Faith

I'm having such a wonderful time with Benson. After I tortured him with my eating by thoroughly enjoying my sushi, he told me about the project he wanted to collaborate on with us. His excitement is contagious. We spend time drinking Saki and bouncing ideas off of each other when I feel my phone buzz.

It is Grace."Excuse me; it's my sister."

Benson nods to me in understanding.

I quickly look at her text, then laugh. "She's asking if I'm okay?"

I then notice. "Oh my goodness, it's after midnight." I look up at Benson.

He chuckles at my shock. "Yes, it is."

Of course, I'm embarrassed. "I didn't think this restaurant was open that late."

Then I remember Grace's worried text. I quickly respond that I'm doing just fine.

"The restaurant is not open this late," Benson replies with amusement.

"Wait! What? The restaurant is closed." My hand goes to my mouth. "Shit, I feel awful now." I rush to get my purse and begin to stand when Benson places his hand over mine.

"Please sit; let's finish enjoying our Saki," he asks sweetly, and I immediately obey.

The warmth of his hand spreads throughout my body.

"Remember that I told you that I know the owner?" He inquires, and I nod.

"All of the employees have already gone home. We're the only two in this restaurant," he informs me.

My brows go up in surprise. "Who's going to lock up the restaurant?"

"I am," he replies.

"You?" I say, stunned at his comment.

"I'm part owner of this restaurant," he reveals.

"Well, damn, you're just full of surprises." I smirk.

"You have no idea." He gives me an incredibly sexy smile, and I melt.

His hand is still on my hand, and I glance down at it. He follows my gaze and slowly removes his hand from mine. I right away miss its warmth. I take the initiative and place my hand on his. He meets my eyes, and we smile at each other. I'm not sure if it's the Saki or the man before me that brings out the confidence in me.

We finish our drinks, stray off the project topic, and move to a more personal discussion. Benson tells me about growing up on Coronado Island as an only child. I find it interesting that his degree was actually in architecture, but his desire to renovate older buildings, bringing them back to their original beauty, led him into real estate. His parents are lawyers and still handle any legal issues within his business.

"I bet that comes in real handy having your parents as your lawyers," I say with admiration.

"It is most of the time, but it also means that my parents are always up in my business. I have no privacy when it comes to my parents. Don't get me wrong, I love them dearly, but sometimes it gets to be a little too much." He smiles.

I nod in understanding, and I tell him my experiences growing up in a hotel and how much of an influence our father was on Grace and me getting into advertising. I let him know about my brother, Thomas, his wife Dianna, and their three children taking over the hotel business after the passing of my parents.

He places a comforting hand over my hand. "I'm so sorry that you lost your parents way too soon. I can't even imagine how difficult that has been on your family."

I can't hide the tears forming in my eyes. I brush them away with my free hand.

"May I hug you, Faith?" he asks me with a hint of caution in his voice.

I don't say a word; I nod my head. He quickly stands and pulls me into his arms. His spicy scent is intoxicating. I've never felt more at ease in a man's presence.

I'm unsure how long we stood there with him comforting me by rocking back and forth. My head lay on his chest, and the rhythmic beating of his heart was like a sweet lullaby.

He gently kissed my head, and he spoke so softly that I almost didn't hear him. "I should probably get you home."

I pulled back from his hug and looked up into his gorgeous green eyes. "Thank you," I whispered as he guided me out the door. After turning and locking the door, I see his limo pull up.

"I'm taking you home. I don't feel comfortable with you driving after sharing so much saki with me." He looks at me with care in his eyes; I feel a shiver through my entire body.

I'm nowhere near drunk. I drank plenty of water between my small cups of saki, but I didn't argue. He opens the door for me, and I slide over, giving him room to get in beside me. The partition is up between the driver and us, so Benson taps the dark window, and it immediately goes down.

"We're taking this lovely young lady to her home." The chauffeur gives him a slight nod. Benson looks towards me, and I give my address to the driver. He puts the privacy window back up, and Benson slides back next to me.

"I know that this was just a business meeting, but I wanted you to know that it has been a very long time since I've had such a good time," I smile shyly.

His disarming grin makes me feel at ease telling him what I thought about this evening.

"I enjoyed myself as well. You're a gorgeous, intriguing woman, and I'll enjoy working with you and Grace."

I smile at him, and we sit in a comfortable silence until his driver pulls up to my home. Benson gets out and reaches his hand down to help me out. I notice Benson looking over the house that I share with my sister.

"Very nice," he quietly says as he takes in the architecture of the building. "Did you have to do any renovations to this building?" he inquires.

"We did," I replied proudly. "As well as our office building."

"Your office building is also very extraordinary," he adds.

"Thank you for your kind words and a very pleasurable evening," I say as he takes my hand and brings it to his soft, gentle lips.

"Trust me, the pleasure was all mine," he responds before watching me enter my home safely.

I turn back before closing my door, and we both smile. I slowly close my door and lean against it until I hear Benson's limo pull away.

I float up the stairs and into my room. I turn my light on and am shocked to see my sister in my bed. She slowly opens her eyes and raises her eyebrow at me.

"It is 2:00 a.m., and this is a school night, young lady." She yawns, and I laugh.

"How about you take your sleepy ass back to your room." She ignores me as I get myself ready for bed; suddenly, I feel the late hour.

I give Grace a push. She whines, "I'm so comfy. Please don't make me leave."

I answer her, "Fine, I'm going to your room then." She smiles and rolls over.

I shake my head and make my way to Grace's room. I climb into her soft sheets, set the alarm on my phone, and quickly fall asleep with Benson Easton on my mind.

*****