CHAPTER FIVE
“What are you doinghere?”Bethany croaked, her throat all of a sudden becoming very dry.
It had been exactly one week since she’d run out of her wedding, and her life had been flipped completely upside down.
As expected, there were consequences to ending her relationship with Doug.As well as being the new social pariah of Woodvalley Pines, she’d also pissed her parents off with, to quote her mom, “her dramatic behavior,” that they were avoiding her.But that was just the start, to add to the crap pile that was her life—she also no longer had a place to live as their apartment was in Doug’s name.It was too late to transfer her residency back to Denver.And to top it all off, she had the total of one friend in town, Lucy, whose couch she was currently crashing on.
“B?”
Oh yeah.Then there’s Benny.Your stupidly attractive ex-boyfriend who you almost kissed last week and who is now on your doorstep, looking like a rugged Greek God and expecting you to communicate by using actual words.
“Um.”Water, she needed water.“What?”
“I said...”Benny eyed her suspiciously.Thank God he couldn’t read minds.“I came to see how you were doing.Can I come in...I brought coffee, your favorite?”He offered her one of the steaming takeaway cups he was holding.“Caramel macchiato with whipped cream.”
Well, there was a beverage on offer.A delicious one.And she was desperately close to dehydration.
Nope!Get his ass out of there, you’ve got enough problems.
Her Judas hand shot out to accept the drink before her brain could do something sensible for once and turn him away.
Damnit.
Resigned to her fate, she turned, her body shifting to grant him entry into Lucy’s apartment.Before she followed him inside, however, she took a sip of caramel courage.
You’ve got this.Just don’t kiss him.
History had proven that was easier said than done.
“So, you’re staying with Lucy, huh?I didn’t even know you guys were friends.”Benny scanned the small living room.Bethany’s current bedroom.
Of course, he didn’t know.They weren’t dumb teenagers anymore; she had a whole life he knew nothing about.
“Yeah, well, we are.And she’s been kind enough to take me in until I...”get my shit together?Sort out my life?“Until I...find a place.”
“That means you’re staying?”A panty-melting smile began to tilt his lips.
Why did that smile give her such a rush?He was happy she was staying.Why was he happy?
Strategically ignoring the many questions now forming an orderly queue in her head, she went on to explain about her residency.To her surprise, Benny listened intently.Genuinely excited to hear she wanted to use her medical degree to go into family practice.
“You can set up shop in Woodvalley.”
“What?”
“Woodvalley Pines.Folks here have to drive on out to Goldacre to see the doctor, but when you’re done with your residency you could set up your own practice, here in town.It’d be life changing, NeNe, for everyone.”
Bethany had had enough life-changing moments this week.She didn’t even know if she wanted to stay in Woodvalley.Not anymore.Granted she hadn’t been back long, only moving into their apartment one week before the wedding, but the reason why she returned no longer seemed valid.
Doug wanted to start a family, eventually.She’d not been especially keen but if she were ever to have kids, she always envisioned doing it in her hometown.Hence the move.But now here she was—minus one husband, homeless, and stuck.
“I don’t...I’m not sure.”Bethany stumbled over to the L-shaped couch and dropped down.“I haven’t thought that far ahead.”Actually, she had, a local practice would be exactly what she wanted for her future.But plans change.Weddings get ditched and ex-boyfriends resurface.
