Kristen Ashley - The Promise

“Does she design logos for commando gear?” I asked.

The lip tip tipped higher. “No.”

I kept at him. “Is she the mother of a tribe of mini-commandos?”

He shook his head but a light hit his eyes, a light that hit me right in the heart and warmed it.

“So far, all girls.”

At his words and the way he said them, I knew what that light meant. I knew it meant when his daughters got to certain age and looked in the mirror, they’d see pure beauty. I figured with the way he looked, his wife was probably hot too, so it wouldn’t be a stretch that their girls would be beauties.

But that wasn’t the beauty they’d see.

They’d see the beauty that came from looking at themselves through their father’s eyes.

Behind a sip of coffee, I hid the feelings these thoughts made me feel. Feelings that, if I let them free, might mean I’d burst into tears. As I sipped, Sal’s words from earlier came to me.

Then Benny’s words from yesterday came to me.

And suddenly, I wanted to rush into the bathroom and look in the mirror.

But I knew what I’d see.

So, Mrs. Zambino was no dummy.

I already knew that.

What I was looking forward to was getting home to Chicago, walking across the street, and sharing with her the face I would now see.

She wouldn’t be surprised.

She’d already seen it.

Repeatedly.

***

I stood, hand to counter, undoing the straps on my sandals after Ben and I got home, leashed up Gus, took him on a walk, then got back.

Benny unleashed Gus and then directly slanted onto the couch, reaching for the remote, laying evidence that he was possibly preparing for a delayed pancake coma.

The pancakes were good. And I liked Luke Stark even better when he wasn’t being scary but was instead being casually badass and also friendly.

But for me, I was just glad all this would soon be over and we could turn our minds to better things.

Like picking tile and kitchen towels.

Once I got my shoes off, I wandered to Benny and saw him watching me. That meant he was prepared so I didn’t hesitate in collapsing on top of him.

He braced for impact, took it, and wrapped his arms around me.

I shifted mine so they were on his chest and looked into his eyes. “You liked the look of Stark,” I decreed.

“Not as much as you, but yeah,” he replied, and I tipped my head to the side.

“What do you mean, not as much as me?”

His lips twitched before he said, “Babe, you were practically drooling.”

Uh-oh. Benny caught that.

“Well…” I started, then stopped because I had no clue what to say or why Benny’s lips were twitching and he wasn’t flying into a possessive, Italian hot guy jealous rage.

“He liked the look of you too,” Benny noted.

I felt my brows shoot up. “He did?”

“Oh yeah,” Ben stated.

“How do you know?” I asked, intrigued, even though I knew I shouldn’t be.

Benny weirdly didn’t hesitate with his answer.

“He wanted to be sittin’ at a table with Sal like he wanted someone to pull out all of his teeth. He was puttin’ up with Sal because he caught sight of you and knows you might possibly be in danger. He also knows Sal’s on that so you mean somethin’ to Sal and Sal means somethin’ to you. He didn’t show him a lot of respect, but he showed him more than he normally would and he did that because of you. He thought you are what you are, beautiful and funny. Man like him doesn’t go soft for some hard bitch or just anybody. He goes soft for a beautiful woman who’s funny.”

“But he’s married.”

“He’s married, but he isn’t dead.”

“I think he’s very married,” I informed him.

“Definitely,” Benny agreed. “Man wears that obvious of a wedding band because he’s weak and let his wife pick the rings or because he’s seriously in love with his wife. There’s nothin’ weak about that man.”

This was true.

“Aren’t you…I mean, he was attractive and you caught that I caught that. Aren’t you pissed?”

“Babe, you’re mine, but you aren’t dead either. It’s not like just because you’re bangin’ me you’re not gonna see guys you don’t like to see.”

“That doesn’t upset you?” I asked.

“You gonna bang ’em?” he asked back.

“No,” I replied sharply.

That got me a grin and, “Then why would it upset me?”

“But you didn’t like the idea of me being Cheryl’s wingman.”

“You likin’ the look of a guy who’s very married and doin’ that sittin’ next to me is one thing. You out with one of your girls, my ring not yet on your finger, for any guy to get an eyeful and maybe call up the courage to approach is another.”

“I wouldn’t bang any of them either,” I pointed out.

“You like the idea of some woman approachin’ me when you’re not around?” he asked.

I saw his point so I pressed my lips together.

His eyes dropped to my mouth, and when they came back to mine, they were lit with humor.

I understood that part, but I didn’t trust the earlier part and I told him why.

“So, you’re cool with this so I’ll be cool with you lookin’ at pretty women while you’re with me?”

“I’m not dead, either, babe. And I might see a pretty woman, but even if I do, I’m not doin’ my job if you don’t know down to your gut there’s nothin’ I see that’s as beautiful as what I see in you.”

God.

Benny.

I liked his words so much, I couldn’t stop my head from dropping so my forehead was on his throat, and that was where I kept it in order to deep breathe and not burst into tears.

Ben glided a hand up my spine and curled it around the back of my neck before he murmured into the top of my hair, “See I scored with that.”

“Sometimes your sweet overwhelms me,” I admitted to his throat.

“Challenge accepted.”

I lifted my head and looked at him again. “What?”

He looked into my eyes. “Challenge accepted, findin’ ways to give you a lifetime of just that.”

I could deep breathe for eternity and not stop the tears that wet my eyes at that.

“You just did it again,” I whispered.

