Chapter Nine
Ben sat at his desk working on the roster for the restaurant.
The busy season was over, and things were slowing down.
There wasn’t enough work to keep everyone busy over the winter, and he hated that.
He hated that there was no way he could keep on all the staff.
He had to let some of them go, and he didn’t like it one bit.
This happened every year. You’d think he’d be used to it by now.
But he wasn’t. It was in his nature to do everything he could to help people out.
He especially liked to help people who wanted to work.
However, it couldn’t be helped. He shouldn’t be letting his mind go there today.
He had enough to focus on in his own personal life.
Charlotte would be arriving any day and he was so happy about that.
At the same time, he felt guilty about Angel.
Wasn’t that crazy? After all these years of waiting for Charlotte to return, for the two of them to finally get another chance, that time had finally come, and he couldn’t fully enjoy it because he was worried about hurting someone else.
That was all it was, he’d decided. It was just that he liked Angel as a friend and he didn’t want to hurt her.
His cell phone rang and he pulled it out of his pocket. It was Charlotte!
“Hey, when are you coming?”
The line was silent for a moment before she spoke. “Hey, yourself. I hope you’re not too surprised, but I’m already here.”
Ben laughed. “I’m not surprised in the least, Charlie. Well, maybe that’s not true. I’m surprised you’re calling first rather than just walking through the door.”
“Yeah.” She didn’t sound right.
“What’s the matter, Charlie?”
“How about I tell you all about it when I see you? I can’t wait to see you. When can we get together?”
“Right now! Where are you?”
“I can wait till this evening. I know you must be working right now.”
Ben frowned, uncertain whether that was a dig at him. She’d always given him a hard time for working so much. “There is nothing in the world more important to me than seeing you.”
He could hear the smile in her voice when she spoke again. “In that case, I wouldn’t want to disappoint you. Do you want me to come over there? Or would you like to come here?”
“I’d come to you, if I knew where here was.”
“Oh, yeah, sorry. I didn’t even tell you, did I? I rented myself a little house. I talked to Austin.”
Ben was surprised. “Oh, he didn’t say anything to me.”
“That’s because I asked him not to. I wanted to surprise you.”
Ben laughed. “It’s not that much of a surprise, Charlie. Where is the house? I’ll come straight over.”
Ben’s heart was racing as he turned onto Lexington Drive.
He couldn’t wait to see her. He’d been waiting for this moment for so long.
He hadn’t lied when he told her that there was nothing more important in the world to him.
He smiled when he spotted the house number and pulled into the driveway.
He hadn’t realized it was the house right next door to Eddie and April.
His smile grew bigger when he cut the engine and saw the front door open.
There she was! His heart was thundering in his chest. Finally.
She was here. She was back at the Lake. She was home!
She met his gaze with a smile. She seemed a little uncertain at first. But as he took the first step toward her, her smile became a grin and she ran down the steps to greet him.
“Oh, my God, Ben!” She flung her arms around his neck. “I can’t believe it! After all this time!”
Ben closed his eyes and breathed in the smell of her as he closed his arms around her. She looked up at him, her eyes searching his face. He smiled and kissed the tip of her nose. “Charlie,” he breathed.
“Oh, Ben.” She buried her face in his neck and he kissed her hair.
“I’ve missed you, Charlie. You have no idea how much I’ve missed you.”
She tipped her head back to look up into his eyes. “Oh, I think I have some idea. I’ve missed you so much.”
Ben watched her lips move as she spoke. He lowered his head to hers even before she finished speaking.
He’d waited so long for this. In the moment their lips met, he knew he was finally home.
Her kiss tasted the same way it always had.
So sweet. It felt right, so natural, as though neither of them had forgotten in all the years in between.
When he finally lifted his head, her eyes were shining with tears.
“Oh, Ben,” she whispered.
Ben wanted to wipe away the tears that stung his own eyes, but his arms were wrapped tightly around her and he didn’t want to let go, for even a second.
“I love you. With all my heart and soul. I always have and I always will.”
“Forever and always,” he whispered.
She nodded and took hold of his hand. “Come on inside.”
