Love Me Sweet (Love Me book 1)

Chapter 22

Ben sat at Lia's table with Kimberly going over the final list of stops for his tour. It was nearing the end of September, and the tour was set for November. He would be gone for three weeks, visiting cities that he enjoyed, and eating at restaurants that he loved. He might even take in a Broadway show or concert along the way. His last tour was when Ilianna was alive, and he had welcomed it, in fact, he had dreaded returning home afterward. Now it was a different story, he was reluctant to go, and he had asked Kimberly to cut a few dates because he didn't want to be away for too long. He had used the excuse of the house, but he wondered if that was all it was.

He had moved into Lia's place two days ago and it was going well so far. They didn't see each other all that often, she was gone during the day and then when she got home, she took Huck for a walk, ate dinner, watched television for an hour or so, and then went to bed.

He was almost relieved, and if he didn't know better, he would think she was avoiding him. All he could hear in the back of his mind was Lia saying, 'you would belong to me', something about those words gave him a little jolt. He had never thought about belonging to anyone before. Ilianna had insisted he conform to her way of life, but when he had decided he wasn't going to do it anymore she had all but shrugged and moved on to someone who did please her. She had never had an attachment to him and he had never had one to her.

"Ben?" Kimberly gave an amused laugh, throwing her hair over her shoulder. "You're not listening," she looked up at him, placing a hand on his arm.

Was Lia right, was Kimberly interested in him? She certainly appeared to be giving out signals to that effect. Had she always been giving them and he had never picked up on them before? She moved her chair closer to him, and her shoulder brushed against him as she pointed to the list in front of them.

"Should we swap these two dates? It would give you a few days downtime in between signings." She leaned forward looking up at him. "This will have to go, by the way, no one will recognize you." She reached up and brushed his bearded cheek and he had to keep himself from jumping out of his seat.

"I'll think about it, he said, looking at the door as he heard Lia's key, relieved that she was home.

It was to Lia's credit that she kept her face impassive when she walked in and saw them sitting at her kitchen table so close together, she even managed to give them a friendly smile. She had her phone tucked under her ear and was listening intently to whatever the other person was saying.

Ben took his chance to disentangle himself from Kimberly, who looked confused by Lia's sudden entrance. He walked towards Lia, looking down at her concerned face before dropping a quick kiss on her lips just as a fiancé might do. She took it in stride and switched the phone to the other ear as she set her stuff on the counter.

"Alright, he's sure we're not needed?" Lia asked with a frown. "I know he's a doctor, but he's still a man, and he's not a nurse." Lia rolled her eyes. "Fine, Bye." She hung up and walked to the fridge.

"Is everything alright?" Ben asked, walking back towards his chair.

"Faye wasn't feeling well yesterday, and she wasn't at work today. When we called her there was no answer so we were anxious. Choe had Silas go over and check on her. He says she has the flu, but he's taking care of her.

"A bit early for the flu, isn't it?" Ben asked.

Lia shrugged. "Not when you work in a hospital. Hello Kimberly," Lia greeted, reaching for a juice. "Would either of you like something to drink?"

Ben and Kimberly shook their heads, and Ben watched in fascination as she drained the little bottle in less than a minute.

"There," she said with her infectious grin, "that's my daily vitamin C." She walked over to where Ben was standing and looked down at the table. "Whatcha working on now?"