The Playboy's Proposal (Sorensen Family) (16 page)

“Why? Come in. We’re about to watch a movie.”

“You can sit by me,” Ella said and grabbed her hand.

“I’ll stay for a minute,” Benny said as Ella led her over to the couch.

Only as the movie started and Ella nestled into her, Benny was having a harder time remembering why she needed to leave. Especially when Morgan would break in to give some commentary about society’s expectations of girls compared to boys, and Henry played devil’s advocate and agreed with the norms just to yank his sister’s chain before giving Benny a quick wink and a playful smile that had her stomach fluttering unnaturally.

Soon enough, the movie was over and Ella was half asleep in Morgan’s arms while they said their good nights. “It was really nice meeting you, Benny,” his sister said before turning an odd smile in her brother’s direction.

“I should be going, too,” she said, making a point to look at the time on her cell phone. Only it was eight thirty, and she couldn’t very well say it was time she hit the hay too.

“No, you should stay. You were going to ask Henry something until we dragged you into our movie. I’ll talk to you later, Henry.” She waved and shut the door firmly before Benny could make further objections.

“Nice pj’s. I’m glad to see you haven’t permanently retired the dinosaur slippers.”

“How long have you been waiting to give that sparkling commentary?” she asked, but she smiled as she turned to find him nearly on top of her. “Besides, the slippers were a gift from my nieces and nephew. They won’t be going anywhere.”

He went to the kitchen island and poured himself a glass of wine. He started to pour one for her, but she stopped him. “None for me. Want to make sure I wake up looking my best tomorrow. The swollen-bags-under-the-eyes thing is so retro.”

“Clinic hours again?”

That’s right. He’d left before she could share the details of her upcoming date. “No, actually. Luke’s picking me up at noon. We’re going golfing. Then he just wants to—get this—spend the rest of the day with me. Impressive, right?”

“Um. Sure, up until you whack him in the head or fail to make it past the first hole. You do remember that you still can’t golf, don’t you?”

He grabbed his glass and took a seat on the couch. She did still need some tips, so she took a seat on the leather chair next to the couch. “Of course I do. But I got a few swings in, and I’m pretty sure that I have the hang of it now. I can totally envision myself making contact with the ball now.”

“Golf isn’t just about hitting the ball and sending it careening wherever you want. You’re actually supposed to get it
in
the hole.”

“I know how it works. I’ll be fine. I can wing it. I just need a little help from you on the actual rules. The jargon. Like what’s ‘love’ and all that.”

“Well, the first thing you should know is that ‘love’ is a tennis term. Not golf. What about clubs? Did you actually buy some or are you planning on renting them?”

She hadn’t considered that. “Do you think I might borrow the set from last weekend?”

“Of course. Fortunately for you, I forgot to return them to Morgan, so they’re still in the closet.” He stood and headed to the coat closet and hauled them out.

“Speaking of Morgan, I got the impression she was studying me the whole time. Did you happen to tell her anything about our…arrangement?”

He cringed. “I’m afraid so. Not that I had intended to, but Ella was really helpful with providing details about our shopping excursion, and Morgan naturally wanted to know why.” He lifted a club up. “Here. Just to get you started, don’t worry about all the other clubs in the bag. For now, worry about using these three.”

She thought about revisiting his revelation, but what was the point? Morgan wasn’t going to blab it all around, and Benny supposed she couldn’t expect Henry to lie to her. Something she was feeling more guilty about when she thought about how she’d been less than truthful with her own sister.

Rising to her feet, she joined him and listened as he explained the different clubs, with names like driver, iron, wedge, and putter and a few other descriptions of why she’d ever need any of the others.

And although she’d usually dismissed golf as boring, she found the abbreviated lesson actually…fascinating. Managing to hit the ball was just one aspect, of course, but Henry’s explanation of how using a different size or weight or angle head could affect the trajectory of each swing gave her something to think about.

“You’re going to show me how all this works Sunday morning, right?” she asked.

“I have us down for tee time at nine. And I’m packing a helmet.”

She rolled her eyes. “I am not going to hit you again, Henry. Jeez, I’m not that much of a klutz.”

“My head begs to differ.”

“Well, that time was different. I was…distracted.”

He raised a brow. “By what?”

Crap. Had she just admitted that? Well, there was no way she was going to elaborate how just having him standing behind her, his breath in her hair, the heady scent of him surrounding her, had left her a little unbalanced.

