Ben leaned closer to her, catching a whiff of something softly floral. “What’s wrong?”
She glanced at him out of the corner of her eye. “Nothing.”
Ben sat back, staring at her. That had been the response she’d give when they were teenagers when there wasdefinitelysomething wrong.
He thought back over what he’d just said, but nothing stood out to him. Unfortunately, he didn’t have time to coax it out of her.
Cole blew the whistle in the gym, and Ben got to his feet. “I’ll talk to you later, okay?”
Amelia looked up and nodded, but Ben couldn’t help but feel like maybe she didn’t want to.
He joined the others in the gym, but rather than Cole getting them started on the second part of the afternoon, one of the other men had taken over.
He noticed Cole taking the two troublemakers out of the gym. Ben was glad that Cole was taking steps to make sure that the clinic wasn’t negatively impacted by the presence of some troublemakers.
When Cole returned half an hour later, the boys weren’t with him, and he had a tense expression on his face. It faded away as he stepped back into helping the remaining kids. The kids who had proven they wanted to be there.
At four, the kids were dismissed, but Cole gathered the rest of them around to explain a bit more of what had happened with the boys. The upshot was that they had been removed fromthe clinic and were not allowed to return unless they had a conversation with Cole. If they were given permission to return, they wouldn’t be able to do so together at the same clinic.
It was four-thirty when their meeting ended, and Ben wasn’t surprised that Amelia was no longer at the table. He and Luca walked the hallways to the office so that he could check in with her.
When they got to the office, however, the desk there was empty. The light was still on in the pastor’s office and his door was open, so Ben approached it and knocked on the door frame.
After greeting the pastor, Ben said, “Is Amelia still around?”
The pastor shook his head. “She left not long after the clinic ended. She said she wasn’t feeling well.”
“Okay. Thanks.”
As they exited the church through the side door, Luca said, “Are you worried about her?”
“I’m always worried about her,” Ben told him.
Luca didn’t say anything more as he slid behind the wheel of the SUV. Ben debated what he should do. He wanted to see her or do something that might help her.
“Don’t leave yet,” he told Luca as he started the SUV.
Taking out his phone, he sent a quick message to Amelia.
The pastor said you left early because you weren’t feeling well. Do you want me to bring you some dinner?
Ben stared at his phone, waiting to see if Amelia would take him up on his offer. Something told him that she wouldn’t.
Amelia:I have freezer meals that Layla and I make, so I’m just going to eat one of those. Thank you though.
Disappointment filled Ben, but he wasn’t going to force her to accept his offer of some takeout.
He’d thought things would be different after that evening on the boat and the kiss they’d shared under the fireworks. But if anything, it felt like she was distancing herself from him.
“Let’s go home,” Ben said. “Amelia turned down my offer of takeout.”
“If she’s not feeling well, she probably isn’t up for company.”
Ben didn’t like being classified as company since he felt like something more. He didn’t want her to have to feel up to spending time with him. He wished she understood that he didn’t want to be with her only when things were going well. He wanted to be there with her for all of it. The good and the bad.
Thoughts of Amelia stayed with him over the next few hours as he showered and prepared for dinner with his parents. Afterward, he left the house to take a walk around the property.
The sun had sunk toward the horizon, casting the estate in shadows. As he neared Julian and Kiara’s house, he could see warm light spilling from the windows on the lower level.
