As the afternoon progressed, she mulled over Ben’s invitation, trying to decide what she should do. She needed a few more details.
Was this just her and him for dinner, or was he inviting her to the estate to have dinner with his parents as well?
She wasn’t altogether sure which she preferred. Having dinner with just him would be nice, but it would also be dangerous for her heart. Dining with his parents would be safer, but at the same time, more stressful.
His parents, especially his mom, were nice, but there was a clear difference in the type of people they were.
The Burkes—particularly the parents—were polished to a high shine. Amelia, on the other hand, could portray elegance on the ice, but that didn’t really spill into her everyday life. Especially not anymore.
She should just say no, right across the board.
Sheshould…but would she?
As it turned out, she wouldn’t. As soon as Ben approached her at break time, she knew that she would agree to the dinner, regardless of what the arrangements were.
“Here.” Amelia held out a bottle of water as he reached the table.
His smile crinkled the corners of his eyes as he took it. “Thanks.”
Once the crowd of kids around the table had thinned out, Amelia turned her attention back to Ben. He was leaning against the wall, watching the teens as they stood in small clusters.
“Everything go okay so far?” she asked.
Ben nodded. “Though a couple of the boys were getting into it. Seems like they may have brought some off-court stuff to the clinic.”
“Teenagers, huh?”
“I don’t really miss those days,” Ben said with a chuckle. “The drama was off the charts sometimes.”
“Was it?” Amelia frowned. “I don’t really remember.”
“You kind of had other things you were focused on,” Ben said. “And I was glad you weren’t caught up in all of it.”
Amelia was glad she hadn’t been either, but in some ways, it bothered her a bit that Ben had experienced things going on in high school with people they both knew but hadn’t said anything to her about it.
“What sort of drama?”
“It usually centered around who liked whom and who was dating someone that another person liked.”
“Were you caught up in the drama?” Amelia asked, almost afraid of the answer.
“Off and on,” Ben said. “I got dragged into stuff, but it wasn’t anything significant.”
“Did girls like you?”
It wasn’t something they’d ever talked about, and he’d never given her any reason to think there might be other girls in his life. But thinking back, it was ridiculous to think that there hadn’t been girls with crushes on him. In addition to being cute, he’d also been nice.
“Sure,” he said with a shrug. “But the only one I cared about… the only one I loved was you.”
Amelia felt heat creep into her cheeks. He said it so easily. She looked down at her hands, then out the window. Anywhere but at him.
“So,” he prompted. “Dinner tonight?”
Glad for the reprieve from memory lane, Amelia looked back at him. “With your parents?”
“Yes. I’m staying at the big house on the estate, so I’ve been eating my meals there. Julian and Kiki will be there with their kids too, and possibly Angie and Jude,” Ben said. “So, will you come?”
Amelia wasn’t sure if the extra guests made it better or worse, but she knew she had to answer. “Uh… sure. Yes.”
