AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Olivia's mouth twists into a partial smile.
Ben emerges from the bedroom and trots over to the sofa, halting behind it—behind me. He bends to kiss the top of my head, then smirks at his mother. "Well, Mum isn't turning purple, so I guess the chat went all right."
"It went great," I say. "Your mom and I came up with a plan."
"A plan? Do I want to know?"
"Yes, Bennett," Olivia says. "You do want to know."
"What is the plan?"
"You and Samantha will come home to Mithoria for Christmas. But first, I will spend two days here in New Hampshire finding out why this place has entranced you."
"It's not the place, Mum." He lays his hands on my shoulders. "It's the woman."
A warm, glowy feeling spreads through my chest. I lay my hands over his and try not to smile like a lovestruck idiot. All Ben said was that he's stayed in New Hampshire because of me, not because of the scenery. But that simple declaration makes me feel almost euphoric.
"Why don't we start today?" I ask Olivia. "Unless you're too wiped out from the plane ride."
"I do not get 'wiped out', dear. Indeed we should start today."
She stands up like she's about to head for the front door.
"You might want to change clothes," I say. "It's cold out there, and nobody in North Slipperton wears designer duds. You look amazing, don't get me wrong."
"North Slipperton?" she says like I've spoken an alien language.
Ben squeezes my shoulders as he tells his mother, "That's the name of the nearest town, Mum. It's a nice place. They have a store too, where you could buy a snowsuit."
"A snow what?"
"Suit. It's what everybody wears around here in the winter. The suit will keep you warm."
"What sort of store sells such things?"
"It's called the Discount Depot."
Her lip curls, but she flattens it out quickly. "Thank you for the suggestion, but I do not shop at any establishment that includes the word discount in its name."
"Don't be a snob, Mum. Give it a go. At least go inside the store before you turn your nose up at it."
"It's a cool place," I say. "Never know, you might decide 'discount' isn't a dirty word."
"That's right," Ben agrees. "Sam and I love that store and the whole town. Hartmoor is great too, but it's a bit further away."
Olivia looks at her son, then me, then she shuts her eyes for a moment. When she opens them again, she sighs and sags her shoulders. "All right. I will visit this Discount Depot. Please tell me there is at least a good restaurant in town."
Ben grins. "Sure there is. It's called the Crab Cottage."
Did Olivia just go pale? I think she might have, though not enough that I can tell for sure. The Crab Cottage might not be a five-star restaurant, but it has good food. Though maybe we shouldn't take Ben's mom there since we had sex in that place.
It's the only restaurant in town. I'll just have to try not to think about how I mounted Ben in one of the booths.
"Let me call my mom," I say, "and alert them that we're coming into town. We can all meet up at the Discount Depot, then go out for dinner."
"Sounds perfect," Ben says.
Olivia flattens her lips into a line. "Yes, it sounds wonderful."
