22. Chapter 22 #2
“Why don’t you just give it to your mom?” I mouth an apology to Benson, who shrugs and puts his hands back into his pockets as he turns to study an impressive rosebush.
Poppy heaves a massive sigh. “Because she won’t think it’s an appropriate gift. You’re my only hope, Avery.”
I have never wanted an excuse to miss that party more than I do now. Not only do I not want to hang out with all my aunts and uncles while everyone praises Kaden for graduating college, something most of the rest of us have also done, but I’m not sure I have the mental capacity for Poppy right now.
I hold back a groan. “What’s the gift?”
“It’s a secret.”
“Great.”
“I’ll bring it by your apartment tonight after my shift ends, but you have to promise me you’ll give it to him personally so you can tell me his expression when he opens it.”
Now I really don’t want to go to the party. “Poppy, I don’t think—”
“Pretty please? You know I only have people’s best interests at heart. That’s why I gave you that bracelet to help you find love when you went to Italy.”
Benson chokes and starts coughing, and I look at him with wide eyes. “Bug,” he gasps, gesturing to his mouth. I’m not sure I believe him, but Poppy is talking again.
“On that note, did you figure out the emoji debacle? I don’t think Benson would have texted you devil horns when he is obviously in love with you, but I still don’t—”
“I need to go, Poppy,” I say, cutting her off because Benson has given up on pretending he isn’t listening to every word and is now staring at me, a mixture of wariness and amusement in his eyes.
I forgot how light his eyes get in the sunlight, shifting from bright blue to a pale gray.
“Text me when you’re leaving the airport, okay? ”
“Will do!”
“Wait, what number are you calling from?”
“Oh, I forgot my charger today so I borrowed someone’s phone in exchange for one of my crystals. See you soon, Ave!”
She hangs up, leaving me standing in the middle of a stranger’s sidewalk and wishing the ground would swallow me up. “How much did you hear?” I ask, eyes on my feet.
Benson clears his throat. “All of it. Or none of it, if that would make you feel better.” He tilts his head to the side, his tone hesitant as he says, “Your cousin gave you a bracelet to…find love?”
I grimace. “She’s big into crystals and things,” I remind him.
“And she works at the airport and could probably tell how, uh, conflicted I was? About going to Italy without Eric. So she gave me a bracelet.” It’s coincidentally still in my purse, so I pull it out to show him, as if that might make that conversation with Poppy less embarrassing.
Benson takes the bracelet from me, running his thumb along the leather band. “You never wore it in Florence.”
“Yeah, well, I wasn’t looking for love…” I leave my sentence open, not willing to admit to stronger feelings than interest by using the word ‘but.’ Even if I want to. I don’t know Benson well enough to love him.
But if he ever opens up to me, I’m a goner.
Benson’s long fingers curl around the bracelet, and I wish I could tell what he’s thinking right now as his eyes meet mine.
He takes a step closer, moving in until I have to look up to meet his eyes.
“Avery. What Poppy said about me… I…” His eyebrows bunch together as he pulls his phone from his pocket, staring at the screen for a second before he lifts it to his ear. “Eric. Hey.”
You’ve got to be kidding me. If Benson never finishes his sentence because of this phone call, I might have to consider actually breaking Eric’s nose.
He’s already the main reason Benson won’t act on his feelings for me, and if he’s going to get in my way from all the way out in Colorado, so help me…
“No, I’m out on a project,” Benson says, glancing at me.
A pause, and then, “It’s a marketing thing.
Yeah, she’s— Eric, she’s literally in charge of marketing.
” He turns and takes a couple of steps away from me, but I can still hear every word he says because he’s getting increasingly frustrated.
“You and I sat down and wrote out the duties of the COO and CEO, and marketing was on her side of the list. You know that.”
When did they do that? Eric and Benson haven’t spent any time alone at the office, which is kind of strange, now that I think about it.
I thought Eric would monopolize Benson’s time, given their close friendship, and if Benson is so determined to keep on the other side of a professional boundary line, he should be working more with Eric than with me.
I’m not convinced Benson’s trying all that hard to maintain his own boundaries.
“What is that supposed to mean?” Benson asks sharply, stuffing his hand into his hair. “You know I would never do that again.”
I shouldn’t make conjectures, but I’m almost certain of what’s happening on the other side of that phone call. Eric doesn’t like me doing any marketing without him because he likes keeping my “wild ideas” in check, and he thinks Benson is making a move on his ex. Cat’s away, mice play.
Yesterday’s frustration bubbles back up, and I’m gladder than ever that one of the women I reached out to this morning about handling our socials is extremely interested in the job.
I have a video interview set up with her this afternoon, and she said she’s available immediately.
She even lives in Utah, which would make training so much easier.
“You shouldn’t be driving while on the phone,” Benson says, a bit of growl in his voice now.
“Yeah, I know what your imagination is telling you, but it’s not true.
Promise. Then maybe you should have brought her with you.
” He hangs up and swears under his breath, his head bowed and a hand gripping the back of his neck.
“That sounded fun,” I say bitterly.
“Why is he being like this?” Benson asks without looking at me.
I’m pretty sure it’s a rhetorical question, but I answer anyway. “Because he likes when things go his way.”
“That’s not how life works.”
“Says the guy who has everything he wants.”
He finally turns his gaze to me, eyes piercing me with their intensity and leaving me feeling both chilled and overheated. “Not everything,” he mutters.
My breath catches in my throat. It doesn’t have to be this way. He doesn’t have to keep his distance, and we can figure out a way to—
“I promised,” he says with a shake of his head, as if he was reading my thoughts. “I can’t ruin this friendship.”
“He’s not being a very good friend,” I argue. Especially if Eric is interfering with Benson’s happiness just because he didn’t get the girl in the end. Eric was the one who said we should split up. He doesn’t get a say in my relationships anymore, and he certainly shouldn’t get a say in Benson’s.
Benson clenches his jaw as he slips his phone back into his pocket. “Maybe not,” he agrees. “But he’s one of the few friends I’ve got. He’s…” He shakes his head, nothing but pain in his expression. “He’s family, Avery. I can’t lose…”
My heart aches as I stand here, almost close enough to touch this man but not quite.
It’s as much an ache for Benson as it is for myself.
He is lonely. He can say all he wants that he loves his job and loves being on the road all the time, but I’m nearly certain he is desperate for a place to truly call home.
“We should go back to the office,” Benson says with a heavy sigh, and I reluctantly agree.
There’s no point in trying to push Benson to open up. Not right after he promised to keep his distance from me. Besides, I need to mentally prepare myself for a visit from Poppy, which is not for the faint of heart.