Jules.

“Yes, finally!”

Once I returned to the kitchen, the disaster had grown in size.

“Now what?”

The sight was almost comical.

“You need to call a professional.”

“Ya think?”

Smiling as I took off the dripping sweatpants that must now weigh a hundred pounds, I tracked my way to the living room, reached for my phone, and searched for emergency plumbing. Then pressed call. I explained the horror show, and they promised to have someone here within the hour, but it would cost me.

“Go to my room, look in my closet and change into some dry clothes. We have an hour, so I want to mop up as quickly as I can before the floor is ruined and is added to the list of damages.”

The mopping process was tedious. It seemed like there was no end in sight, but I turned when I heard a familiar voice.

“You’re a mess.”

Ben’s eyebrows arched mockingly.

And standing just behind him was Jules.

“Oh, Ben’s here.”

She chuckled, and I realized I was standing in a puddle of water, dressed in my white silk panties and camisole. It was wet, see-through, and the fabric was glued to my body. I watched as his eyes trailed up and down, lingering on my swollen nipples, peaked by the cold.

Jules’s words suddenly came back to me.

“Your true love for the last ten years.”

Not knowing what else to do, I put the mob and bucket away.

“The repair man will be here any minute,” I said as I grazed by Ben, who was still immobile in the doorway. I made my way to my bedroom to dry off and change, but a smile appeared out of nowhere, recalling Ben’s reaction to my near nakedness.

Several hours passed, and the repairman arrived.

“Burst pipe. It’s not always apparent. We need to start at the sink, working our way until we find the break. That may include tearing out parts of your cabinetry.”

“You paint a grim picture.”

“It appears that way, locating then getting access to it may prove to be the bigger cost, with time and labor. You can get a second opinion, but do it sooner rather than later.”

“No, just proceed.”

“I’ll work up a bid, but as we go, I’ll call you to update new findings. I won’t know how much or how long until I find the source. It’s an older home too, so we may find a few surprises. You might consider staying somewhere else during the process.”

“I’ll do that. Thank you.”

I walked him to the door, where Ben and Jules were sitting on the couch.

“I guess you heard?”

“Yeah. I’d offer my place, but my mom is coming into town tomorrow, and I wouldn’t purposely inflict that on anyone,” Jules said.

“I can stay in a hotel close to the office.”

“Nonsense. You can stay with me. I have plenty of room. I won’t even know you’re there.”

Something in his offer appealed to me.

“That’s perfect!” Jules said, jumping in with gusto.

She knew all my secrets and all my dreams, and she stood by me, witnessing my darkest days over Ben. As I considered his offer, my gaze drifted to his, but before I could say a word, he spoke first.

“Okay, then it’s settled. Let’s get you packed.”

“I’ll need to follow you in my car.”

Why I chose that minor detail to point out, I didn’t know. Things were moving too quickly, somehow.

“Duly noted,” he said in a gravelly tone. “And you’ve never seen my new place. I bought Theo’s condominium after he moved in with Eden.”

“The penthouse?”

“That’s the place.”

What kind of woman did that make me, on the heels of losing one man, immediately reaching out to another? I pushed the thought away, burying it for now.

I would live in the present and open my heart and my mind to new possibilities. Come tomorrow morning, I would be back to work, leaving the hurt behind, lesson learned.

I helped Jules pack the two suitcases that lay upon my bed. I was retrieving my toiletry necessities when Ben approached, leaning on the door frame.

“No pressure,” he whispered.

It was like he had to say it. But it was also a gentle reminder of his feelings as the tenderness in his words coursed through my body, melting its way down to my very core.

“I know you want to believe that,” I replied.

Knowing Ben, I recognized his every emotion. It would go against his grain to sit idly by and do nothing. I had anticipated I would be pursued. What he didn’t know, was that I would welcome it.

Packed and loaded, I placed the front door key in the mailbox attached to the house. I didn’t want to bother with the ongoing project. I left no valuables behind, so I felt confident that this would be the most convenient plan.

Jules left, leaving Ben and I alone. Once I reached his car, I gave the okay to follow him.

When we arrived in the parking garage, I realized we were only three short miles from the office, which was definitely a plus. I parked in one of his four spaces and helped with the luggage, despite him telling me not to.

“Here’s your card.” He handed it to me. “It will give you access to the garage and the elevator, to the top floor.”

