“Would you ladies like dessert?”
“No, thanks. Can we have the check?”
Juli was about to rise from the table when Maia reached over and put her hand on Juli’s arm. She sat back down.
“Juli, I know you and Luke aren’t getting along. I know you’re trying to hide it from Ben, not wanting to catch him up in the middle.”
“That’s true.”
“You’re both good people, Juli, and you’re doing the right thing by trying to work it out. I’m glad you were willing to speak with him today. It’s funny how people can have the same motivation, but still be at odds.”
“It’s human nature, I guess.” A catch-all response. It sparked something reckless within her. She was fed up with using good manners to mask the truth. “It’s all Luke’s fault, anyway.”
Maia sat back, startled. “Luke’s fault? What is?”
“That I met Ben. I was serving at the party and Luke—didn’t know his name then—looked through me like I wasn’t there. It hit me wrong. I don’t know how to explain it. I felt anonymous, but not by choice. Nameless. Pointless. I went outside because I needed air and that’s where I met Ben.”
“That’s how you ended up in the garden?”
“Luke’s fault, like I said.”
Maia beamed. “Fate. I call it fate. You and Ben were meant to be together.”
“If that’s what it is, then I hope fate will be kind for a change.” Juli stood. “I’ve been kicked in the gut by fate more than a few times and I’m ready to kick back. Hard.”
Chapter Thirteen
When she returned home, Ben was sitting in his rocker reading a Devotional. Juli wasn’t sure what that was, except that it was a ‘topic for the day’ sort of thing. She curled up on the rattan sofa to read a novel, but every time the rocker squeaked she looked up at Ben and felt guilty. Devious. Juli couldn’t regret not telling him about Frankie, or even about asking Luke for help. She didn’t want to interfere in his relationship with Luke and, regarding Frankie, she didn’t want Ben looking over his shoulder for the creep whenever they left the house. She didn’t want to risk Ben trying to act the hero.
Ben was rational. More likely he would try to reason with Frankie, but when it came to people like Frankie, it was better to play hardball.
“You look pensive,” Ben said.
Juli met his eyes, thinking for the umpteenth time that she should tell him and be done with it. It wasn’t a big deal anyway. She opened her mouth to tell him, but said, instead, “Maia thinks the world of you.”
“Maia is a sweetheart.”
“She is. Ben, if you were lonely and you two are such good friends, then why me? Why not Maia?”
“Maia?” He looked bemused.
Juli frowned. “Yes.”
“Maia is a friend. More like a sister, I guess. I never thought of her that way.”
“But for companionship….”
“Why do you ask?”
No way would she tell him about Maia’s feelings. It would be like a betrayal.
“No reason,” Juli said.
“Are you still wondering why I pursued you?”
She shrugged. She hadn’t been, but now she was interested.
“It’s been almost two months and you haven’t packed your bags and fled, so I guess I can tell you.” He left the rocker and sat next to her on the sofa, close, but not quite touching.
“You, Juli, woke my heart.” He reached out and took her hand, examining the rings on her finger. “I hadn’t considered remarriage in nearly fifteen years. Never even crossed my mind.” He turned her hand over, palm upward, and traced the life line and heart line. “How did you speak to my heart? I know you weren’t trying to and I wasn’t looking for it. It just happened.”
Juli reached over and put her free hand on top of his so that she clasped his hand between hers, but she didn’t interrupt.
“When you left that night after driving me home, I couldn’t sleep. You know how it is sometimes, when you aren’t well? You sleep so much that then you can’t sleep at all? I was wakeful and I kept thinking about you. You seemed ‘shiny’ in my mind. That sounds stupid and I can’t explain it better, so leave it as said. We’d barely even seen each other. It was dark, remember? I saw you only by the dashboard lights. I enjoyed listening to you, but I was so tired. How could I trust my memory? I’d just about talked myself out of thinking of you. Then I remembered you worked at Singer’s. I figured I’d go, get another look at you. Seeing you again, facing reality, would show me how foolish I was.”