She reached out and took the box, her arms feeling weak and shaky. He bought her a dress? How very…prince-like of him. “Is it black?”

“No.” He snorted. “Never.”

Smiling, she played with the pink bow for a second before undoing the knot. The second she lifted the lid off the box, she gasped. The most beautiful midnight blue dress she’d ever seen stared back at her. It was satin, and had intricate beading that looked like it was straight off an A-lister’s back on the red carpet. “Oh my God. It’s beautiful.”

“I couldn’t resist.” He sat beside her, bending a knee and settling on his foot. He touched the dress, tracing one of the threads that led to the beads. “The blue matches those flecks that show up in your eyes when you smile. And since I plan on making you smile a lot that night, it seemed like it was made for you.”

“It’s perfect,” she whispered, tears burning her eyes. “You’re perfect. I love it. Thank you.”

He curled his hand behind her neck, and kissed her. When he pulled back, his blue eyes were warmer than ever before. “You’re the perfect one. Not me. I’m just me.”

She wasn’t sure what to say to that, so she kissed him instead.

And she didn’t want to stop.

By the time they came up for air, they were both undressed and breathing heavily, and the dress had fallen to the floor. Yawning, Benjamin pulled the covers over them and settled in. She rolled onto her side, facing him, and folded her hands under her cheek. “I—” The ring of her phone cut her off. “Who could that be?”

He raised a brow. “I have no idea, since it’s not my phone. Answer it, we’ll find out.”

“It’s probably just—” Digging in her purse, she pulled out her cell and frowned down at the screen. “Oh. It’s my parents. They never call this late. Could you give me a second?”

Benjamin sat up. “Sure. I’ll go grab us a couple bottles of water.”

“Thanks.” She watched him go, waiting till he crossed the threshold and turned the corner. Then, and only then, she answered the phone. “What’s wrong, Mom?”

“Nothing’s wrong.” She paused. “But Lou called a few minutes ago. We got word from the bank, and we’re going to find out tomorrow at nine a.m. if we got the grant that could keep us running.”

She held the phone tight, offering a silent prayer that they would get it. If they didn’t, her parents would lose the farm, and everything they worked so hard to build all these years. “Did Lou give you any indication of the verdict when he called?”

“No, he said he wasn’t told yet. He just heard the answer was waiting for him on his desk.” She let out a small sigh. “I don’t have a good feeling about this.”

“Don’t think like that. You have to think positively.” Maggie flopped back on the bed and stared up at the fan above Benjamin’s bed. Unlike hers back home, his did not need to be dusted. It was impeccably clean. His sheets were soft and satiny, and everything looked…rich. Different. It didn’t feel like home. “If you believe it can be saved, it will. You taught me that.”

Her mom laughed. “I did, didn’t I?”

“Yes.” She peeked at the door, but there was no sign of Benjamin. “The farm won’t be shut down. I swear I’ll do everything I can to make sure it stays open, before we have to resort to something drastic and final.”

“That’s not your job, dear,” her mom said, her voice sad. “It’s mine. And this is our last resort. We’ve exhausted every avenue we could. If we don’t get a loan or a grant…it’s over.”

She rubbed her forehead, worry taking over despite her words to her mother. All her life, her father had worked hard to keep his father’s farm going…and for what? To lose it now? No. That couldn’t be how this ended. “I refuse to accept that. There has to be a way to get the money. There just has to.” Footsteps came down the hallway, and Maggie cleared her throat. “Don’t lose faith.”

“I won’t,” her mom said.

Benjamin hovered in the doorway, and she motioned him inside, sitting up and folding her knees in front of her. She hadn’t wanted him to hear this conversation, but it was pretty much over now. He wouldn’t understand the struggle her parents faced, and would probably offer to throw money at the problem to fix it, and as much as that might help, she refused to be yet another hand held out for him to fill. “I have to go now. I’m not at home.”

He walked in, two bottles of water in his hand, and sat down on his side of the bed. Slowly, he rubbed her back in large, sweeping circles.

“Are you at that guy’s house?” Her mother asked. “The one you told me about?”

Maggie flinched, side-eying him. He smiled back. “Yes.”

“Is he there now?”

“Yes…”

Her mom whispered. “Can he hear me?”

“Yes,” she whispered back. “He probably can.”

His hand froze on her. Leaning in, he whispered, “Why are we all whispering? Is someone listening to us?”

A laugh escaped Maggie, and she covered her mouth. “Okay, I have to go now. Love you, Mom. And…don’t worry. It’ll all be fine. You’ll see.”

He resumed rubbing her back as she hung up. When she finished, she tossed her phone aside and hugged her knees. He sat up, scooting behind her, and rested his chin on her shoulder. “You told your parents about me?”

“Yeah.” She leaned over to peer at him. “Is that a bad thing?”

“No.” He resumed rubbing. “I told my mom about us, too.”

She rolled her eyes. “No, really?”

“Really.” Chuckling, he kissed her neck. “Is everything okay, though? You sounded upset.”

“It’s fine.” She shrugged. “I’m fine.”

“Okay…”

Silence descended, and she couldn’t think of anything to say to fill it. So she said nothing, just let herself enjoy the sensation of his hand moving over her back, slow and steady. “Remember when I told you my father died of a heart attack, and I was too busy partying to bother to show up in time?”

She lifted her lids, blinking slowly, her heart wrenching. This time, his voice was laced with pain, and his pain physically hurt her, because he was finally letting her in. He blamed himself, and his mother blamed him, too, which made her long to pull him into her arms, hug him, and promise him that it would all be okay. “Yeah?”

His hand paused. “When I finally listened to my voicemail and found out what happened, I rushed to the hospital, breaking all kinds of traffic laws, but he had died ten minutes before I got there. My mother…she wouldn’t even let me see him before they took him away. I didn’t fight it, because I felt like I deserved every ounce of shit I got from her. I’ve spent the last few years trying to become a man he would have been proud of. Trying to model myself after him.”

She rolled over and raised up on an elbow. The lights were out, but the moonlight and the lights of the city illuminated the room enough for her to see him, and he looked…guilty. Ashamed. Torn. And she wanted to fix him.

“You don’t have to change who you are, Benjamin. I bet if your father were here—wait, scratch that. He is here. And he’s watching. I’m positive he’s pretty freaking proud of what you’ve accomplished.”

He smoothed her hair back. “I’m not so sure. The man you see at the office, the one I was before you came into my life? That’s the me I was trying to be. The me I was trying to become. But with you…I can’t do it. I can’t be pragmatic, focused, and completely dedicated to my work. You make me too happy.”

He sounded awfully unhappy about being happy. “Is that a bad thing, or good?”

“I haven’t figured that out yet.” He lay down and held his arms out for her. “Will you stay the night with me, darling? I don’t want to lose you.”

She curled up in his arms. “There’s nowhere else I’d rather be.”

As his arms closed around her, she took a deep breath and closed her eyes, breathing his scent in. There was no telling what tomorrow would bring, but with Benjamin’s arms around her, the apartment didn’t feel so foreign anymore.