Ruin:Part One(23)

"Stay away from him." He pushes on my hand. "I'm going home right not to tell Alexa everything about Ben. Then you'll come over and the three of us will talk about this together."

I nod. It's not in agreement. I want to know what happened in the past that has convinced Noah that Ben is the second coming of evil. I want to hear it from Ben. I need to talk to him now.

"Promise me you'll stay away from him."

That's not a promise I can keep. "I want to know what's really going on, Noah."

"You will." He reaches forward to graze his lips across my cheek. "I should have told Alexa about all this months ago. I'll talk to her and then we'll talk again."

I sigh deeply as he turns and heads down the street.





Chapter 19




"Have you ever wanted something that was bad for you?" I pull air quotes around the word bad. I don't know how else to define what Noah thinks of Ben.

"I'm a doctor." He laughs as his hand races up my thigh. "Everything is bad for me. There's like two things I should be eating. Everything else is the root cause of some kind of disease."

I laugh at the words even though I'm bundled into a tight ball inside. I keep glancing at my phone waiting for Noah or Alexa to call.

"Are you expecting a call?" Ben nods his chin towards my smartphone.

"I am." I've been debating whether I should just ask Ben about Noah's attack on his character. I trust them both. I care about them both. I feel as though I'm sitting atop a thick tug-of-war rope that they both are clinging to for dear life.

"Is it a work thing?" He moves his body closer to mine. "Your boss was in the ER the other day."

"What?" I ask in surprise even though I anticipated it happening at some point. "She was smitten with you that day you called in for me."

"Smitten?" he parrots back within a wide grin. "Is that like saying she's hot for me?"

"All your female patients are."

"Some of the male ones too, " he says through a wide grin.

"It's not about work. I'm waiting for Noah to call."

His jaw tenses at the mention of his brother's name. "Why would Noah be calling you?"

"He's talking to Alexa about a few things right now." I pick up my phone and hold it in my hand. "Then they'll call me so I can go over."

"What kind of things?" He leans back into the soft leather of his couch. "Wedding things?"

"No." This is it, Kayla. Just say it. "It's about you."

"Me?" His finger scoops a piece of hair behind my ear, before it floats down my cheek. "What about me?"

"Noah knows we're sleeping together."

"How does Noah know that?" He tilts his chin towards me. "You told Noah?"

"No." I shake my head. "He saw us together."

He leans forward to brush his lips against my cheek. "It's not the end of the world. You know he'll try and poison your mind with thoughts about how bad I am, don't you?"

I feel the rope pulling me closer to Ben. "He said you weren't good for me. He said you'd ruin me."

"Ruin you?" He smirks as he says the words. "How can I possibly ruin someone so completely perfect?"

They're words. They are simple words that melt hearts. "He said you tried to ruin his life."

His brow cocks. "Did he tell you how I did that?"

He's so calm. If anything Noah said was based in truth, wouldn't Ben be trying to convince me that Noah is a liar? I stare at his face. There's no panic or frustration. He's as collected now as when I arrived a few minutes ago.

I place my phone into my lap. "You'd tell me if there was more to your feud than what happened the day your mother died, right?"

"I told you, Kayla." He brushes his lips over my cheek. "Noah hates me because I let her die."

I turn my head slightly, catching his lips with mine. My hand floats to the back of his head, deepening the kiss. There's no possible way this beautiful, tender man would hurt me. It's not part of who he is. I've watched him in the moments when he thinks I'm not paying attention. I've seen the way he smiles at the people who pass us by on the street. He has dedicated himself to helping others regain their health. Noah is wrong. He can't possibly be right.

"I want to believe you so much," I say into the kiss. "I know you're a good person."

He nods as his lips race up my cheek to my forehead. "I've tried very hard to be someone my mother would be proud of."

I move my other arm to embrace him, pulling his tall frame into me. "Noah doesn’t want me to be with you, Ben."

"I know." He wraps his arms tighter around me. "We'll figure it out. We're going to do that together."

A loud thump on the door stuns us both. He jumps from my embrace, his head jutting around the room. "I'm not expecting anyone."

I lean back waiting for him to get up. He doesn’t move as another loud thud fills the space.

"You should get that." I push myself up. "Do you want me to get it?"

He reaches for my hand, pulling it to his mouth. "I'll get it. You wait here, okay?"