When I’m With You by Sandi Lynn
Chapter 40
Paisley
“Paisley Logan?” Kenny said as I shut the door to Ben’s truck.
“Hi, Kenny.” I smiled as I lightly hugged him.
“Did I just see you kissing that guy?”
I could feel my cheeks getting red. “Yeah. I guess you did.”
He hooked his arm around me as we walked inside the building. “Put your things away and come to my office.”
When I stepped into Kenny’s office, he was on the phone but motioned for me to shut the door and sit down. As soon as he hung up, he leaned back in his chair.
“You look amazing, Paisley. Hawaii agreed with you. Or could it be that man I saw you kissing?”
Once again, I blushed. “That was Ben and I think it’s a combination of both.”
“Well, it’s good to see you back and I don’t mean just back in the office. I mean it’s good to see you back to your old self. I wanted to thank you for keeping up with your Dear Paisley columns while you were gone. I received some emails from people saying that if Dear Paisley ever goes away, so will they.”
“Don’t worry, Kenny. As long as people keep submitting questions, I’ll keep answering them.”
“That’s what I wanted to hear.” He smiled.
“I do need to talk to you about something,” I said. “I wrote a book.”
“A book? Really? About what?”
“My story about trying to cope with life after my husband died and how life can and will go on.”
“Interesting. I like it. Have you had someone look at it yet?”
“No. I was going to start submitting it to publishers this week.”
“I have a friend who works over at Doyle Publishing. Let me give her a call and see if she’s interested in reading it.”
“Really?” I asked with a hint of excitement.
“I want a copy too. Do you have one?”
“You want it right now? I haven’t been to the print shop to print any copies yet.”
“Use ours. Do you have it on a jump drive?”
“Yeah. I have it in my purse.”
“Give it to me and I’ll print two copies. One for me and one for Doyle.”
“Can you print three copies?”
“Sure, Paisley. I can print as many copies as you want.”
“Thanks, Kenny. I don’t know what to say.”
“Nah. You don’t need to say anything. Get out of here, kid, and work on your columns. I’ll stop by your office and pick up that jump drive.”
I got up from my seat and gave him a kiss on the cheek. “Thank you for everything, Kenny.”
“You’re welcome, kid. Now go.”
Later that afternoon, I called Ben to come pick me up. I didn’t have time to stop home first before heading to my parents’ house for dinner. The minute my mom heard the front door open, she ran into the foyer with tears in her eyes.
“Paisley, I’m so happy you’re home,” she said as she hugged me.
“It’s good to be home, Mom.”
“Ben, it’s wonderful to see you.”
“It’s good to see you too.”
“There’s my little girl.” My dad smiled.
“Hi, Daddy.”
“You did good, sweetheart. I’m happy you did what you had to do.”
“Thanks.” I kissed his cheek.
My dad took Ben into the living room with him to talk sports while I went into the kitchen to talk to my mom. I was surprised the rest of the family wasn’t here yet.
“You’re okay?” she asked.
“I’m great, Mom. Hawaii was good for me.”
“I see you took off your wedding ring,” she said as she started the water for some tea.
“It was time.”
“This is what he would have wanted, Paisley.”
“I know that now.”
I turned around when I heard the sound of heels clicking on the tile floor.
“There she is!” Piper exclaimed as she hugged me.
Charlotte followed behind and when she hugged me, I felt her baby bump. “Oh my gosh, you’re already starting to show.” I smiled as I put my hand on her belly.
“I know. Everything is getting so tight. I need to go shopping for maternity clothes.”
“I’ll go with you. Just let me know when.”
She smiled. “It’s so good to have you home. I heard about Ben going to Hawaii to find you. I completely swooned over him. He’s so romantic.”
“He is and he’s such an amazing guy. Where’s Keaton?” I asked.
“He’s up in his room,” my mom replied.
I went up the stairs and when I walked into Keaton’s room, I saw he was skyping with Leah. He turned around and flashed me his charming smile.
“I didn’t hear you come in. Come say hi to Leah.”
I walked over to his computer and waved to her. She gave me a huge smile and waved back. She told Keaton that she’d talk to him later and to go be with his family. I sat down on the edge of the bed and, as soon as they said goodbye, Keaton sat down next to me.
“So what’s going on with you and Leah?”
“We’re friends.”
“Friends? That’s all?”
“For now.” He smiled.
“Spill it, Keaton,” I commanded.
“I really like her a lot. More so than any other girl I’ve ever dated or met. She’s beautiful, funny, and she’s way beyond smart. She’s my level of smart and I like that. We have the same taste in music, interests, except surfing, which I’m going to teach her, and we have a lot of fun together. Ben’s going to kill me.”
I placed my hand on his knee. “He’s not going to kill you. He just doesn’t want you to break her heart. She told him you’re going to visit her over the holidays.”
“I am, and I can’t wait to see her again. Her birthday is coming up.”
“I know.”
“Did you know that she’s graduating high school in January? She has all her credits and she applied to UCLA for the spring semester.”
“Oh. I didn’t know that, and I bet Ben doesn’t either.”
“Don’t tell him. Let her be the one.”
We heard our names being called from the bottom of the stairs, alerting us that dinner was ready. When I walked downstairs and into the dining room, I smiled when I saw Ben take his seat at the table. Before sitting down, I kissed the top of his head.
“What was that for?” he asked with a smile.
“Just because.”
“I like your ‘just because.’”
* * *
Ben
After dinner and drinks, we climbed into the truck and Paisley asked me if I would help her put up her Christmas tree.
“Of course I will.”
“Do you have one?” she asked.
“Buried in the basement somewhere. I didn’t put one up last year.”
“I didn’t either, but this year will be different. We’re both going to put one up. Deal?” She smiled as she held out her hand.
“Deal.”
When we arrived back to her house, I went down in the basement to find her tree. Once I found the box, I carried it upstairs and set it in the living room. Romeo jumped on top of it and started sniffing around. A couple of hours later, the tree lit up the entire room.
“It’s beautiful, Paisley,” I said as I put my arm around her.
“It sure is. Thank you for helping me.”
“It was my pleasure, baby.”
“Speaking of pleasure.” She smiled. “I’m thinking you need to take me into the bedroom.”
I growled as I picked her up and carried her to her bed.
The next morning when I awoke, Paisley wasn’t in bed. I got up and found her standing in her closet; not doing anything, just standing there.
“Good morning. What are you doing?”
“I need to clean out all his things.”
“I can help you if you want,” I said as I wrapped my arms around her.
“Thanks, but I think I need to do this alone.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yeah.” She smiled as she kissed my lips. “Thank you for offering.”
“You’re welcome. I’ll go feed Romeo and make us some coffee.”