Ben clung to her hand as she led him up the steps to the front door. He never wanted to let go. He’d spent far too much of his life living five thousand miles away from her. Now he was by her side, he couldn’t imagine letting her out of his sight.
“What do you think?” she asked. “Do you like it?”
Ben tore his eyes away from her face and cast a quick glance around the house. “It’s a great place. What I like most about it is that you’re here.”
She grinned. “That’s funny, what I like best about it is that you’re here.”
He smiled and slid his arms around her waist drawing her to him. She looped her arms up around his neck and pecked his lips.
“I can’t believe we’re finally in the same place.”
“You’d better believe it, Charlie. And even better than that, you’d better get used to it.”
She nodded and hugged him even tighter.
Looking down into her eyes he could see a hint of sadness. His heart sank. “What is it, Charlie? Please tell me you’re going to stick around long enough to get used to it.”
She searched his face. “I will if you want me to. But, Ben, I need you to know that if you don’t want me, it’s okay.”
“Of course I want you, Charlie! I’ve always wanted you. I’ve always wanted us. I’ve waited more than half my life for you to come back here, to come back to me. How could you think that I wouldn’t want you now?”
She let go and stepped away from him, turning to look out the window at the lake. “I have a confession to make.”
Ben sucked in a deep breath. His heart was racing, and not in a good way anymore. He dreaded hearing what she was about to say, but he had to know. “What?”
She turned back around and met his gaze. “I arrived here last night. I wanted to surprise you.”
He nodded, waiting for her to go on.
“I was awake really early this morning. Getting old sucks, the time difference gets to me every time these days. Anyway, I couldn’t sleep and I was drinking coffee and I remembered how Joe used to drink his coffee behind the restaurant every morning.
I thought it would be awesome to go down there and find him. ”
Ben’s heart raced even faster. He had a feeling he knew what she was going to say.
She raised an eyebrow at him. “I didn’t find Joe down there.”
Ben shook his head, he knew that much already. A tear escaped and rolled down her cheek. Ben’s chest felt tight, he hated that he’d caused her pain.
She sniffed. “Unfortunately, I did see you and Angel. And, I’m sorry, but I heard a little of what the two of you were talking about—before I turned around and ran away.”
Ben stared at her for a long moment. His mind was racing along with his heart now. What had he said to Angel? What had she said to him?
Tears were rolling freely down Charlotte’s cheeks.
She smiled despite them. “I’m so sorry, Ben.
I didn’t mean to eavesdrop. I just … I went down there looking for Joe.
I saw her sitting outside looking upset and I thought she might need someone to talk to.
I started up the steps to see if she was okay, and then …
Then you appeared. It seemed like you were all she needed. ”
“Charlie. It’s not what you think.”
“I don’t know what I think, Ben. I ran away because it’s none of my business. I shouldn’t have been there. I shouldn’t have heard what the two of you were saying to each other. And let’s be honest, I shouldn’t expect you to wait for me.”
Ben shook his head. “It’s not like you were deliberately spying on me. And it’s not like you demanded I wait for you. I chose to wait for you, Charlie. I’ve waited all this time.” He rubbed his hands over his face. “I’ve always wanted to wait for you. I’ve never wanted anyone else.”
“But now you do?”
“No! Charlie, I want you; I’ve always wanted you. Only you.”
Charlotte met his gaze. “But you like her, don’t you?”
Ben nodded and sighed. “I’m not going to lie to you, Charlie.”
Charlotte held up a hand. “Don’t look so sad, Ben.
This is a good thing. We need to be completely open and honest with each other.
It was hard for me to be honest with you that I saw you and heard you this morning.
I understand it must be hard for you to admit to me how you feel about her, but it’s what we need to do.
Nothing can ever work between us if we’re not honest. And I think we both have to face the fact that maybe nothing will ever happen between us.
But if it doesn’t, that’s okay.” She bit back a sob.
Ben’s heart now felt as though it was breaking. How could this be happening? They finally got to be together and she was saying that maybe they shouldn’t.
She went over and sat down on the sofa gesturing for him to join her. “This seems so surreal to me. This has been my only wish since I was eighteen, and my only goal for the last six months. All I wanted was to get back to you, to get you back. Now that I’m here, my goal has changed.”
Ben stared at her. His goals hadn’t changed.