Total pages in book: 62
Estimated words: 59939 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 300(@200wpm)___ 240(@250wpm)___ 200(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 59939 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 300(@200wpm)___ 240(@250wpm)___ 200(@300wpm)
Shaking his head, he edges away from the doorway. “Wow. Sounds like you lead a mighty fulfilling life,” he cracks before disappearing into the hall.
“Ben,” I call after him.
His footsteps stop. “Yeah?”
I sigh. “You should probably look for a hotel.”
15
Maggie
After I’ve gotten dressed and brushed my hair, I enter the living room to find it empty. The only signs of life come from the television Ben left on. Some entertainment show silently flashes across the screen.
He left without saying goodbye.
It shouldn’t bother me, but it does.
“You’re the one who told him to find a hotel,” I mutter to myself. I collapse on the couch, stretching out my legs to rest my feet on the coffee table.
Right about now, every female in America would be screaming vile things at me if they knew I sent Ben Barrett away. But to hell with them. I’m too busy to be playing hookup games with some egomaniac celebrity. I have way more important things to do.
Growing up, I never felt like I belonged. At school, I was a loner. At home, I was invisible. I was passed up for adoption so many times I’d given up on ever finding someone who truly cared about me. It was like being the last person picked for a game of softball. Standing there as everyone around you got picked one by one, feeling humiliated and unloved, as useless as a piece of trash on the sidewalk. Only the stakes were higher than a silly sports game. It was about a child not being good enough to have parents.
It wasn’t until I started studying social work and working with kids that I finally found a place where I fit in. I found my identity at the youth center. It’s where I developed this hunger to help kids and ensure they grow up feeling like they matter. It took me years to get past the pain and resentment of being abandoned—I don’t want any of the kids I work with to ever feel as alone as I have.
So what if it means putting relationships on hold for a while? I won’t be single forever, just until I graduate and find a good job. Then I’ll go out and do what other women my age do. I’ll date and flirt and maybe even get married. Other Ben Barretts will come along. It isn’t like saying goodbye to this one will have life-altering effects—
“The ladies love Ben Barrett!”
I yelp when a cheerful female voice breaks through the dismal silence in the room. Shifting, I feel the remote control dig into my butt and realize I accidentally pressed un-mute when I moved my legs.
I yank the remote from under me but can’t bring myself to shut off the TV. Not when Ben’s ridiculously sexy face mocks me from the screen. It’s like driving past a gory car crash. You just can’t look away.
“Bad boy Barrett might be stirring up some scandals recently, but the Heart of a Hero star still manages to stir up the ladies.”
No kidding.
“Shanika Thomas, our New York correspondent, spent the day in the Big Apple chatting with Barrett’s fans, who don’t seem to mind all the negative attention their favorite action hero is receiving. In fact, it’s unanimous—we all love him.”
“Oh my God, Ben is sooooo cute!” a fan giggles into Shanika Thomas’ microphone. “I don’t care if he, like, slept with a married woman. He’s still hot!”
“I’m a married woman and he can sure sleep with me,” another fan remarks with a laugh. She lowers her voice. “Just don’t tell my husband I said that.”
“I don’t know who his new girlfriend is,” someone else sighs. “But I’d go to a hotel with Ben Barrett any night of the week!”
“Well, there you have it,” Shanika chirps into the mic. “Scandalous or not, it looks like Ben continues to scandalize the hearts of his fans.”
Scandalize the hearts? What does that even mean?
Rolling my eyes, I shut off the TV. A second later, I hear the front door swing open.
I hop off the couch, startled, then relax slightly when Ben enters the apartment. “Oh,” I blurt out. “You’re still here?”
“Sure am.”
He strides toward me, dropping a set of keys—my keys—on the hall table before approaching the living area. He holds a large paper bag with splotches of grease at the bottom of and steam rising from the top.
“I went out and got us some Chinese food. I don’t like pizza all that much.”
“But…”
“You asked me to leave?” He cocks a brow. “That’s not going to happen, Mags.”
I bristle at his use of the nickname. “Why not?”
“Because you like me. And I happen to like you.”
“I also like Joe the hot dog vendor. Doesn’t mean I’m going to let him move in with me and turn my life upside down.”
“Who said anything about moving in with you?” He flops down on the couch, sets the bag on the coffee table and shoots me a look that says you don’t understand me at all.