Every Night She Sleepwalked to Him—Until He Pretended No More Chapter 13

Every Night She Sleepwalked to Him—Until He Pretended No More Chapter 13

We pulled into the garage. Neither of us moved to get out.

Bennett broke the silence. “Graham isn’t really your boyfriend, is he?”

I shook my head. “No. We’ve never been together.”

A smile broke across Bennett’s face. “I talked to Graham tonight. His reaction told me everything.”

“Camille and I are just business partners. That’s all.”

“Then why did you change clothes after she left your office?”

“She was there to go over financials. After she left, my assistant told me you’d been waiting for an hour.” He paused. “I spilled coffee all over myself. That’s why I changed.”

“And the hickey? The photo you posted?”

Bennett’s gaze dropped to my mouth. “You left that. In your sleep.” A beat. “And the post? I set it so only you

could see it.”

Everything clicked into place.

We were both single. We both felt the same way. I wasn’t going anywhere.

I showered first and climbed into bed, wide awake. Bennett was still in the bathroom.

A thought had been building in the back of my mind. What if Bennett was my ex, my online boyfriend from three years ago?

I grabbed my phone, logged into the old account, and hit play on the voice note.

Bennett’s voice filled the room. [Baby, I miss you so much…]

I remembered now: the night I’d stood outside the bathroom door while he showered. I’d heard him say those exact words. I thought he’d been talking to Camille.

He’d been talking to me.

Had every message he’d sent to his online girlfriend in the past two months been for me?

I scrolled through the timestamps. Every single one matched.

The bathroom door opened. Bennett walked out.

He usually came out in a silk robe. That night, all he had on was a towel slung low around his hips.

I swallowed. His body was unreal, and the thought that he might actually be mine made my head spin.

If I hadn’t run three years ago, if I’d just shown up, we wouldn’t have lost all that time.

Bennett caught me staring and smiled. “Are you awake right now? Or is this another episode?”

I looped my arms around his neck. “Guess.”

His arm circled my waist. His voice went rough. “You know, you’re so cold to me during the day. The only

time you let yourself want me is when you’re asleep.”

“After you left me three years ago, I went looking for you. I found you at your college.” His jaw tightened. “I

saw you hand Graham a drink. Saw you smile at him.”

“Everyone said you two were together. I almost lost my mind. I wanted to take you from him right there.”

“But I held back. I was terrified that if I pushed too hard, I’d lose you for good.” His voice dropped. “So I

watched. Three years, Maren. I watched you from a distance.”

“The day we met under the maple tree wasn’t an accident. I knew you were house-hunting in this area. I stood

under that tree every day and waited.” He looked at me. “Until you finally showed up.”

“Baby, I love you. I love you so much.”

“When you told me you were moving out, I wanted to bolt the doors and never let you leave.”

I stared at him. This ridiculous, devoted, beautiful man. My eyes drifted to his mouth.

What was he still talking about? I didn’t care. I just wanted to kiss him.

I leaned in. He pulled back, smiling. “You don’t get to kiss me until you make it official.”

I stopped. He raised an eyebrow. “I have standards. Ask me properly first.”

Comments appeared. [Is Bennett seriously pretending he doesn’t kiss people casually?]

[Then why does he leave his door unlocked every night waiting for Maren to show up?]

I laughed. “Fine. Be my boyfriend.” I pulled him closer. “Now can I kiss you?”

Bennett pulled me flush against him, barely holding it together. “Do you mean it?”

“Let me get this on record. So you can’t take it back in the morning.”

I dropped the act. “I’m awake, Bennett. Completely. This is me.”

“I love you too.”

He kissed me. And this time, I kissed him back, fully awake, fully his.

This time, we weren’t going to lose each other.