“I can’t remember.” She dropped the club back in the bag, unsure how she’d handle herself if Henry decided to give her another up-close-and-personal lesson on swinging. Not when she’d spent the past two nights thinking about what it had been like to kiss him. Even
after
she’d kissed Luke Seeley, when the only thing running through her mind should have been kissing him again. Not Henry.

“Try not to get too distracted again tomorrow. By the way, if the two of you are looking for something to do, I’m having a get-together tomorrow night. And before you say it, I’ll keep the music down to a respectable level.”

“Thanks, maybe we will. I should go. I’m sure you have other plans. I really hadn’t meant to be here so long.”

“No worries. Actually, I think I’m going to stay in tonight. Get my own beauty rest.”

Henry Ellison was staying in? And on a Friday night, no less.

For some reason, she felt a tiny sense of relief at knowing he wouldn’t be out and about, hooking up with the latest flavor of the week. He’d be here, just down the hall.

She grabbed the golf clubs and slung the bag over her shoulder. “Okay. I’ll see you Sunday.”

“See you.” She was out the door and halfway down the hall when Henry called out, “And remember. Keep your eye on your target, follow through on your swing, and for heaven’s sake, whatever happens, don’t let yourself get distracted.” He touched the top of his head where she’d whacked him and grinned.

She lifted her hand in a weak wave.

Distracted? It seemed these days the only time that happened was when she was in the presence of one man. Luke should be safe.

Chapter Sixteen

“How did things go on your date with the esteemed Dr. Seeley?” Henry asked her early Sunday morning as they whizzed down the freeway at a healthy clip. Benny had tried to coerce him into letting her drive, but considering she looked still half asleep, he wasn’t about to risk it. “And by how did things go, I mean did you manage to avoid clobbering him with a golf club?”

“You’re never going to let me forget that, are you?”

“Not a chance.”

“No, I didn’t hit him. In fact, we had a great time. I impressed everyone.”

He lifted his brows in surprise. “You did?”

“Yep. Right up to the moment I was lining my hips up the way you showed me, raising the driver for an impeccable delivery, and my right ankle completely went out on me and I fell gracefully on my butt. Unfortunately, the ankle was just too tender to try and walk on, and I resigned myself to sitting and watching the game from the cool shade of the golf cart.”

He laughed and shook his head at her ingenuity—or desperation. “And saved yourself, yet again, from displaying your total ineptitude at playing golf. Kudos. What will you think of the next time? A fake bee sting? Passing out from heatstroke?”

“Not necessary. Somewhere between the seventh and the eighth hole, Luke joined me on the golf cart and we watched the other players take their shots. ‘You don’t really have a clue how to play golf, do you,’ he asked me. And not like he was angry or anything, but like he was trying not to laugh. So I came clean.”

“The truth. How novel,” he said drolly.

“I even told him about you. At least about how you’ve been helping me with my golf game up until I’d whacked you in the head. He told me to thank you for that.” She grinned, her eyes flashing with humor.

“Tell him I appreciate the gratitude. So it sounds like you two had a nice date, then.”

“Oh, that was nothing. After the game, he drove us up the canyon and we hiked to this spot with an amazing view of the entire valley and had a picnic, right there. Later, over wine, we watched the sun set and then just lay under the stars.”

The man was good. Too good. Setting up the scene like that, the ambience. Very manipulative. He thought about Benny lying on the blanket with the calculating Luke Seeley creeping nearby, maybe starting with a little hand-holding and then stepping it up. Maybe brushing the hair off her face as a way to make eye contact before dropping his greedy mouth down for a kiss, his hands mauling Benny’s body, feeling her softness, her curves, her—

“Uh. Henry, you might want to ease off the gas there. You’re pushing ninety-five.”

He glanced down to see she was right and lowered their speed. His fingers were taut as they gripped the wheel, and he loosened them, flexing them. “Sounds like you two really hit it off.”

She sighed and looked out the passenger window. “It was perfect.”

His heart felt like it was seizing. Did that mean—had she—no. She wouldn’t, she’d as much as told him so. But he had to know. He cleared his throat, trying to sound cavalier. “Did you two take it to the next level?”

She laughed and shook her head at him. “No. Luke is a gentleman. You might think all dates culminate in a tumble in the hay, but for other more cerebral people, like Luke and me, a meeting of the minds is even more rewarding than a meeting of the bodies.”

