As they climbed into the rental car, Ben checked his watch again, more out of habit than necessity. They had just enough time to get back to the condo, freshen up, and make it to the rehearsal dinner without being unfashionably late.
"We should head back," he said. "Give you time to transform into wedding guest mode."
"Don't remind me,” Kelly groaned. “My mother has probably been texting me all afternoon about what I should wear. As if I packed dozens of outfits to choose from. I brought one. One outfit for tonight. If it’s not good enough, there’s nothing I can do about it."
"Has she?" Ben asked, starting up the car.
Kelly checked her phone and grimaced.
"Four messages. 'Don’t wear black.' 'Don't forget to bring a wrap, the restaurant is always cold.' 'Please do something with your hair.' And my personal favorite, 'Try to look presentable.'"
"Families," Ben said sympathetically.
"Is there any way we can not go?" Kelly asked as they reached the car. "Maybe a case of the plague? Or we could say we got food poisoning from lunch."
Her tone was light, but Ben caught the genuine dread behind her joke. She wasn't looking forward to an evening of subtle criticism and comparison to her brother. He couldn't blame her.
"We could skip it," he replied, surprising himself with the suggestion.
The old Ben Reilly would never have proposed skipping a social obligation. But something about Kelly made him want to protect her, even from her own family.
She looked at him in surprise, then shook her head reluctantly. She was probably right. They had to be there.
"No, we should go. I would never hear the end of it. Besides, I'm sure my mother has already counted every appetizer and planned the seating chart down to the inch."
Ben's posture shifted almost unconsciously, his body angling closer to hers, protective and supportive.
"I've got your back, babe. I'll be right next to you."
The endearment slipped out without thought, as natural as breathing. Neither acknowledged it directly, though a faint blush touched Kelly's cheeks.
"My personal bodyguard against family judgment," she said with a small smile. Then she sighed, looking up at him with a mixture of gratitude and frustration. "I just wish I didn't need a body shield to see my family."
The simple honesty in her statement tugged at something deep in Ben's chest. His own family was far from perfect, sure. His dad could be stubborn, his mom extra boisterous and full of zeal for life, and his siblings sometimes annoying. But underneath it all was a solid foundation of love and respect. The idea that Kelly had to armor herself just to attend a family function made him genuinely sad.
"Maybe someday you won't," he said quietly, opening the car door for her.
Kelly gave him the saddest smile he’d ever seen in his life.
"That would require them to change. And people don't change, Ben. Not really."
"Some do," he countered, thinking of his own recent transformation.
Just a few weeks ago, he'd been the epitome of the buttoned-up businessman, his life as orderly and predictable as a spreadsheet. Now he was helping investigate a decade-old murder, had slept on couch cushions on the floor, and was about to face down a family of strangers at a rehearsal dinner.
“Bennett Reilly, I think you might be an incurable optimist.”
Was he an optimist? Or just dumb?
Either way, he didn’t think Kelly’s family was planning on making any changes tonight.
But there was one thing Kelly hadn’t brought up after their meeting this afternoon.
If Lori wasn’t spending her days after class getting extra tutoring from Mr. Caldwell…what was she doing? And who was she with?
Chapter
Twenty
