Read Online The Inn at Laurel Creek by Carolyn Ridder Aspenson - Free Book Online
Authors: Carolyn Ridder Aspenson
Tags: Romance, Literature & Fiction, Contemporary, Contemporary Fiction, Two Hours or More (65-100 Pages)
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I won't tell Ben I know." I hugged Stan too. "And you'd better keep the secret too, or I think Lou will come at you with a shotgun." I smiled, and hugged him a little tighter. "You hear?"
"Yes, ma'am. My Lou's a good shot, too."
We all laughed.
"I'll see you for breakfast in the morning," I said, and went to my room.
***
I closed my door and flung myself on the bed. "Oh my God. Oh my God. Oh my God." I stopped the chant and focused on calming myself so I didn't end up on the verge of another panic attack. "Ben is Bret Bennett. Bret Bennett is Ben. Oh my God. Oh my God. Oh my God." Guess I didn't calm myself after all. "Ben is Bret. I'm dating Bret Bennett. I can't believe it."
I sat up and practically jumped off the bed, over to the dresser, where I'd thrown my phone when I arrived. It had been off since then, but I powered it on to text my best friend. When it turned on, a text came beeping in. The number wasn't familiar, so I grabbed the paper with Ben's number on it and compared the two. It was from him.
"Can't believe I had to leave you like that," he said. "Can't wait to see you tomorrow."
My hands shook and the phone dropped to the floor. "Shit," I said, picking it up and immediately checking for damage. Relieved there wasn't any, I held the phone tight and sat in the pink stuffed chair staring at his text, reading it over and over. "Can't believe I had to leave you like that. Can't wait to see you tomorrow."
Ben, otherwise known as Bret-with-the-super-sexy-voice-and- big-time-famous-singing-career-Bennett, wrote that text.
Holy crap.
I wasn't sure what to text back, afraid I'd slip and say Bret instead of Ben or something stupid that would make me sound like a groupie. I typed out a text to my best friend, but hit cancel, realizing telling anyone would just cause my phone to blow up and then the news would be all over Twitter and Facebook in seconds. Heck, it'd probably end up in the Atlanta papers, and I couldn't do that to Ben. I imagined what the headline would say:
Local nobody hooks up with famous local Bret Bennett
and flips the heck out about it, too.
I needed to keep my lips zipped and my fingers off the keyboard, at least to anyone other than Ben. Still unsure of how to respond, I texted back, trying for cute, but fearful it came out as cocky instead. "You'll survive. Many men have waited a long time for me." Yeah, it was more cocky than cute, and I instantly regretted hitting send.
He texted back within seconds. "Well they're going to have to wait forever now, because I'm not planning on letting you get away from me."
Oh my God. Oh my God. Oh my God. I needed to get a handle on the panic building in my stomach before it completely took over and I ended up in the hospital. "You should use that in a song. It's a great line," I responded.
Okay, that wasn't too bad, I told myself, and then focused again on my breathing. In and out. In and out. In and out. Slow and steady. Slow and steady. Slow and steady.
"What if it's not a line?" he texted. "What if that's how I'm feeling? Like I never want to let you go."
How was I supposed to respond to that? Awesome, dude didn't seem quite right, and neither did, Holy crap, you're Bret Freaking Bennett , I don't want you to ever let me go either! I was so screwed. I needed to figure out what Ben being Bret meant for us…for me, before things got any more hot and heavy than they already were. I didn't want to hurt Ben, but I honestly didn't know if I could handle being involved with someone so famous.
I imagined what it would be like going to the store with him. Did he even do his own grocery shopping? Did he have someone with him all of the time, like a bodyguard? Would I like the bodyguard? Was the bodyguard hot? Okay, that didn't matter. I reminded myself to stay focused. Ben being Bret was a game changer. Sure, I wanted to have a relationship with someone who was financially stable, had a decent job and wasn't a freeloader, and yes, Ben certainly met
"Yes, ma'am. My Lou's a good shot, too."
We all laughed.
"I'll see you for breakfast in the morning," I said, and went to my room.
***
I closed my door and flung myself on the bed. "Oh my God. Oh my God. Oh my God." I stopped the chant and focused on calming myself so I didn't end up on the verge of another panic attack. "Ben is Bret Bennett. Bret Bennett is Ben. Oh my God. Oh my God. Oh my God." Guess I didn't calm myself after all. "Ben is Bret. I'm dating Bret Bennett. I can't believe it."
I sat up and practically jumped off the bed, over to the dresser, where I'd thrown my phone when I arrived. It had been off since then, but I powered it on to text my best friend. When it turned on, a text came beeping in. The number wasn't familiar, so I grabbed the paper with Ben's number on it and compared the two. It was from him.
"Can't believe I had to leave you like that," he said. "Can't wait to see you tomorrow."
My hands shook and the phone dropped to the floor. "Shit," I said, picking it up and immediately checking for damage. Relieved there wasn't any, I held the phone tight and sat in the pink stuffed chair staring at his text, reading it over and over. "Can't believe I had to leave you like that. Can't wait to see you tomorrow."
Ben, otherwise known as Bret-with-the-super-sexy-voice-and- big-time-famous-singing-career-Bennett, wrote that text.
Holy crap.
I wasn't sure what to text back, afraid I'd slip and say Bret instead of Ben or something stupid that would make me sound like a groupie. I typed out a text to my best friend, but hit cancel, realizing telling anyone would just cause my phone to blow up and then the news would be all over Twitter and Facebook in seconds. Heck, it'd probably end up in the Atlanta papers, and I couldn't do that to Ben. I imagined what the headline would say:
Local nobody hooks up with famous local Bret Bennett
and flips the heck out about it, too.
I needed to keep my lips zipped and my fingers off the keyboard, at least to anyone other than Ben. Still unsure of how to respond, I texted back, trying for cute, but fearful it came out as cocky instead. "You'll survive. Many men have waited a long time for me." Yeah, it was more cocky than cute, and I instantly regretted hitting send.
He texted back within seconds. "Well they're going to have to wait forever now, because I'm not planning on letting you get away from me."
Oh my God. Oh my God. Oh my God. I needed to get a handle on the panic building in my stomach before it completely took over and I ended up in the hospital. "You should use that in a song. It's a great line," I responded.
Okay, that wasn't too bad, I told myself, and then focused again on my breathing. In and out. In and out. In and out. Slow and steady. Slow and steady. Slow and steady.
"What if it's not a line?" he texted. "What if that's how I'm feeling? Like I never want to let you go."
How was I supposed to respond to that? Awesome, dude didn't seem quite right, and neither did, Holy crap, you're Bret Freaking Bennett , I don't want you to ever let me go either! I was so screwed. I needed to figure out what Ben being Bret meant for us…for me, before things got any more hot and heavy than they already were. I didn't want to hurt Ben, but I honestly didn't know if I could handle being involved with someone so famous.
I imagined what it would be like going to the store with him. Did he even do his own grocery shopping? Did he have someone with him all of the time, like a bodyguard? Would I like the bodyguard? Was the bodyguard hot? Okay, that didn't matter. I reminded myself to stay focused. Ben being Bret was a game changer. Sure, I wanted to have a relationship with someone who was financially stable, had a decent job and wasn't a freeloader, and yes, Ben certainly met
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