“The penthouse.”

“Right, the penthouse.”

He was underplaying his wealth, but he didn’t have to with me. We made our way up in silence, and the door chimed a light note, announcing our arrival. His entryway was jaw-dropping. I wondered if other women had gawked and admired his belongings, more than admiring the man. If so, they were fools.

“Is this your bachelor pad?”

There was a twist in my gut, knowing most women would be willing and able to please a man who owned all this. An unwelcome feeling of jealousy emerged in my heart.

“Far from it.” His velvety laugh, coupled with his head shaking, was hard to resist. “You’re the only woman who’s been here. Well, I had a designer helping me, but she doesn’t count. She’s a friend of my mother’s.”

“It’s beautiful. Everything is…”

The reality hit me as heat soared up my body. There was moisture on my brow, and I suddenly felt dizzy.

“You’re pale. What’s wrong? Let me get you a water. Sit here, and I’ll be back.”

Once the cool water flowed through me, distinguishing the flames, I felt fine.

“Dehydrated. Thanks, Ben. I’m much better now.”

“Okay,” he drew out the word, as if waiting for proof, standing close by and waiting.

“You can show me my room.”

“Of course. This way.”

I followed him up the stairs, turning to the left.

“First door on the right. Mine’s the other way. Your room has a private bath.”

“Nice.”

“Hungry?”

“Starving. Jules and I were going to grab a bite before the water escapades started.”

“Well, why don’t you shower, change, and meet me in the kitchen? I’ll whip up something.”

“Whip up something, since when…” Then suddenly stopped myself. It hadn’t occurred to me I didn’t know all of Ben, the private side, the one no one saw.

“I’m happy to oblige Jordan.” And descended the stairs leaving me to myself.

 

My room was like something out of a magazine, done in all white. There were different textures throughout, the king-size bed was the focal point. A wall of windows looked out over the vast landscape of the city. I looked forward to the night view, when the city would light up, stars would appear bright. It settled me, causing a feeling of home.

I showered and noticed that Jules hadn’t packed anything to sleep in. Seriously? She was definitely the little matchmaker.

I made my way to Ben’s room, feeling quite bold my first night. A shirt lay over his hamper. I smelled it, but it wasn’t gross. In fact, I liked it. I slipped it on, a small giggle escaping me.

“You do remember,” I said, coming down the stairs. The smell of bacon lured me in closer.

“Your love your breakfast food at night, of course I remember.”

His hands stilled, his gaze raking up and down my body.

“Is that my shirt?”

“Hmm?”

“From the laundry?”

“Yeah, so?”

“It’s dirty.”

“I like the way it smells,” I said, laughing as my eyes danced playfully.

I reached for a glass located on the top shelf.

“Are all shelves height-friendly?”

He turned to answer as the shirt rose while I was on my tiptoes. The thong I was wearing caused my bare ass to peek out from beneath the shirt.

I heard him choke on his orange juice and I quickly turned.

“Are you okay?”

He nodded yes, unable to speak, and after a few coughs, he recovered.

My amusement flourished. Ten years of wanting this man, and here he was, choking on my behalf, a small reward for my patience. It was very satisfying indeed.

Seated at the island, my eyes instinctively took him in. I’d always wanted to be close to him, and now I would open my heart to see where we could go.

I would learn to trust again, still scarred by Steel’s recent betrayal. I willed myself to be open to the man standing in front of me. After all, how long had I loved him? We deserved every possibility.

“Remember Happy’s pancakes?” I asked, and we shared a smile as he sat beside me.

“How could I forget? Amarillo, Texas, where everything is bigger. All you can eat in an hour. I ate seven plate-size pancakes. Then I felt sick, and you had to go to the meeting without me.”

“I remember,” I said as I took a bite of bacon and drizzled syrup on the pancakes he’d just made for me. “Delicious,” I said with my mouth full. “Humm, you can really cook.”

I could feel his gaze on me. It was so real and so raw. My feelings stirred. What I needed to find was the passion. Could we recapture the hunger we had shared all those years ago? What would it take to capture it again?

“There’s a party at Alex’s this Saturday, a BBQ. Go with me.”

“Just like old times.”

“You could say that.”

But just the thought of it, Ben, fighting for my attention left me wanting more, more of him.