Chapter Eleven
The River Jam Festival is held in the shipping yard in Mystic every summer. There is an eclectic mix of music, mostly local musicians who take to the stages. Vendors from all around come, food trucks and stands make the air smell mouth-watering and the crowds swell with people from all walks of life. I declined a ride from Ben because I felt like I needed some space to prepare for this.
I hadn’t intended on coming here but his plea had been so heartfelt, I couldn’t say no. Especially when his dog got in on the act. Jedi is so damn cute. Ben always wanted a dog when he was younger, but his parents didn’t want the additional hassle of a dog when they had five boys in the house. Ben had spent a lot of time at our house when we had our two dogs.
We decide to meet at seven, to give the festival enough of a chance to get going and I also feigned needing some time to work. I did write a good few chapters. Something had come over me that had me going straight to my laptop when I got back to my new room at the Hyatt.
After showering and changing, and a fairly lengthy call with Kevin about the current situation, I called Dawn to let her know we were coming to the festival. She got a babysitter lined up while we were on the phone and said she couldn’t wait to see us. I’m looking forward to meeting her husband. She’s talked so much about him. Plus, seeing them will leave a buffer between Ben and me.
I can’t stop thinking about what he said in my dad’s kitchen. ‘ take a chance on coming back.’
Should I?
Can I?
Well, whatever the outcome, I’m at least trying it. And Kevin is all for it. He wants me to live a little, to get out of my comfort zone.
We managed to get a few things boxed up in my room earlier, but Susan did most of it before we got there. She left her phone number on the note for me, explaining that she chose not to touch my room, because she was sure I wouldn’t want a stranger going through my things. I called her to thank her, and she hushed me but said she’d maybe see me at the festival too. Turns out everyone is heading there tonight.
It's still light when I arrive in my Uber. I’m planning on drinking tonight, letting loose for once. Kevin is right, I’m always so buttoned up. Even on the recent book tour I went on, I never really let go.
Our last night in Dublin had been a bit of a party, given I’d just found out I hit the New York Times list, and we went to Temple Bar to celebrate, but that ended up being cut short when Jenna had a crisis and we had to leave before things got out of hand.
The wind whips my dress around my thighs as I step out of the cab. I scramble to grab the hem to keep from flashing anything to the crowds that are already gathering. I’m not entirely sure I succeeded in keeping my panties covered, even if only for a split second.
I glance about, hopeful no one saw. My cheeks blush bright red when I see Ben leaning against the side of a seafood truck, Jedi sitting patiently at his side. He saw the whole thing, and he was grinning at me.
Despite the embarrassment, I can’t help but note how damn hot he looks tonight. He is wearing a short-sleeve shirt, a pale blue linen with the top two buttons open, his arms on show again. I’m almost imagining how strong and hard they’ll feel if I ran my hand over them.
He’s wearing navy shorts and sneakers and has a backward cap on his head, making the outfit seem a lot less formal than it should be. I glance at the dog and see he is wearing a black and green bandana around his neck, and I smile as I head towards them, choosing to push my panty flashing moment out of my head.
“Hi,” I say, then bend and stroke Jedi, whose tongue is hanging out of his mouth, his tail thwapping against the floor. “Hey boy.”
“I swear this dog gets more attention than me.”
“Somehow I doubt that,” I say, straightening and giving his chest a quick glance. His eyes are sparkling when I look back up at him. “Shall we?” I say, clutching my purse to my hip as I avert my eyes. He laughs quietly but falls into step with me.
“You hungry?” he asks.
“I could eat.”
“Good, Craig has a stall up. He’s serving some pretty awesome fish tonight.”
“Let me guess,” I say with an eye-roll. “George’s catch of the day .”
He grins back at me, tugging Jedi with a click of his tongue to bring the wandering dog to heel. I’m not even a little surprised by how well-trained Ben’s dog is. We head to the stall where Craig and another man are busy cooking up food for their customers.
He spots us approaching and waves with a big grin, looking between the two of us. We get in line, making small talk about some of the bands on tonight, and I let him know Dawn and Tom will join us at some point .
When we get to the front, Ben goes with old-fashioned fish and chips, which are served in a small cardboard box, with a slice of lemon on top. I opt for the cod loaded fries with teriyaki glaze and spring onions. It smells amazing. Craig tosses a few crunchy fish bites into a bag for Jedi. We grab two bottles of beer and walk across the grass to where tables have been set up.
It’s busy and we have to slot onto the end of a table that is already occupied. They wave us into the seats with huge smiles, a couple of them greeting Ben warmly.
Music is filtering through the air from the early shows and there is a lot of laughter and chatter, people out enjoying themselves in the late summer evening sunshine. It’s still warm for now but it will cool in an hour or so. Luckily, I remembered to bring a large scarf, which is big enough to wrap around me, folded up in my purse.
I tuck into my food and moan at my first bite, closing my eyes. “God, this is delicious,” I hum. “Who knew Craig would turn out to be such a good cook,” I laugh as I look at Ben. He’s squeezing the lemon over his fish but looking at me as he does it. His eyes are focused totally on me.
