His face softened, and he kissed her forehead then rested his lips there. The warmth of his mouth against her skin eased the pounding nerves that skittered through her stomach.
“Violet, I might not have been a man of many words, but I can see that it’s hard for you to trust—”
“No, Ben, I trust you!” The idea slammed into her that he might get tired of always reassuring her that he was not like Matt.
“Babe, shhh.” He kissed her lightly again. “What I was going to say is that I will do everything I can to not just tell you that you can trust me but I’ll do everything I can to show you that you can trust me. Okay?”
She nodded, her gaze held by his.
“And when I said we were an us, that’s not just you and me and sex. That’s all of us. Sex is part of it, but only part of what we are together. And I know this is a lot, so we’ll take it slow. Let the kids get used to us being together without being in their faces.”
“I should warn you,” she said, “but the kids are going to love us being together. I just don’t want it to be too much for you.”
His lips curved and his gaze never wavered. “Babe, it’ll never be too much for me.”
18
Two weeks later, Ben looked around the table, his heart lighter than it had been in a long time. Ensconced in a private room of a family restaurant, their group could celebrate Violet’s graduation with ease and not be afraid of encroaching on the dinner enjoyment of other patrons. Babciu sat next to him with Violet’s mom on the other side of her and Violet’s dad at the end. Charlie and Lily sat close to their grandparents, soaking up the attention. With Violet next to him, their group was complete.
Lily was no longer in the compression boot, but he’d wrapped her ankle in an elastic bandage, securing it with clips. She insisted she didn’t need to be carried, but he’d kept an eye on her. It wasn’t needed though, considering her grandfather doted on her, assisting her as they made their way into the restaurant. Charlie was full of tales to his grandparents, but Ben noticed he said nothing about the bad man in the yard.
Violet’s parents lived in one of the older neighborhoods in the north part of Hope City, where houses were set back from the road and tall trees graced the yards. At least that was how Violet described her childhood home. He’d get to see it tomorrow since Roger and Daisy were taking the kids for an overnight stay, and he and Violet would pick them up in the afternoon.
That thought alone made him slide his hand over to cover Violet’s, resting on the table. The idea that they could have an entire night and morning all to themselves. Giving her hand a little squeeze, she immediately glanced toward him, a smile playing about her lips and her eyes gleaming. It might have been the lights from the restaurant but he liked to think it was because she was as excited about their night together as he was.
Roger stood and their attention moved to the other end of the table. Her father was not overly tall but held himself with a confident air as his warm gaze moved around the others gathered, finally landing on Violet as he lifted his glass of iced tea. “We’re here to celebrate the graduation of my daughter. You’ve worked hard over the past years, and your mom and I are so proud of you—”
“And me?” Charlie asked, holding his glass of milk the way his grandfather was.
Everyone laughed and Roger’s smile landed on Charlie as he nodded. “Yes, we are proud of you and Lily as well. You all have worked hard and accomplished so much. So, here’s to Charlie, who is soon to finish first grade, Lily, who will finish fourth, and Violet, who now has her bachelor’s degree.”
Ben’s fingers trailed a slow path over her shoulder as his gaze stayed riveted on her. A blush graced her cheeks, and her pink-slicked lips curved into a smile. Ever since she had received her last grade the week before and her advisor confirmed her transcript for graduation, he’d felt her spirit lighten and knew part of her burden was lifted.
Everyone participated in the toast, but Roger stayed standing. Now, he looked toward Ben. “And let me just say that it’s been a pleasure to get to know you and Anna. We are so glad you are part of their lives.”
Another drink accompanied this toast and soon the server came with the check. Ben had planned to cover the check, but Roger had cornered him earlier at Violet’s house before they left for dinner.
“Ben, I know you’re the kind of man who plans on picking up the tab tonight, but I’m going to ask that you let me get it. You can take Violet out for drinks afterward if you want, but… well, her mom and I really want to do this for them. For all of you. Violet tells us how much you have helped her and the kids—”
“Sir, you don’t owe me anything for being with them.”
Roger had nodded, but grimaced. “I know, but it’s just that we’re so glad to see her happy again. When Matt died… and then…”
He’d placed his hand on Roger’s shoulder, hoping to offer comfort to the struggling man. “Sir, I can only imagine your grief and pain for your daughter and grandchildren. And then your anger.”
Roger had sucked in a deep breath through his nose before letting it out slowly. “That’s it, Ben. You’ve hit the nail on the head. It was unbelievable grief and then followed by such anger. And I didn’t want to show that anger to Violet. Her mother and I wanted to be supportive, but we struggled so with our anger toward him… and it’s hard to express fury at a deceased man.” Shaking his head slightly, he’d added, “I’m sorry. I never meant to go down this road with you. Daisy and I’ve heard all about you for weeks from Charlie and Lily. They are taken with you.”
“And I’m crazy about them, too. It’s still early days in our relationship, but I give you my word as a SEAL that I will always have their best intentions at heart.”
Roger finally smiled and the two men shook hands. So now, as much as Ben didn’t want to accept Roger’s offer, he stepped back and allowed Violet’s parents to treat them to dinner. Once they made it to the vehicles, Violet was busy with the kids, making sure they had their overnight bags for their sleepover with their grandparents. Lily stood next to her grandmother, who was talking to his babcia, holding her hand while Charlie bounced around.
Finally, the kids hugged their mom with promises to behave and they’d see her tomorrow. Surprisingly, they both hurried to Babciu, hugging her as well, careful of her cane and making sure to not cause her to lose balance. Ben’s heart swelled as he watched them before glancing to see Violet’s tremulous smile as well.
Charlie and Lily let go of Babciu and rushed over to him, throwing their arms around him, this time giving in to their exuberance. His arms encircled them as he squatted to their level. Stinging pricked his eyes, and he couldn’t remember the last time he’d felt tearful. “You two be good for your grandparents,” he said. As they leaned back to offer their assurances, he winked. “And have fun!”
Bouncing over to the car, they climbed into the back seat and waved as Roger and Daisy pulled out into the street.
“My word, your children are beautiful,” his grandmother said, taking Violet’s arm as they walked toward Ben’s SUV.