Desire (#4) Read Online Free PDF Page B

expected to do at this session. I half feared it might turn into a finger-pointing episode, with Tina blaming me for everything that had gone wrong in her life.
    When I left the master bedroom and walked along the corridor towards the main house, I saw the door to Benjamin’s home offices was open. That was odd. I thought he had to be in the main office all week.
    I peered inside and saw his assistant Geraldine sitting guard in the reception area.
    She looked up and spotted me. “Ah, Miss Taylor, what can I do for you?” Her eyes narrowed. She hadn’t forgiven me for getting together with her boss.
    “Um, is Benjamin busy?”
    “I’m sure he’ll make time to see you, Miss Taylor,” she said with a tight smile.
    She picked up the sleek, chrome handset on her desk and spoke to Benjamin in a low, sultry voice that pissed me off.
    “Go right ahead,” she said and gestured towards Benjamin’s office door.
    “Thank you, Geraldine,” I said and walked past her desk, trying not to be intimidated by her perfect coiffed hair and immaculate outfit.
    Benjamin opened the door before I reached it.
    “Hi,” I murmured. “I thought you had to go into the head office today.”
    He took my hand and pulled me inside the office, closing the door on Geraldine’s prying eyes.
    “I thought this counselling session would be difficult for you,” he said. “I … wanted to help.” He seemed to struggle over the words.
    I was so touched I had to look away, so he didn’t see the tears in my eyes.
    Sometimes he could be so calm and cool with me, and other times like this he said the sweetest things.
    We sat in the back of the chauffeur-driven Mercedes, and Benjamin held my hand all the way to Providence.
    I tried not to get my hopes up, but I really wanted Tina to make it this time. I missed her so much. The drugs took my sister away and twisted her into someone I hated. Now I had a chance at getting her back.
    When we reached the large red-brick building, I hesitated. I was scared this would all go wrong, that I might do something to mess up Tina’s recovery.
    I took a deep breath and reached for the door handle.
    “Wait,” Benjamin said. “I wanted to say … I’m no good at this stuff, Kate. I know you deserve better, but I am trying.” He ran a finger lightly along my jaw. “I want you to be able to turn to me with things like this. When you’re hurt, when you’re upset … I want to make it better.”
    I burst into tears.
    A look of sheer terror appeared on his face. “No, Kate! I didn’t want to upset you. I was trying to make you feel better. Shit. I’m no good at this. Please, don’t cry.”
    “I can’t help it,” I said in between hiccoughs. I struggled with my purse, trying to extract a tissue.
    “Jesus, Kate. I knew I wasn’t good at this relationship stuff, but I didn’t think I would make you cry.”
    “You are good at it. You’re great,” I said and sniffed back tears. “I…” I stopped dead. Holy crap, I nearly said I loved him. Jeez, was I trying to scare him away permanently?
    I wiped my eyes furiously. “You’ve been great. I couldn’t have wanted you to do anything else.” I smiled at him. “I’d better get inside. I don’t want to be late for Tina’s session.”
    He nodded. “I’ll wait here,” he said, his eyes fixed on me, still concerned, as I climbed out of the car.
    The counselling session wasn’t as bad as I expected. Of course, I’d been expecting wild accusations and yelling, so that wasn’t saying much, but I was really pleased at how it turned out.
    We just chatted about things, our early childhood, mainly. We laughed over the silly scrapes we got into when we were kids and shed a few tears when we remembered our mom. That part was sad, but in a good way. I knew Tina loved Mom, but I was so mad at how she’d treated her that I’d managed to forget the good times. Talking things through didn’t solve all our problems at once, but it was a start. It was still