An Act of Persuasion(72)

“Geezus, Tyler, pick a spot in the middle and hang it up.”

Ben turned to give Mark a scorching glare. “To be properly centered I need the length of the wall.”

Mark walked over and put his finger on a spot. “Trust me. That’s the middle of the wall. I’m a crack shot and have an excellent sense of topography. I know where the middle is.”

Ben continued his measurements. “If you would like to be useful, I’m sure there are other pictures that need to be hung.”

“There are. Upstairs in her room. But, nut job that you are, you won’t let me in her bedroom.”

“There is no reason for an employer to be in his employee’s bedroom. Yes, while I concede that I am, in fact, calling the kettle black, it doesn’t change that I’m right. You stay downstairs and out of my way.”

Mark turned toward her. “Anna, will you talk to him?”

Anna smiled and watched as Ben finally tapped in the nail to hang her favorite painting. It was a print, not an original, but it was signed and numbered and she considered it her first big art purchase. A man and a woman in formal dress dancing on the beach. Very romantic.

Funny, for all the times she’d ever looked at it, she never once thought of her and Ben in the scene. She didn’t see him taking off his shoes and socks and rolling up his trousers to spin her around on the beach. He was far too practical.

But it never bothered her, his lack of whimsy. She loved his stability instead. Maybe that was why she liked the picture so much. Knowing it was a fantasy and nothing more. She would much rather have the man with the leveler and tape measure in his hand than some flaky guy on a beach without his shoes any day.

“It’s perfect,” she said as she approached them.

For the first time as she stood next to him and admired his precision, she wrapped her arm around his waist. She could feel him startle and his muscles tighten, but she didn’t let go.

Last week following the furniture shopping, she thought she was ready for sex. But after that moment at her door had passed, she hadn’t followed up on initiating the sex. Anna had assumed Ben would press again and when he did, she was prepared to give in. Perhaps it was silly, but she thought it was important that he initiate it when they did finally have sex again. That way there would be no confusing what was happening between them.

They would both know that he was openly acknowledging he wanted her. Even though he’d said as much to her over these past weeks, his deeds were what counted.

Only, after days went by and there was no move on his part did she start to understand something she’d never realized before. Ben needed something from her, too. He needed to know, maybe as much as she did, that she wanted him, also.

It wasn’t like her to make the first physical gesture. To take his hand first, or kiss him without any prompting. But she was coming to understand that if they ever were going to make it to that next step, she needed to show him how she felt.

He glanced at her and the look on his face was hard to read. Eventually, he relaxed, too, and circled his arm around her, pulling her closer. She leaned her head against his shoulder and she tried to imagine them as a painting. A man with a leveler and a pregnant woman staring at a fantasy that would never be them.

She liked it.

“Hey, lady, we’re done.”

The loud shout from the foyer broke them apart. Anna did a final walk-through with the movers then signed all the necessary paperwork. She had the check ready and a tip in a separate envelope for each of the men, thanking them for all the heavy lifting. Between what had already been delivered by the furniture stores and her personal effects, the house finally felt complete.

She was home. Her home, with her colors and her taste and her stuff and no one could ever make her leave it.

Ben had done this. He’d given this to her. Not a possession, or a property but, instead, a lifetime of security.

She could feel the tears coming and tried some shallow breaths to stop them.

“Oh, no. Here she goes,” Ben muttered to Mark. “Turns out she’s a pregnant crier.”

In retaliation Anna offered him a discreet view of a particular finger centered on her hand.

Mark chuckled. “There are worse things. See you two later. I’m having dinner with Sophie and her grandparents.”

“Good luck.”

“I’ll need it. Last time I had dinner with them I got her to speak five words. But only two of those were together. This time I’m going for a record-breaking ten. Maybe even a full sentence.”