Now he snickered. “I highly doubt that. And if you really believe that, then you have never had anyone actually make love to you. Because that, my dear, is the reason for everything.”

“Everything? Seriously, you believe that? You don’t think two people can have a rewarding relationship without sex?”

“No.”

“Have you ever had a relationship with a woman that didn’t end with her in your bed? And I don’t mean your sister.”

“Yeah.” He grinned and met her gaze for a moment. “You.”

Not that he hadn’t had visions of that happening a time or two.

Or a hundred.

“You’re frightening sometimes,” she said. “But why am I not surprised?”

“You know, if Luke’s discovered that you don’t know how to play golf, why are we still going through with this?”

“Because Luke likes golf. If we’re going to have any kind of relationship, I think it’s important that I be able to enjoy the same things he does. Or at least understand them a little better.”

“And what if you don’t end up liking it? Does that mean you two won’t be compatible? Or will you just continue to act like you do?” He sounded a lot more annoyed than he intended.

“Wow. You’re in a mood.”

“No, I’m just trying to understand.”

“Understand what?”

“What makes you so sure that Luke Seeley is
the one
? I mean, before you’d said two words to him, you were already picking out the names of your kids. What do you know about him other than he plays golf, served some humanitarian stint for a couple of years, and is a doctor?”

“First, the fact that we both are in the medical profession says a lot about his character already. That we have common interests and goals and worked hard to get where we are. Second, I know that he feels just as strongly as I do about family and marriage. His parents have been married more than forty years, and he, like me, wants to emulate that.”

“So if a person comes from a broken family, maybe raised by a single parent, you’re saying they wouldn’t be compatible with someone whose family is intact, for lack of a better word.”

“No, you’re twisting my words. I’m just saying that he
believes
that a good marriage can exist. That there is such a thing as happily-ever-after. Unlike
some
people, who think a meaningful relationship is two people who make it to lunch the next day.”

“You don’t think I believe in marriage?”

“Well, do you? I seem to recall you expressing your cynicism before that such a thing was akin to a fairy tale.”

“I never said anything about a fairy tale.” However, he couldn’t deny that up until recently, he’d been convinced that that stuff only existed in Hallmark movies. Or in commercials that aired over the holidays to make everyone feel incompetent and wistful over something that wasn’t real.

Only, having spent time with Benny, he was actually starting to believe that such things were real. That maybe a man and a woman—or two women or two men or whatever fate chose—could find a special spark with another person and that they could be happy to spend the rest of their lives happy to experience the ups and downs of life together.

Not that he was going to try and explain that to Benny. “Let’s just say that you’ve made me believe a lot more things are possible.”

She grew quiet, so he risked a glance at her. She was looking at him with an odd shine in her eyes. He turned his attention back to the road in time to catch their exit, and they rode in silence the last few minutes to the club.

…

“See where you want it to go. Now…tap it. Very gently. If you hit it too hard, it’s going to sail right past.”

The ball was six feet from the hole. It might have taken too many swings to count to get her there, but she was, and was so close to getting it in she was wired.

Benny took in a breath and lifted the club and brought it lightly down. The ball moved gracefully one then two then the final three feet and for a minute looked like it was going to miss, but it looped in the curve of the hole and, for a long second, hung there before it finally dropped in.

“Woo-hoo!!” Benny cried and moved her hands in front of her in her trademark dance. Henry lifted his brows, a smile on his face as he watched her in amusement. But she didn’t care.

Wow.
Is this what it’s like once you master actually hitting the ball with the club?
This invigorating feeling as they finished another hole?

“Grab your ball, tiger,” Henry said. “We’ve got to get to the next hole before the mob waiting behind us takes matters into their own hands.”

The disco beat of “We Are Family” trilled from her phone, and she pulled it from her back pocket, already knowing who it was. “Hey, Daisy.”

“Wow. Don’t you sound chipper. What are you doing?”

“Golfing.”

“Again? I thought after you nearly maimed Henry last weekend you gave up on that. Who are you with?”

“Henry.”

Daisy laughed. “He’s a brave man. Well, I was going to ask if you wanted to come and hang out here and drive over to the parents’ for dinner, but I can see you’re already busy. You should bring him tonight. Henry, I mean. The kids loved playing Twister with him, and it would be worth it just to see Cruz and Dominic going all psycho on him again. They’re really ridiculous sometimes.”

“I’ll think about it. He might have other plans.”

