“I’ll call you often,” she promised as they pulled up to the curb of the Seattle-Tacoma International Airport.
He put the car in Park and opened his door to get her luggage. “Don’t feel any pressure,” he said. “I’ll be here whenever you want to talk, but you’ll be nine hours in the future, so our days and nights won’t be the same. Just get away from it all and enjoy yourself.”
She opened her door. “Do you mean that?” she asked as she followed him to the back of the car. “You don’t secretly resent me for leaving—even with the cost?”
“You’ve put in countless eighty-hour weeks trying to get A Personal Touch off the ground. I think a vacation will be good for you. I certainly don’t begrudge you this trip.”
He was generous that way, which was another reason she felt like a terrible person for even contemplating divorce. He worked hard, too—deserved a vacation as much as she did and yet he wasn’t complaining, wasn’t saying,What about me?
“I appreciate that, Ben. I really do.”
Their eyes met and held, and he smiled warmly. “Stop feeling guilty. You’ll ruin it.”
She smiled back. “Okay. Thank you. I mean that.”
“No problem.” He got her suitcase and her carry-on from the back of their SUV. “Julian and Charlotte are on the same flight out of LA, right?”
“No. I couldn’t work that out. We’ll meet up in Naples, but they get in only a few hours after me, so that’s almost as good.”
“You’ll wait for them at the airport?”
“Yes. Then we’ll take the train to Sorrento and a bus to Praiano.”
“That villa Charlotte found...” He shook his head. “That’s a pretty incredible place.”
“Maybe you can join us at the end of the month for a week or so.” She offered that even though she knew inviting him would partially defeat the purpose of her going—because she reallydidcare about him and felt bad leaving him out.
“We’ll see,” he said noncommittally.
She blinked when he didn’t jump at the chance. “You’re not that interested?”
“We can’t afford another plane ticket. Besides, there’s a lotgoing on at work. We’ve been trying to hire someone and thought we had, but then she found out she was pregnant and quit before she even started, so we’re still shorthanded. Besides, I want you to have this trip just for you.”
“I appreciate it,” she mumbled.
He rested his hands on her shoulders and gazed down at her. “Are you excited?”
She perked up because shewasexcited and nodded.
“Good.” He pecked her lips before dragging her luggage closer to the wide automatic doors. “Have a wonderful time.”
“I will,” she said and watched, stunned, as he got back in the car and drove off.
What was going on? He was acting very... distant. Polite and kind, but distant. Did that mean something? Was it for the best? Maybe he was ready to give up on her.
She didn’t have a lot of time to think about it. She couldn’t miss her flight, or she’d be in a mess. She stood there only until he disappeared from sight. Then she rolled her luggage inside the terminal. She was waiting to check in when she got a text from Julian.
Make your flight?
At the airport now.
Same with me and Charlotte.
Can you believe we’re actually doing this?
I can’t believe *you’re* doing it. What did Ben say when he dropped you off?
To have a good time.
