Authors: Brenda Jackson
Thirty-Eight
“O
h, Ben, tonight was simply wonderful. I can’t remember having so much fun. And all those songs brought back so many great memories. Thank you for bringing me to New York.”
Ben smiled at Mona as they caught the hotel’s elevator. “You don’t have to thank me, Mona. I’m enjoying myself as well and I should be thanking you for agreeing to this trip.”
They had arrived in New York yesterday. The plane ride from Charlottesville to NYC had been smooth, but catching a cab from LaGuardia to their hotel in Times Square amid rush-hour traffic had been challenging and at times downright scary. Being her eyes, he had told Mona about all the bridges they’d crossed over and the tall buildings they’d passed.
After checking into their connecting rooms, they freshened up before enjoying dinner at a restaurant within walking distance from the hotel. The next morning, they shared breakfast together before taking a tour of the city on a double-decker bus. Seeing all the excitement and happiness on her face touched him profoundly, and he wished he could keep her in such a cheerful mood forever.
“I’m glad you enjoyed yourself tonight,” he said, tucking her hand in the crook of his arm and stepping off the elevator onto the floor where their rooms were located. “I didn’t know you could sing.”
Tonight they had taken in the play
Motown: The Musical.
He could still hear the songs, some of which had been his favorites, playing in his ear...probably because Mona was still humming them. And what he’d just told her was true. She had a beautiful singing voice, something he’d discovered when part of the musical included a sing-along with the audience.
“I can’t sing. You’re imagining things,” she said, chuckling.
“I know what I heard. Your voice is as beautiful as you are.” When she got quiet on him, he glanced over and saw the blush in her cheeks. “You’re even more beautiful when you blush,” he whispered, after leaning over.
Turning down the corridor that led to their rooms, he said, “We’ll sleep in tomorrow and do room service for breakfast since we don’t have to meet Phil and Nina until lunch.” Phil Rodriquez had worked with Ben on the police force in Boston. They had retired around the same time, Ben moving to Charlottesville and Phil returning to his hometown of Queens. Phil and his wife, Nina, would meet them for lunch, and then tomorrow night the four of them would attend a Broadway show.
They stopped in front of Mona’s room, which was connected to his. “Sure you don’t need me to come in while you get settled?”
“I’m sure,” she said, smiling. “You did such a great job when we first got here.”
He had. Upon check-in, he had walked her around her hotel room, telling her where everything was located. Then he had stood back and watched as she felt her way around the room without his assistance, getting familiar with the room on her own. He admired how she refused to let her disability keep her from living a fulfilling life. During the months he’d known her she had always been so positive.
“I’m looking forward to meeting your friends tomorrow, Ben,” Mona said.
“And they are looking forward to meeting you, too. I told them all about you.”
She tilted her head and grinned up at him. “And just what did you tell them, Mr. Bradford?”
“That I’ve fallen hopelessly in love with you.”
He watched her amusement fade somewhat. “Oh, Ben.”
This wasn’t the first time he’d told her he loved her; however, he knew just like all those other times, she wasn’t ready to accept his feelings. That was fine. He was a patient man and wouldn’t push. That was why he’d reserved separate hotel rooms. When she was ready to take their relationship to the next level, she would let him know it. In the meantime, he would continue to be patient. He had all the time in the world.
He leaned down and placed a gentle kiss on her lips. He then reached behind her, and using the key card, he opened her hotel-room door. “Get inside before I throw you over my shoulder and haul you to my room.”
The amusement returned to her face. “You wouldn’t dare.”
He chuckled. “Don’t tempt me, woman. Now get in that room.”
When she stepped over the threshold, he took a step closer and kissed her again. This one was slow, lingering and filled with all the passion he always felt around her.
Ben broke off the kiss and whispered, “Dream about me, sweetheart.”
She smiled up at him. “I will.”
He closed her hotel-room door. Sighing deeply, he walked next door to his room while whistling an old Motown tune.
* * *
Twelve times, Mona thought, lying in bed hours later. Tonight had made the twelfth time Ben had told her he loved her since the day they’d first met. However, she had yet to share her feelings for him. Fear had made her keep quiet.
