Chapter Ten #2
She followed him through to the office where he sat down at the computer. He tried the usual fix for the reservation system, but it didn’t work. Damn! This was going to take a while and he really didn’t want to be here.
Angel peered over his shoulder. “I have no idea what I did to it, I’m sorry.”
“It’s not your fault. It just happens sometimes.”
Her hair brushed Ben’s shoulder as she reached past him to pick up a pen.
He closed his eyes as a hint of her perfume filled his nostrils.
He wished he didn’t feel attracted to her, but there was no denying it, he did.
Why? That was what he didn’t get. That was what he’d been denying to himself all along.
He didn’t want to be attracted to her; he was in love with Charlotte.
“Are you okay?”
“Yeah, I’m fine. I just get frustrated with the system at times.
” There went another lie. He didn’t like it.
He may not be as forthright as Missy, but he did pride himself on being an honest man.
He sat in silence staring at the screen trying to ignore Angel as she moved around him.
He willed the reboot to go faster; he just wanted to get out of here.
He wanted to get away from Angel. “Okay,” he said when it was finally done, “it shouldn’t give you any more trouble for a while now. ”
“Thanks so much. And sorry again for dragging you over here.”
“No problem.”
“I was thinking about what you said this morning.”
Ben shook his head adamantly. “Don’t. I don’t think we should think about it or talk about it anymore.” He felt bad as she looked up at him, eyes wide, but it couldn’t be helped. This was one thing he was going to be completely honest about. “Charlotte’s back. She’s here. She arrived last night.”
Angel looked stunned for a moment, then she visibly pulled herself together and forced a smile. “That’s wonderful news for you. You must be so happy.”
“I am.”
As he got back in his car and drove away, headed back to the resort, he had to wonder why, for the second time that day, he felt sad about what he’d just told Angel.
When he got to the resort, he went straight to the Boathouse.
There were still a few stragglers from the lunchtime crowd, but other than that, the place was quiet in the mid-afternoon lull.
He smiled when he saw Pete and Jack sitting in a booth in the corner.
Pete looked up and grinned when he saw him.
“Hey, bud! Come on over.”
Ben made his way to them, wondering as he went why he still hadn’t made time to call Pete and tell him about Charlotte. As he reached the table and saw their grinning faces, he realized it was too late. They obviously already knew.
“So, how does it feel? She’s finally back! And you didn’t even tell me she was coming.” Pete raised an eyebrow, seeming to imply something was amiss.
Jack grinned at him. “I bet you’re walking on air, aren’t you?” He looked at Pete. “And why should he have told you? We don’t all have to report every movement to you, you know?”
Pete laughed. “I know.” He looked up at Ben. “It’s just that I thought you’d be so thrilled you wouldn’t be able to wait to share your news. And yet you didn’t even tell your oldest friend.”
Ben smiled at them. “I do feel like I’m walking on air. After all this time, it’s hard to believe she’s really here.”
“I’ll bet it is,” said Jack.
“Oh, shut up!” Ben said with a laugh to Pete who was giving him his best intimidating stare.
Pete tried to look innocent. “I don’t know what you mean. I’m just waiting to see what you have to say. I’m curious.”
Jack looked from Pete to Ben and back again. “Should I make myself scarce? I know there’s some major undercurrent here, but I have no idea what it’s about.”
Ben laughed. “No, no need. It’s just Pete doing what Pete does best.”
“Well, does the reality live up to the fantasy? Was it worth putting half your life on hold?”
Ben stared at him. “Really? Charlotte’s back after all this time, and that’s what you want to know?”
“Yep, it sure is.” His face softened and he smiled. “I hoped against hope for you all these years. I thought you were a fool, as you well know. And now I’d like to hear that I was wrong.”
“In that case,” said Ben with a smile “I’m more than happy to tell you that you were wrong. I’ve always known it was worth putting my life on hold for.”
“And you’re saying the reality lives up to the fantasy?” Pete raised an eyebrow.
Ben shrugged. “Fantasy and reality never match up. But that’s okay, I prefer reality anyway.”
“So, where do you go from here?” asked Jack.
“I’ve had to listen to Em chatter on about the two of you for the last nine months.
And I’ve always wondered what would happen if you did get back together.
I mean, you haven’t been around each other for years.
It’s not like you can just pick up where you left off, is it?
So much has changed in all that time. You’re both different people now than you were then. How do you plan to handle that?”
Ben laughed. “Now you sound like him. What’s the plan?”
They both laughed with him.
“Honestly, I don’t know what the plan is yet.” He shot a look at Pete. “I may need to come to you for help on that one.”
Pete nodded, looking more serious now. “Any time, you know that.”
“Thanks.”
“Okay, there’s no big overarching plan, I get that,” said Jack. “But short term what’s happening? Where’s she staying?” He grinned. “Are you taking any time off?”
Ben smiled. “She’s rented herself a little house out on Lexington Drive. And as for me taking any time off,” he pursed his lips, “I might just do that.”
“Since you’ve got such a capable assistant these days?” asked Pete.
Ben met his gaze. “And what’s that supposed to mean?”
Pete shrugged. “Exactly what I said. You never wanted to take time off before because you didn’t have Charlotte, and you weren’t able to take time off because you didn’t have Angel. These days you have both. What I don’t know is whether that’s the best of all worlds or the worst of all worlds.”
The way Pete’s blue gaze bored into him made Ben feel uncomfortable. “I feel like whichever way I answer will be the wrong way. As far as I’m concerned, Charlotte being here makes it the best of all worlds. End of story.”
Pete nodded slowly. “Then that’s all that matters, isn’t it?”
“It is. Anyway, I’ll let the two of you finish your lunch, and I’ll get back to work.”