The basketball clinic wasn’t supposed to start for another hour, but the previous afternoon, Cole had asked him to be there for eight. Ben wasn’t a huge fan of early mornings, but he’d gotten up at seven, so he’d had time to eat breakfast before diving into what was sure to be a physical day.
The hallway they walked down wasn’t one he’d passed through as a teen, but there was a sense of familiarity to it, regardless. The squeak of their shoes on the tiled floor. The scent of cleaning supplies lingering in the air. Shafts of sunlight spilling from the long narrow windows facing the parking lot. It all threw him back to another time.
As they neared the gym, Cole spotted a table. He’d been told that Amelia worked at the church and would be helping out with the clinic, so he wondered if she’d be at the table, checking the kids in.
As they approached it, however, he saw that the person seated at the table was a middle-aged woman. He might not haverecognized Amelia at the café the day before, but there was no way he was mistaking this woman for Amelia.
“Hello,” she said with a smile as they came to a stop in front of the table. “Are you here to help with the clinic?”
“We sure are,” Ben answered, returning her smile.
“What might your names be?” she asked, briefly turning her attention to a stack of cards attached to lanyards.
“I’m Ben,” he said. “And this is Luca.”
They’d decided that rather than try to explain away Luca’s presence as a bodyguard, they’d use him to help out at the clinic. He’d played high school basketball so he at least knew the basics, even if he hadn’t played as obsessively as Ben had.
“And are you single?” she asked with a guileless smile as she held out his lanyard.
The question took Ben aback, and he just stared at her, his hand hanging in the air. “What?”
“I have a single granddaughter, and if Cole thought you were a good enough man to be here, you might just be good enough to date my granddaughter.” She gestured to his hand. “You’re not wearing a ring, so I thought maybe you were single and ready to mingle.”
Turning his left hand over as if to verify there was no ring there, Ben heard a snort of laughter behind him. He glared over his shoulder at Luca and prepared to throw him under the bus.
“I am, indeed, single,” Ben admitted, taking the lanyard. “However, I’m not currently ready to mingle. On a positive note, Luca is also single.”
The woman’s assessing gaze moved from Ben to Luca, then back to Ben when Luca gave a shake of his head. “And what makes you unavailable to mingle?”
“I have a lot going on at the moment, and I’m also not from around here.”
“I’m sure my granddaughter would be open to moving for the right man,” the woman said.
Ben was a bit flustered. He was used to women flirting with him, but this was the first time a woman was trying to engage him on behalf of her granddaughter.
“I’m afraid I’m going to have to decline,” Ben said as politely as he could. “Though I’m sure she’s a lovely young woman.”
“I also must decline,” Luca tacked on as he took the lanyard that she held out to him.
“What a shame,” the woman said.
Eager to change the subject, Ben said, “Do you know if Amelia Madden is around?”
“Amelia?” The woman stared at him for a long moment, her gaze assessing in a new way. “Do you know Amelia?”
“I do,” Ben said. “We went to high school together.”
He didn’t want to admit the true nature of their high school relationship, because he didn’t think that was information this woman needed to know, given her propensity for matchmaking. Though he wasn’t interested in the woman’s matchmaking skills, he still wanted to connect with Amelia.
When he’d come to Serenity in the past, he’d only been there for a couple of days, so he hadn’t felt like he needed to seek her out. This time was different.
“Amelia is a dear,” the woman said. “And she’s single too.”
Ben couldn’t believe the direction a simple stop to pick up his lanyard had taken.
“Hey there, Ben.”
Relief flooded him as he turned to see Cole heading toward them. “Hey. We’re here, reporting for duty.”