“He learnt on the job, started out as a dishwasher, then worked his way up.”
“That’s impressive,” I say, popping another fry into my mouth, savoring the flavors. “He’s really good. I’ve been to overpriced seafood restaurants in New York that don’t hold a candle to this.”
“He’ll be pleased to hear that. Course, he couldn’t do it without the finest ingredients.”
“Going for the hard sell?” I look up at him.
He shrugs unashamedly. “Told you I was reintroducing you to Mystic, and seafood and fishing is a huge part of it.”
“I’m surprised you didn’t want to get pizza if you wanted to give me the real Mystic experience,” I chuckle, and Ben rolls his eyes. The Mystic Pizza tent is a few stalls down from Craig’s. There is a line snaking along that looks to have at least thirty people waiting .
“Even if I hadn’t caught this and knew it was some of the best fish in the area, I still wouldn’t want pizza.” He takes a huge bite of his battered cod, chewing it as he stares at me.
We finish our food and drink our beers, enjoying the sun and music and the older couple at the table with us start chatting. Jedi has eaten his food and is lying down his with paws resting on my feet. Now and then, I absently reach down to scratch his soft ears. He’s so cute.
After we finish our drink, we get up to walk through the rest of the festival. Ben tells me one of his old friends is in a blues band and he wants to catch their set. I walk alongside him, surreptitiously looking at him and how everyone around him reacts.
The women aren’t subtle. They eye him blatantly, even if they are with a guy themselves. Even though I’m not with him, I do get a sick satisfaction of seeing their eyes run over me with jealousy in their gaze, especially when I see Evelyn, the receptionist from the law firm who was all over him. She is so pissed and turns to the woman she is with, whispering furiously until that woman looks over too.
Ben seems to catch where I’m looking and his jaw tenses, but he doesn’t say anything. I figure discussing all the women drooling over him probably isn’t one of the ways he wants to convince me to come back to Mystic.
When we find the tent where his friend is playing, Ben gets us set up in some seats to the left of the ‘stage’ which is just a slightly raised platform. I do like all different kinds of music but never really listened to much blues. I don’t recognize the song, but the music is smooth and they’re really good.
The singer’s voice is deep and rich and I’m quickly swaying along to the slow beat. When I ask Ben who they’re singing, he smiles and tells me the best blues singer ever, B.B. King. I’ve at least heard of him.
“You like?” he asks .
I smile and nod because I’ve already leaned in once to ask and his smell is bordering on intoxicating. It’s distracting. He leans into me though and taps his mostly empty bottle against mine, his brows raised. I nod and he gets up to grab us more drinks and I let out a breath of relief.
I can’t be feeling things like this around him. I know he wants to try to convince me to stay, but I can’t allow old feelings to surface. He’s said as much himself. We’re older, we’ve both moved on. Hell, I’ve been married and divorced in the time since we last saw each other.
God, I don’t even know if he is single. That thought slaps me in the face. Yes, women flirt with him, but I haven’t seen him reciprocate in any meaningful way. I should have found out from Dawn. I can’t ask him to his face.
When he returns, he has fresh beers and some Churros too. I smile, remembering how much I used to love these. I can’t even recall the last time I had them. He grins at me as the music plays and I bite into them, getting sugar all over me.
When I lick the tips of my fingers, his eyes track it and I flush, grateful it’s dim inside the tent, because that look on his face is doing all kinds of things to my lady parts. The ass knows what he’s doing, though. He dips his head with a grin and looks away from me.
When his friend finishes up their set, Ben introduces me, and we chat for a while before moving on to check out some of the stalls. More people are here and greeting Ben as we pass. Then we bump into two of his brothers and my mouth drops open when he introduces me to Denny. I can’t believe how grown up he is. Ben laughs when I say it and Denny responds.
“I’m still the most handsome of the Daniel’s brothers.”
“You wish,” Ben elbows him.
Jared pushes his little brother too, and he bounces around between them. They are a remarkable sight, that is for sure. All three of them together are almost too hard to look at. And they’re getting more than enough attention. It is surreal chatting with them, but they seem just as down to earth and chill as I remember.
Jared doesn’t seem in the least bit concerned that the last time I saw his brother, we were breaking each other’s hearts. He just chats away about business and his family and then Mystic. I cast a glance at Ben, but he avoids eye contact. Doesn’t surprise me. He’s got his brothers in on the act. I get it, I do. And the more I’m here, the more I’m starting to actually hurt over the idea of ruining this for Ben.
“You okay?” Ben asks, looking at me with concern. My face shows the change in my thoughts, about how ridiculous and thoughtless dad had been about this clause in his will.
“Yeah,” I force a smile. “I’m fine. So, I saw a distillery tent over there.”
“You’re in the mood for some whiskey tasting?” Jared asked, hearing what I said.
I rub my hands together. “Definitely.”
“Well then,” Ben gives me a huge smile. “Let’s get to it.”
I don’t shiver when he puts his hand on my lower back. Not even a little.