Chapter 28
28
BEN
Hope stands abruptly, using the backs of her legs to shove her chair back noisily on the wooden floor, and hurries from the room. We both watch her until we can’t see her any longer. I catch Evan’s gaze across the table, and his only response is a shrug.
“Is she okay?” I thought I was doing the right thing, focusing on Evan instead of her, but maybe not.
“She does that sometimes,” he says with another shrug and returns to eating.
“Should I check on her?”
He shrugs again. Typical boy. “Dunno. She usually comes back after a while and pretends nothing’s wrong.”
She does this sometimes? But then why does my gut tell me it’s because of something I’ve done? Do I stay here, eat dinner, and wait for her to return? Pretend nothing happened? Or do I check on her and try to talk about it? The easier option would be to sit here and pretend nothing happened, but I’m not one for taking the easy route.
I stand, pushing my chair out with the backs of my legs. “I’m just gonna check on your mom.”
He gives me a thumbs up and a smile. “Good luck!”
I grin at him. “Thanks.”
I wander through the part of the house that leads to a guest room and bathroom. Listening carefully, I step down the hallway. A quiet sob breaks the silence, and I head toward the door at the end of the hallway. It happens again, and I lean my head against the door, pain ripping through my chest, threatening to take me under. I tap lightly. “Hope?”
“I’ll be out in a minute,” she answers, but I can hear the pain in her voice.
“Can I please come in?”
“No,” she snaps. I haven’t heard her speak like that before. “I just need a minute, okay?” she says, softening her tone.
“I just thought we could talk about whatever I did to upset you.” I throw it out there, hoping she takes me up on my invitation.
Her sigh sounds through the door, and I can almost taste her defeat. The knob turns, so I step back a little to give her space, and the door opens an inch. It’s enough to see her tears and make my stomach twist.
She drops her chin to her chest. “It wasn’t you. Please don’t think it was you.” She’s quiet for a long time, and I think that’s all she’s going to say.
I wish she’d open the door and literally let me in so I can wrap her up. Soothe her. Wipe away her tears.
She blows out a long breath, her shoulders rising and falling dramatically. “It … it just felt so normal.” I tilt my head to the side, and she shakes her head a little, still keeping her face averted. “It’s normally just the two of us, but you were there and asking Evan about school … it … it reminded me what it was like when Wyatt was home. He’d talk to Evan about school and his favorite parts because Evan’s never liked school.”
And now I get it. I scratch my short beard so I don’t reach for her the way I want to. “I’m sorry, Hope. I didn’t mean to open a wound that’s still raw.”
She glances up at me, her eyes shiny from her tears, then drops her gaze back to her feet. “You couldn’t have known. It was sweet and exactly what Evan needs.” She releases the door, and it edges open a little more.
I take half a step, bringing me closer, and use my fingers to tilt her chin up so I can look at her pretty eyes. The sadness there is like a knife to my chest, but I push through my discomfort. “It’s okay to tell me if I overstep. I’m not here to take the place of anyone. It’s important to me you know that.”
Her throat moves as she swallows.
“I see how much you still grieve for Wyatt. I’m not trying to replace him, Hope. Really, I’m not. But I’m going to be completely honest here, and it may get me kicked out.” I drop my hands and hold them out. “I want to be transparent with you.”
She nods slightly.
“I’m interested in being more than your friend. More than Evan’s friend.” I draw in a deep breath, hoping this doesn’t bite me in the ass. “When you’re ready, I’d like to take you on a date sometime.”
She opens her mouth, and I know she’s going to tell me she’s not ready, so I hold up my hand.
“No time limit. I’ll wait as long as it takes. When you’re ready, I’ll be here. In the meantime, nothing needs to change, and you can tell me if I overstep and I’ll back off. To be clear … I’m not going anywhere unless you tell me to leave.”
Her eyes widen. I don’t think she was expecting any of that, but I’d prefer to be up front with my intentions, so we both know where we stand.
I nod once and turn back toward the kitchen. “I’ll leave you to compose yourself.”
When I return to the table, Evan’s almost finished his meal and mine is a little cold, so I heat it for a minute in the microwave, then grab Hope’s dinner and do the same.
“Is Mom okay?”
“Yeah, bud. She’ll be okay.”