He smiled and whispered back, “Good.”

I looked to his smile, then back to his eyes that were warm and tender and beautiful and also smiling and kept whispering, “And again.”

He slid his hand into my hair and replied, “Babe, you feel all I see you feelin’, don’t put it into tears. Kiss me.”

My Benny.

So wise.

That was a much better idea.

So I didn’t cry.

I shifted up and kissed him.

Ben shifted us on the couch so he was on top and kissed me back.

Then he banged me.

After that, Ben held me close and I snoozed off my pancakes while he watched the game.

***

Later, we made dinner together and watched movie.

And later, before heading to bed, I stood in the bathroom, wearing my nightie, and stared at myself in the mirror.

I saw what I always saw, but it was different.

It was a person who inspired love and loyalty and protection. It was a person who got this because she gave it back. It was the person I’d always been but never seen.

She was beautiful.

My eyes shifted from my reflection to watch Benny, wearing nothing but light blue pajama bottoms, approach me.

He watched me in the mirror as he made his approach but lost sight of me when he fitted his front to my back and wrapped his arms around my middle, burying his face in my neck.

“You okay?” he asked the skin of my neck.

I slid my hands over his arms and held him there, answering, “Yeah.”

He gave me a squeeze and murmured, “Come to bed.”

One more promise that day for Benny to fulfill.

“Okay, baby,” I whispered.

It was then that I got to experience the second best part of the day. Or it might be tied for first. Making love with and then going to sleep beside Benny Bianchi. Hearing his deep and easy voice saying good-night to me. Making me fall into a peaceful sleep, knowing that tomorrow, I’d wake up to Benny and all the amazing promises he would keep.

“You don’t leave your office all day,” Ben ordered as he drove me to work the next morning, telling me something we’d already gone over, him being bossy all the while I got ready for work. “I’ll be in the lobby at noon to take you to lunch. You don’t work late. I’ll be at the front door waitin’ for you at five. I’ll keep in touch with Stark. They don’t put the nails in the coffin, tomorrow we do the same thing.”

“Okay, Benny,” I replied, knowing he needed me to be docile and not give him lip, seeing as he’d woken up agitated. And giving me a hard, rough quickie hadn’t taken the edge off that. I knew that when he took his gun with him and put it in the glove compartment before we took off so he could get me to work.

“Nose down, you work. Don’t even look at Bierman if you don’t have to,” Ben went on like I didn’t speak.

“Okay, baby.”

Benny fell silent.

I looked his way.

“You doin’ okay?” I asked quietly.

He glanced at me, then back at the road before he muttered, “Woke up with a shit feeling.”

Fabulous.

“It’s gonna be okay,” I assured him, hoping I was right.

He didn’t respond quickly and when he did, he only said, “Yeah.” But I could tell he didn’t mean it.

I said no more. Just reached out and gave his thigh a squeeze. When I would have pulled away, he nabbed my hand, laced his fingers through mine, and held it to his thigh.

Finally, I had a good life and it would be selfish to wish for more, but it wouldn’t suck if I could ride to work every day with Benny Bianchi holding my hand.

Both of us were in our own heads the rest of the way, staying silent until Ben pulled up to the front of Wyler Pharmaceuticals. He let me go to put his truck into park.

I turned to him to see he was already turned to me.

He beat me to the punch when he said, “Love you, Frankie.”

I smiled at him, leaned his way, and touched my mouth to his before I pulled back half an inch and replied, “Love you back, Benny.”

His return smile didn’t reach his eyes so I lifted my hand and touched his face before I said, “See you at lunch.”

“Yeah.”

“Have fun with Gus.”

He shook his head, but the smile started leaking into his eyes when he replied, “Will do.”

“You gonna call Cal?” I asked, thinking spending time with Cal, who was back from his honeymoon, would be a good way to keep his mind off things.

“No. If he knows I’m here, he’ll wonder why this visit is extended and he’ll worry. We can tell him what went down after it’s done.”

I nodded, experiencing more awesomeness from Benny that he didn’t want to worry Cal, who was not the type of man to worry. He was the type of man to take action instead of worrying and Stark had this covered. New-daddy, new-husband Cal didn’t need to get involved.

“Later,” I said.

“Have a good day, baby,” Ben replied.

I gave him another smile, dropped my hand from his face, grabbed my computer bag, and exited his truck.

I waved at Benny before I entered the building and saw that he and his truck didn’t move, not even an inch to glide forward in preparation for leaving. I knew he wouldn’t go until I got inside.

My Benny.

I went inside and direct to the elevators, smiling at the receptionist on my way. At the elevators, I looked outside to see Benny’s truck sliding away.

The elevator binged I walked into it with three other people, though, I figured it was only me who took a deep breath before I did.

When I got to my floor, I did a recon through windows of offices as I walked to my own.

Clancy Barrow was not there, but then, he never was. He was often traveling, supposedly for business, but rumor had it he played a lot of golf and he had a strict business travel schedule to destinations where the best courses were.

Travis Berger was in his office.

So was Randy Bierman.

My boss wasn’t in and Heath wasn’t in. Heath didn’t put in his resignation on Friday and I wondered if he’d do it today. Even though he was a dick, I was hoping that Stark could sort everything so his resignation only lasted twenty-four hours. The company was about to experience some serious upheaval. We needed as much stability underpinning that as we could get. Heath may be a dick, but he was good at his job.