Yes, she was afraid. She was terrified that once she told him she loved him, it wouldn’t be long before he got tired of being her seeing-eye companion. The thought of having a blind wife was what had driven her husband off. Deep down, she knew that wasn’t totally true, since her ex had been looking for a way to dump her anyway. The auto accident had made it easy for him to get out of the marriage with her and get into one with the young secretary he’d been having an affair with.
But right now she didn’t want to think of her ex. She wanted to think of the wonderful guy in the next room who had made her feel better than Fred had made her feel in all the years they were married. Ben always gave her compliments, even on those days she hadn’t looked her absolute best. He told her he loved her and that she was pretty, smart and intelligent.
Ben treated her like a queen, saying he treated her the same way he expected his daughters to be treated. With respect. And he’d told her he loved her. Twelve times. What kind of man did such a thing?
Benjamin Bradford.
She shifted in bed. It was way past midnight, and she was still trying to go to sleep. Tonight had been wonderful. The stage show had gone by in a blur, and she could still hear the sounds of Motown in her head. It had been a special night.
Getting out of bed, she slowly felt her way around the room and made her way to the window. She wasn’t sure why she wanted to stand there when she couldn’t see a thing—not the bright lights or the tall buildings New York was famous for. Ben had told her what he could see when he looked out her hotel-room window.
She turned away from the window when she suddenly sucked in a sharp breath. Something passed before her eyes, and it hadn’t been just a flash of light like before. Just now, she’d seen color, shapes and objects—she was sure of it. She strained her eyes but couldn’t see anything else. It was all just a dark blur.
Then, when she’d given up, assuming she had imagined the whole thing, it happened again. This time it lasted longer, coming in clearer than before. The bedspread was green, the carpeting brown, and a silver ice bucket sat on a table. Then the image was gone again. But she
had
seen it!
Instantly hope filled her. Dr. Oglethorpe had told her when she had reported seeing flashes of light months ago that that was either a good sign her sight was returning...or a bad sign it was about to leave her permanently. She had hoped and prayed for the former, but the tests the doctor had performed hadn’t been conclusive.
Mona couldn’t wait to get back to Charlottesville and make an appointment to see Dr. Oglethorpe again. She wouldn’t get her hopes up, but what she’d just seen moments ago was real. She wouldn’t mention it to anyone, not even to Ben. She didn’t want to get his hopes up, either.
Mona heard a sound and realized it had come from the room next door. Ben’s room. He was still up? Couldn’t he sleep? She slowly moved away from the window to sit on the side of the bed. Ben wanted her the way a man wanted a woman. She was very aware of that. Even without her sight, she felt the vibes. But he wouldn’t rush her. He would be patient and let it be her decision when they became intimate. Now maybe it was time to show the man who’d told her that he loved her twelve times another way.
Maybe it was time to show him that she loved him, too.
* * *
Ben was searching around the hotel room for the television remote when he heard the light knock on the connecting door. He quickly moved toward it, wondering whether Mona needed him for anything. It was past midnight, and he figured she would be asleep by now.
He quickly opened the door. “Mona? You okay?” She was braced in the doorway, and he tried not to notice she was wearing a bathrobe belted around her waist, revealing the top part of her nightie.
She smiled at him. “I’m fine. I wasn’t asleep. I heard you moving around and wondered if you were okay.”
“I’m fine. I couldn’t find the television remote. Sorry if I disturbed you.”
“You didn’t. Like I said, I wasn’t asleep anyway.”
He couldn’t help staring at her skin and how gorgeous she looked, even without makeup. If he’d thought it once, he’d thought it a number of times that she was a beautiful woman. And why did she have to smell so good?
“Did you find it?”
Her question lassoed his thoughts back in. “Find what?”
“The remote.”
“Oh. No. Not yet.”
“I would help you look but...”
He smiled at her joke. “Don’t worry. It’s around here someplace. I probably accidentally knocked it under the bed or something.” He studied her and realized she was trying to make small talk. Did she want him to invite her into his room? The thought that she did stirred hope inside of him, and he figured there was only one way to find out.
