Chapter 28
We were supposed to board the plane within the next fifteen minutes, but I doubted that would happen with Ben raging out in the seat across from me. Pretty sure the Hulk wasn’t allowed on aircrafts that weren’t sanctioned by S.H.I.E.L.D.
The arrival to the airport had been smooth, Eduardo acting as the perfect buffer between us. We’d moved past the small talk and settled into the portion of a work trip that consisted of us all on our laptops pretending the others didn’t exist.
Until Stephanie popped down in the open seat next to Ben and yelled, “Surprise!”
Hence the Hulking-out.
It took a good thirty seconds of sputtering for Ben to force out his questions. “What are you doing here? Where’s Paris?”
She laughed, shaking her head like he was a silly child. “With the nanny, obviously.”
“What’s obvious about that? You’re supposed to be with her, but then you show up here!”
“I was thinking of grabbing some coffee,” Eduardo said. “Would you care to join me, Juliana?”
“Yes, please,” I said, then let out an uncomfortable laugh at how desperate I sounded to get away. Eduardo smiled in response, spreading his eyes wide and shooting one last glance at them.
“I guess I’ll call the alumni office to see if we can add one more,” Eduardo said, anxiously spinning his phone between his thumb and middle finger as we walked.
I placed a hand on his arm. “Don’t worry. People add and drop from events like this all the time. I’m sure it’ll be easy for them to sort out.”
He sent me a grateful smile as we settled into line. Eduardo—blessedly—wasn’t a gossip. He kept the conversation on work and our families, never straying to the Stephanie-sized elephant in the room, even if we both repeatedly threw looks their way.
Coffees in hand, I excused myself to poke around the store next to our gate. I had zero interest in purchasing the expensive luggage they were selling—who bought new luggage while at the gate, anyway?—but I had even less interest in going back to their drama. I watched from the corner of my eye as Ben walked away from Stephanie and started pacing, his knuckles white where he gripped his phone to his ear. His lips were moving quickly, a pained expression on his face.
They called for our plane to start boarding, and I moved toward the gate, my feet stopping next to Ben on their own accord. He had hung up and was now staring blankly at his phone.
I was absolutely, under no circumstances, going to put myself in the middle of this. Not my monkeys, not my circus. It wasn’t my job to help him feel—
“Are you okay?” I found myself asking while also mentally slapping myself.
He ran a hand down his face, stopping to cup it over his mouth. “Paris is freaking out. Stephanie had set this up with the nanny as a surprise for me, but she didn’t tell Paris until she was walking out the door, because she thought she’d ruin it.”
My heart squeezed for her. This had to be triggering so much of what she’d worked to overcome. “I’m sorry, Ben.”
He glanced up at me with a sad smile and then back at his phone. “You probably think I should never have left her with Stephanie to begin with. It’s not a surprise she pulled something like this.”
I placed a hand on his forearm, hating myself for the zing that went through my limbs at the contact. “I don’t judge you for hoping for the best for your daughter.”
He looked over at me with such naked longing that I almost threw all of my morals out the window and kissed him right there in the airport. In front of Stephanie. In front of Eduardo. I didn’t care.
But I forced myself to take a step back, knocking into someone’s rolling carry-on and nearly taking both me and the stranger out.
Ben chuckled, that teasing smirk taking over his beautiful face. “So graceful.”
I bit my lip and let myself fall into our old habits. “A tumble’s a small price to pay to get away from you.” The words had no bite, like I was a shitty actor in a community theater production who knew the lines but had no business being on stage.
We stood a few feet apart, smiling at each other, and I wondered how it was possible for me to feel nostalgic for a time when I’d been so determined to hate him. But we were free then. Free to pick and tease, free to enjoy our flirtation disguised as arguments.
He looked away before me, sucking in a breath. “I hate to ask this, and I know I probably shouldn’t, but do you think your parents would be willing to pick Paris up for the weekend? I know it’s a lot. Kendall’s great with her, but I think being around Sophie and Clara would help.”
Because they’re family, I thought, then kicked myself. They were friends. Good friends, but that was it. Ben made the choice that they wouldn’t be family.
“I’m positive they will,” I said, forcing a smile. “Let me call before we board.”
The call took all of forty-five seconds, my mom cutting in that she’d get her before I could finish explaining the situation. By the time we landed in Boston, Paris was safely ensconced on my parents’ couch, eating popcorn and watching a movie at eleven o’clock in the morning.
When we arrived at our hotel, Eduardo passed out our keys. “Everyone, remember we need to be down in the lobby tonight by seven P.M. Juliana, don’t forget you are meeting with President Munchen at one.”
“I can be down here at a quarter till to walk you over,” Ben said with a small smile.
“That’s unnecessary.” I kept my eyes away from Stephanie, even as I sensed the daggers she was throwing with her eyes before she stomped off to their hotel room.
“I don’t mind. You just followed me last time since I’m so comfortable here. The layout of Boston can be confusing, and I wouldn’t want you to miss your meeting.”
“No, really, it’s fine. Quinn’s coming to meet me for lunch.”
“Is she free to take you to the meeting after? If not, I could meet you wherever you’re having lunch.”
His eyes were so earnest. He slipped his hands into his pockets, rocking onto his heels with a sweet smile that had my body begging to curl up against his chest. But he wasn’t mine to touch anymore.
“James is meeting me so we can walk over together.”
Ben’s jaw ticked and his hands balled into fists at his sides. “I didn’t realize you two talked.”
“We didn’t, but I had his number from our last trip and reached out when I realized we were coming back up.”
He warred with himself, torn between his obvious jealousy and the knowledge he had no right to feel that way. I took a step closer, dropping my voice low.
“I thought you don’t do jealousy.” My eyes flashed with a mixture of challenge and frustration.
“I don’t when I’m in the competition. You expect me to be happy seeing him slobber all over you when all I can do is sit there and watch?”
“A problem you created yourself.” I couldn’t stop myself from poking at him. I was suffering, and a selfish, cruel part of me wanted him right there with me. His expressive eyes shuttered.
“Have a good time.” He walked away without waiting for a response.