He drops his gaze to his plate, moving his salad around with his fork. “She gets upset a lot.”
“She’s sad.”
He heaves out a sigh. “I know.” He flicks his eyes up to me. “Do you think you can help?”
“I’m not sure, but I’d like to try.” Hope strolls back into the kitchen as the microwave beeps, and I point to it with my fork. “I reheated your dinner.”
She smiles softly. “Thanks.” Once she has her dinner, she returns to the table. “Sorry about that.” She takes a sip of her wine and focuses on eating. Even though she’s composed herself, her sadness fills the room, permeating every nook and cranny.
My phone lights up, blaring “ I’m on Fire ,” and breaking the tense silence. Hope’s eyebrows shoot up, and Evan laughs. “Sorry, that’s my friend, Sebastian. I’ll call him back later.”
“You can talk to him now. We don’t mind.”
The song continues to blare. “I don’t wanna be rude.”
Hope shrugs. “Take the call.”
I rise from the table and grab my phone, accepting the call before wandering away from the dining area, ending up in the living room. “Hey, Seb.”
“Hey. You wanna catch up? I have the night off.”
My eyes skim over the photos on the mantel, freezing on one of Hope and Wyatt on their wedding day. Happiness radiates from her, and she looks completely different. I remember Tahlia had a very similar look on our wedding day. It’s the look of a woman fulfilling her most treasured dream.
“Can’t tonight. I’m having dinner with Evan and Hope.”
“Bring them along. I want to kick your ass at mini golf.” He chuckles. “And it would be awesome having witnesses.”
“Who kicks who’s ass?” I grumble playfully. “I distinctly remember handing yours to you last time.”
“Ha! Whatever, pretty boy.” I hear the fridge open. “Go ask them to come along. I’ll wait.”
I rub the back of my neck. “It’s a school night. I doubt they’ll come.”
“It’s only 6:30. Finish dinner, and it’ll be seven. We’ll meet at 7:30, play for an hour, and the kid’ll be in bed before nine.”
True. I guess. “All right. I’ll ask them.” They could do with a little fun, and this may just be what they need.
“Great.”
I hold the phone to my chest and step back into the kitchen. “Seb wants to catch up tonight.”
Disappointment clouds Hope’s features, setting off a buzz of excitement through my body, which I know makes me an ass. “Oh.”
“When I told him I was having dinner with you guys, he invited you both along.”
“Cool. What are we gonna do? Are we going to a bar for a drink?” Evan asks, as he moves to the edge of his seat, his eyes wide with excitement.
I chuckle. “Would you be disappointed if I said we sometimes play mini golf?”
His eyes widen further, and he leaps from his seat. “Mom, say we can go. Please!” He holds up his hands like he’s begging.
She chuckles at his excitement. “It’s a school night, Ev. And you haven’t done your homework yet.”
“I’ll get up early and do it before school.” He shakes his hands to emphasize his request. “Please say yes.”
“You’d be home and in bed by nine, if that helps,” I offer.
Her shoulders drop, and she blows out a long breath. Pointing her fork at Evan, she looks at him sternly. “You’d better do your homework in the morn?—”
“Yeah!” He throws his hands up. “I’m gonna kick your ass, Ben!”
“Evan Wyatt Sullivan. Watch your mouth!”
Woah, triple named!
He drops his head with apology. “Sorry, Mom.”
“It’s not me you need to apologize to.”
He lifts his brown eyes to me. “Sorry, Ben.”
I dip my chin. “So, should I tell Seb to meet us there?”
Hope nods. “Sure. We’ll just finish dinner and we can go.”
“We’ll have to drop Rex at my place.”
Hope drops her eyes to Rex, who’s stretched out on the floor beside Evan. “He can stay here, if you think he’ll be okay on his own.”
“He should be. He’s used to being in different environments and he’s grown quite comfortable here.”
She nods and I walk back into the living room. “You there?”
“Yeah. Evan sounds excited.”
I chuckle. “He is. Thinks he’ll kick my ass.”
Seb laughs. “Get in line, kid. That’s my job.” He pauses for a moment. “I’m looking forward to meeting the duo that has you tied in knots.”
We make the arrangements to meet, and I step back into the kitchen to finish my now cold dinner. But I don’t care, because I’ll be spending the next couple of hours with all of my favorite people.