“Do you want to come into my room and keep me company while I look for it?”
“You sure it’s okay?”
His laugh was easy. “It’s okay with me. Is it okay with you, Mona?”
She laughed, too, at the absurdness of her question. “Yes, it’s okay with me.”
“Then that’s all that matters.” He stepped aside. “Come on in.”
When she stepped into his room, he closed the door behind him. When he turned back around, she was standing in the middle of the room. In the bright light he saw that her robe matched her gown. Yellow. He’d once told her yellow was his favorite color and wondered if it was a coincidence that she was wearing it.
“My room is similar to yours,” he said. “There’s a chair at three o’clock if you want to sit down.” Early on in their relationship, she had explained that it was helpful to advise her of directions by going clockwise.
She turned to him, and almost unerringly, she met his gaze. “And where is the bed?”
Desire he’d tried controlling all night shot through him. “Ten o’clock.”
She nodded and moved to the bed to sit on the edge. Just seeing her sitting on his bed sent all kinds of intense emotions spiraling through him. He cleared his throat. “I guess I need to look for the remote,” he said, stepping away from the door to check around the television. Moving toward the desk area, he looked over his shoulder and saw that Mona had shifted from the sitting position on the bed to lie on her side to face him. He lifted his brow. “You’re okay?”
She smiled at him. “I’m fine, but I’ve decided to be honest with you about something.”
“What?”
“You’ve told me a dozen times that you love me, and I’ve thought about that.”
“Have you?”
“Yes. And each time I dwell on it, I’m in awe that you feel that way.”
“I told you, I fell in love with you the moment I saw you, the first time we talked. You took my breath away.”
“I couldn’t see you clearly, but your scent aroused me. That has never happened to me before. Now with my sight gone, I rely a lot on my sense of smell, and you smelled good that day. You smell good every day.”
Ben chuckled. “Thanks.”
“You’re welcome.”
Ben didn’t say anything for a minute as he looked over at her, stretched out on his bed. God, he wanted her. And he needed to know something. “Why are you here, Mona? Why did you come to me? What do you want to be honest about?”
He watched as she slowly got up off the bed and, feeling her way around it, she moved toward him. When she reached him, she stopped and said, “I’m here because I felt it was time for you to know something.”
“What?”
“That I love you. I love you so very much. I thought I would never say those words to another man, but you proved me wrong. You also proved that not all men are made the same. There are some who are nice guys. And you are my hero, Ben. You are my everything.”
Ben hadn’t expected that. Any of it. And that made her words that much sweeter. Meaningful. Heartfelt. He reached out and tugged her into his arms, needing to hold her close to his heart. This woman who’d brought joy to his world after so many lonely years. Back then he’d had his girls and, at the time, that was all he’d needed. His girls and Sharon’s memory.
Mona felt good in his arms like she always did, and he was very much aware of how closely her body was pressed to his. When she pulled back and glanced up at him, he dipped his head and captured her mouth, snatching whatever she was about to say right from her lips.
He loved her taste. It was tantalizingly sweet and sent warm blood rushing through his veins. He felt his entire body firing up with a primitive need that he’d managed to control over the years. But with Mona, that control was wavering.
She broke off the kiss and drew in a deep breath, and he did likewise while watching her lick her bottom lip with the tip of her tongue. His stomach tightened, and his body was on fire with full awareness.
Wrapping his arms tightly around her, he began backing her up slowly toward the bed. Once there, he kissed her again.
* * *
Mona was beginning to feel things she hadn’t felt for a long time, if ever. Ben had a way of turning a kiss into something so sensual that her body shivered at the onslaught. She felt hot and tingly all over.
He released her mouth and, reaching out, tipped up her chin with warm fingers. “I want you, Mona.”
His words, spoken in a deep, husky voice, sent even more shivers through her. “And I want you, too, Ben.”
Her body tingled with awareness when she felt him undressing her. After he’d removed her robe and gown, she felt his callused hands stroke over her skin. The heat of his touch flowed through her, and when he leaned in and whispered how beautiful he thought she looked, sensuous shivers rippled up her spine.