“So, this came as a shock?”
“Oh, yes.”
“Well, I hope this reconnection is positive.”
“It’s been weird.”I paused, considering.“But I’d say positive.”
“That’s wonderful.”She smiled, and I wondered what she was thinking behind her gray eyes.
“It is,” I agreed.
“Anyway, you should meet Benji.”She held up a delicate finger and called in a voice that somehow carried over the laughter and talking around us without being loud, “Ben.”
A few feet away a man with the sandy brown hair poured a beer from behind the bar.“You done with your Manhattan already, Miss?”
“No, come over here.”
He looked in our direction, then did that very flattering thing, where his eyes snagged on me before widening.
Missy rubbed below her ear.“Heads up, he’s a bit of a flirt too.”
Benji took a few steps toward us wiping his hands on the towel over his shoulder.“Hi I’m Ben.”
“TheBen of Benji’s Place?”
His eyes got extra crinkly as his smile broadened.“That’s me.And you’re Alicia.”
“How did you know?”
He tilted his head toward Emmett.“Deb called me a couple of days ago and said you’re here with a mission.”
“Your mom is a gem,” I told Emmett.
“She’s great.She’s my aunt actually.”Ben circled his finger indicating Missy and Emmett.“We all grew up together.”
“Are you their cousin too?”I asked Missy.
She shook her head emphatically.“No.Family friends.”
“I wanna to talk to you, but I’m on my way out.Can I get your number to set up a meeting?See how I can help out?”
“Yes, please.”I would take all the help I could get.
He snagged an order pad and I jotted my information down.Promising to set something up with me, he waved goodbye.
Missy left shortly after finishing her cocktail, claiming that Ben made the best Manhattans.Emmett watched her leave, and the briefest flash of longing surfaced in the depths of his eyes.I wondered if she knew.If she understood it.The unfulfilled need that surpassed desire.The way it could bore into your soul and make you want the one thing you couldn’t have—something so far out of reach you couldn’t even voice it to your closest friend.
I slipped onto her vacated barstool, pretending like I didn’t notice anything, as if I didn’t feel gutted by proxy.
We fell into an easy conversation about our work, and as people passed by he’d call them over for an introduction.Somehow I’d drank a glass and half of white wine from some local winery when the backdoor to the patio swung open, carrying new voices and laughter over the din of the bar.The receptionist from Remi’s vet clinic walked side-by-side with a shaggy haired man I vaguely recognized.
Then there was Remi.
My stomach dropped like falling down the first hill of a roller coaster.The lights brightened, and I swear I could hear them buzzing over everything else.A shiver ran down my spine that I tried to hide by taking a drink of my Chardonnay.
ButIknew it was there.
Chapter Nineteen
