Once in a Lifetime Read online

Page 40

  Author: Jill Shalvis

  She wasn’t sure what to make of this, so she lowered her voice. “Listen, about the other night. I wanted to apologize—”

  He shook his head. “You already apologized. Several times, in fact. ”

  “But—”

  “It’s enough,” he said, and lithely vaulted over the counter. “And now it’s my turn. ” He stepped closer and put his hands on her hips. I’m sorry, Aubrey. ” His fingers tightened on her. “I’m sorry I was such an ass that I couldn’t see past my own insecurities and fears. ”

  Around them, their audience gave a collective “Aww,” but Aubrey ignored them, not taking her eyes off Ben. “Go on,” she said cautiously.

  “You said you fell for me. ”

  She flushed, thinking about everything she’d flung at him that night, including rocks. “Ben—”

  “You also said I fell for you. I blew that off, but you were right, Aubrey. I did fall, hard and fast, and”—his mouth twisted wryly—“a little bit against my will. ”

  She tried to pull free, but he held tight. “I liked it,” he said. “Too much, to be honest. So when you told me about your list, I used it to back away from you. You were right about that, too. Probably we should start a new list now, of all your rights. ”

  Thoughts rolling in her head like tumbleweeds, heart aching, she shook her head, afraid to hope. “Where are you going with this, Ben?”

  “I want you,” he said. “I’ve wanted you every single minute of this entire winter. I also need you. From the bottom of my flawed heart. ”

  Their audience “aw’d” again, but Ben paid them no more mind than Aubrey did, his gaze still on her. “I can remember every single smile you’ve given me,” he said, “every word you’ve ever said to me. ”

  She melted a little at the sweetness of his words, but shook her head, unable to give up the doubt, the fear that this wasn’t going where she so desperately hoped it would.

  Unperturbed, he smiled. “I also remember every eye roll. And every single time you went toe-to-toe with me and drove me crazy. ”

  A few people tittered and giggled.

  Aubrey tried to free herself again, but he held on to her with shocking ease, even laughing softly, the bastard. He gestured to the store around them. “Hell, Aubrey, I dragged this job out to twice as long as it should have taken,” he said, “just so I could keep seeing you. ”

  “Well, that’s good to know,” Lucille whispered to someone. “I was beginning to think the boy didn’t know what he was doing. ”

  Ben slid Lucille a look before turning back to Aubrey. “I loved watching you work. It might’ve been the pretty dresses that promised a softer side to you, a side only I got to see, but I loved watching you run this world—your world. I loved watching you find your place. I loved watching you take me on and calling me on all my shit. ” He ran a finger along her temple and gently tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear. “I love your spirit, your passion. I love everything about you. I love you, Aubrey. ”

  The crowd sighed in unison, and as if they were watching a tennis match, their heads all turned toward Aubrey for her reaction.

  She had plenty of reactions, the biggest being the fact that her heart suddenly didn’t fit inside her rib cage. But she wasn’t one hundred percent ready to believe. “You said you liked quiet,” she said. “I’m not quiet. ”

  “I said I was used to quiet. But I’ve learned something about myself. I also like not quiet. ” He smiled. “A lot. ”

  And just like that, the little kernel of hope she’d so ruthlessly tamped down finally found room to breathe and grow. “Yeah?”

  There was a smile in his eyes now. And relief. “Yeah. ”

  Lucille leaned over the counter toward Ben and stage-whispered, “I don’t think you need a book recommendation at all. You’re doing pretty darn good. ”

  “Thanks,” he said.

  “But the two years I stole,” Aubrey said. It hurt her to even say it, but she had to get it out, all of it. There could be no more secrets. “What about them?”

  He shook his head. “I mentioned I was an ass, right? I never should’ve blamed you for that—”

  “But I—”

  “Yeah, you did,” he said. “And then I went on to make the most of those two years. It’s over and done, Aubrey,” he promised. “And anyway, I’m hoping if I play my cards right, you’re going to give me a lifetime. ”

  This cause a huge gasp from the crowd, and Aubrey matched it with one of her own. “What?” she whispered, certain she’d heard wrong.

  He dropped to a knee.

  “Oh, my God. ” She put her hands to her mouth and stared down at him.

  “You’re everything I need,” he said. “Everything I’ll ever need. And I’ve needed you, Aubrey, for a long time. Every single second since you threw that drink in my face. ”

  She choked out a half laugh, half sob. “You never said—”

  “I should have. Another mistake,” he said, his expression serious. “The good news is that I learn from my mistakes, always. Marry me, Aubrey. Marry me and give me forever. ”

  She felt her eyes go wide. Felt her heart kick hard. From her peripheral vision she was aware that the entire crowd had surged forward to peek over the counter in order to get a look at Ben McDaniel on one knee.

  “Are you going to reject me in front of at least one hundred of our closest friends and family?” he asked lightly.

  She looked into his eyes and realized he wasn’t nearly as calm, cool, and unruffled as he was pretending to be, and it squeezed her heart. “No,” she said.

  His expression grew very serious, and there was absolute silence in the room. “No,” he repeated, clearly trying to figure out what exactly she was saying no to—the proposal or rejecting him.

  Letting out a laugh, Aubrey dropped to her knees in front of him, eyes burning as she met his gaze. “I mean yes. ”

  “So…yes you’ll marry me, or yes you’re rejecting me?”

  “Yeah, honey,” Lucille piped up, leaning over the counter. “There’s a pretty big difference there. ”

  “Yes, I’ll marry you. ” Leaning into him, Aubrey wrapped her arms around Ben’s neck as their audience broke out in applause.

  “Shh!” Lucille snapped above them. “I can’t hear; I want to hear!”

  “There’s nothing more to hear,” Aubrey said, eyes on Ben. “It’s all been said. ”

  Ben’s eyes smiled first, and then the smile spread to his mouth. And then he lowered that smiling mouth and kissed hers.

  “You’ve given me so much,” she said against him. “What do you get?”

  His eyes soaked her up, as though maybe he’d never get enough of her. “You. ”