“I’ve been waiting for the chance to thank you,” he told her once the elderly couple moved away. “For stopping that day.”
“You’re welcome. Glad to have been of assistance.”
He grabbed the nearest bouquet from its bucket and passed it to her. “I’ll take this one, please.” At the least, he needed enough time with her to learn who she was. At the most, to convince her to go out with him.
“Outstanding choice.” She considered the dripping arrangement. “Hmm. Two metaphors, right here.”
“How so?”
“Well, flowers are already a metaphor for life in and of themselves. But your bouquet is also gently spherical on top. It starts here, at birth, so to speak.” She coasted her pointer finger from the lower edge of one side toward the center rise of the flowers. “Then expands to the fullest days of life. Then ends very much where it began on the other side, with death.” Her finger continued its arc to the bottom edge on the opposite side. Her hands were pale and graceful, her short nails unpainted.
He was about as interested in metaphors as he was in farmers markets. But she could talk to him about metaphors for days, and he’d drink every word.
She turned toward the table to wrap the flowers in wax paper.
He could be too straightforward, he knew. He’d had to work on that when interacting with the parents of his patients. If he told her“I need for you to go on a date withme,”she’d think he was crazy.
Maybe he was crazy.
She tied an orange bow around the bouquet—
“Hey!” Ben’s familiar voice cut through Sebastian’s thoughts.
“Hey.” He and Ben exchanged their usual side arm hug.
He was always glad to see Ben. Only, Ben’s arrival at this particular moment wasn’t ideal.
A smile moved across Ben’s mouth, his teeth gleaming whiteagainst his dark brown skin. “I saw you guys talking and came over to introduce you.”
She stepped toward them with the flowers. “Do you two know each other?”
“This is my best friend, Dr. Sebastian Grant,” Ben told her.
“Ah!” she said. “You’re one of the Miracle Five, like Ben.”
“Yes.”
“Ben’s told me all about you.”
“And this,” Ben said to Sebastian, “is my friend Leah Montgomery.”
For a terrible, disorienting second, Sebastian’s mind blanked. Then denial filled it—red and loud.
No.
“I’ve toldhimall aboutyou,” Ben said to Leah.
“I hope you’ve been emphasizing my most sterling qualities.”
“I have,” Ben assured her with a dopey, infatuated look.
No!
Ever since Leah came to Misty River High to teach math more than a year and a half ago, Ben had had a crush on her. Ben was taking his time, content to build a wide base of friendship with Leah, in hopes that it would one day lead to more.
Last fall, Ben had told Sebastian that he loved Leah. Sebastian had given him a hard time for claiming to love a woman he wasn’t even dating. But Ben had stood behind his statement.
Ben believed himself to be in love with her.
