Vaughn lifted her chin. He held her troubled gaze. “Didn’t you?”
“If you want to get to the top, you have to be willing to put in the time. And I want to get to the top.”
As an answer, that didn’t tell him anything. “What are you willing to sacrifice to get there?”
“Why do I have to sacrifice anything?”
Vaughn climbed from the bed. The chill in his bedroom prompted him to reclaim his jeans from the thick navy carpeting. He pulled them on before turning back to Benita. She walked toward him, bold, beautiful, and completely naked. At five feet, five inches in height, Benita was a small woman. But she had long, toned limbs. Her body was slender. Her breasts were full, the nipples pouting toward him. Her hips were round and swayed in a mesmerizing rhythm. When she bent forward to collect her blue jeans and matching purple underwear, she wiped Vaughn’s mind clean.
She straightened, meeting his gaze with wary hazel eyes that still captivated him after eighteen years. Her dark brown hair was tousled in waves around her heart-stoppingly beautiful face. Had she somehow cast a spell on him? Was that the reason he’d put his life on hold these past three years as he waited—praying—for her to return to Trinity Falls?
Vaughn watched her slip on her underwear and fasten her bra. He didn’t want to start this next conversation. He’d rather fly to the moon, dive to the bottom of the ocean, or grade finals and projects. But she didn’t leave him a choice. “We can’t go on this way, Benny.” Vaughn’s voice was gruff with reluctance.
“What do you mean?” Benita hesitated in the act of pulling on her form-fitting jeans.
Vaughn struggled to get the words out. “Our relationship isn’t working for me. I’m almost forty—”
“You’re only thirty-five.”
“Which is almost forty. I want to get married, buy a house, raise a family.”
“I want the same things.” Benita fastened her jeans, then bent to reclaim her orange lightweight sweater.
“But you don’t want them here.”
“Trinity Falls isn’t enough for me.” Benita pulled on her sweater. “You know I’ve always wanted more.”
Her words hurt even more than he’d thought they would. They turned his world on its behind, making it seem as though the ground beneath his wall-to-wall navy carpeting shifted. “Then I’m not enough for you.”
Benita’s lips parted in surprise. “That’s not true.”
“Then come home and build a life with me.”
“Why are you so resistant to moving to L.A.? You could do so much more with your music there: teach, produce, write, perform. Or all of those things.”
“I can do all those things here.”
“In Trinity Falls?” Benita sounded skeptical. “L.A.’s concert venues hold more people than this town’s entire population.”
“I won’t argue that Los Angeles has more of everything: people, theaters, traffic, smog, crime, earthquakes—”
“So it’s not the Garden of Eden.” Benita held up her right hand, palm outward. She was like a very small, somewhat irritated traffic officer. “Still you can do so much more there. You could be so much more there.”
“I can do and be everything I want right here at home.” Vaughn pulled on his dark gray jersey.
“That’s always been your problem.” Frustration leaked into Benita’s words. “You’ve always been willing to settle. You’ve never had any dreams or aspirations.”
“I have dreams, Benny.” Vaughn reined in his temper. “But I’ve put them on hold for you.”
“I never asked you to do that.”
“I’ve been waiting for you to return to your senses and come home.”
“And I’ve been waiting for you to join me in L.A.”
They’d reached the impasse. He’d been expecting it, but still he wished they could have avoided it. Vaughn locked his legs, hoping the act would prevent him from dropping to his knees and begging her to reconsider. Otherwise, he’d have to make a tough decision of his own. “I don’t want a long-distance relationship. I need to move on with my life here in Trinity Falls.”
It was a stretch to call what they had a relationship. It was more like periodic hookups during Benita’s quick visits home or the few times he’d gone to Los Angeles. But even as Vaughn spoke the words, something was drawing him to Benita like a magic spell.