“Ask. Because if you’re not interested, then I might try my own wiles on him. Before you tell me how much of a womanizer he is and that his attention span is the lifetime of a mosquito, let me remind you it’s been nearly a year since Leo left me and even longer than that since I’ve had any kind of action. Sometimes a girl needs to get out and remember she is a girl and just have some fun.”

Benny’s grip on the phone tightened. Daisy and Henry? Daisy was certainly beautiful enough to hold someone like Henry’s attention. But the two of them? Henry holding Daisy, kissing her and doing untold things to her…
no
. The thought made her want to claw her eyes out. Actually, everyone’s eyes out.

But she managed instead to only say, “We’ll see.”

“Oh, and while I’m remembering, have you talked to Payton about arranging for the tables and chairs for the party next week?”

Benny groaned, having totally forgotten. Party planning was not her thing, but fortunately for her, her new sister-in-law had a knack for it. But Payton hadn’t wanted to step on any toes, being new to the family, and had been holding off until Benny could work out some of the details with her so she didn’t feel that Payton had taken over. Not that Benny would.

“You haven’t,” Daisy said, clearly annoyed. “You know Mom and I are doing all of the food planning and Kate and Dominic are working on the present. This is the only thing you have to do. So give her a call this week, since we can’t very well talk about it tonight, not if we want this to be a surprise party for Dad.”

“I know, I know. I promise I will. But look, I have to go, we need to move to the next hole.”

“Is that your sister?” he asked her as she returned the phone to her pocket and slipped the strap of the golf bag Henry was holding for her over her shoulder.

“Yes. Why?” she asked sharply, far more sharply than necessary. Had she heard a tone in his voice? Interest in Daisy?

“No reason,” he said, looking at her strangely as they walked across the grass running beside the club’s pond. A pond that had already taken four of Benny’s balls.

“Yes, sorry. She just wanted to make sure I was coming to the family dinner tonight and to give me a guilt trip about forgetting to do something for my dad’s big surprise party next week.”

“A surprise party? How old is he going to be?”

“Fifty-nine.”

He looked puzzled. “Am I missing something? I could see a big shindig for sixty, but why fifty-nine?”

“Last fall he had major heart surgery, and up until then, things were kind of scary. And now that he has this clean bill of health, we wanted to do something big to celebrate his life.”

He nodded. “That’s…nice.”

She remembered that Henry had lost his own dad at a young age, and she worried she’d put her foot in her mouth. Sometimes she forgot how lucky she was. “I’m sorry, Henry. Going on about my family and dad and obligations. I probably sound ungrateful.”

“Not at all. Your dad seems to be an amazing man. I’m glad he’s in good health now, and I think this party is going to make him feel even more blessed to be around.”

They reached the start of the next hole, and Henry stood for a moment, practicing his swing. Like before, she couldn’t help but appreciate the strong form he presented, so sure and smooth, as he whipped the iron through the air. Or the cute butt that she was free to stare at while his attention was diverted.

But it was more than that. She just liked looking at him. Being with him. Talking about her day as they cozied up on the couch. Laughing with him or at him or some combination of the two.

Which was completely…terrifying.

Because if she were honest with herself, she knew that her feelings for Henry had intensified somewhere in the past few weeks. That the way she was looking at him and thinking about him were far from platonic.

She was falling for him.

How was that possible? She had been in love with Luke for months.

She considered Daisy’s suggestion about inviting him to dinner. The prospect of hanging out with him and the rest of her family was enticing. “I know this is silly, and you probably have a million things to do after this, but if you are free…you’re welcome to come to dinner again tonight.”

“And risk brain injury from your brothers?” He grinned at her, though, as he pulled a golf ball from his pocket. He bent over to push it and a tee into the grass, and when he straightened, he looked more thoughtful. “I don’t know. I don’t exactly have a reason to impose.”

“Believe me, my mom loves to feed everyone, and she’ll be overjoyed to have you. Daisy and the kids, too.” Her brothers? Well, they’d just have to get over it.

He hesitated another moment, and her stomach sank. What had she been thinking? Of course she might be having feelings for him, but this was Henry Ellison. Playboy extraordinaire. Why would he want to hang out with her and her family?

“If you consider a rematch at Twister, then maybe I will.”

Immediately, her spirits buoyed, and she returned his grin. “Not a chance.”

Although she’d be lying if the thought of the two of them tangled up again didn’t have some appeal.