They made it to the hotel without a single opportunity for Ben to apologize in private. Avery did a fantastic job of avoiding him.
Ben and Savannah had a suite all to themselves. He’d had his assistant, Herb, call and make sure it was all arranged. Not that he didn’t trust the school to take care of things; he just liked to know what was going on. Besides, the hotel was taking a loss having the school use forty-five rooms at cost. He should be in the know.
Most of the kids bunked with their parents, but there were several who didn’t have a parent or guardian along. They were grouped together with a parent volunteer. Savannah would have been assigned to Avery if he hadn’t come. She might have enjoyed being with a woman who valued her thoughts and tuned in to her concerns.
Ben wouldn’t mind some time with a soft, caring woman who happened to have dark, curly hair and olive skin. The more he saw of Avery—not the angry woman he seemed to bring out, but the tender, gentle woman he’d seen with Savannah—the more he could imagine her in his life. Talking over family dinners … coordinating soccer schedules … and banking in his kitchen.
He’d bet she played music when she baked. She’d listed baking on her Capture My Heart profile, and he wanted to know if she could make pumpkin bread. Pumpkin bread was his favorite sweet treat—a little cream cheese frosting went a long way.
Savannah settled into the middle of the king-sized bed in her room and flipped on the Disney Channel. Ben paced as he checked his emails and phone messages, trying to get thoughts of Avery out of his head. There weren’t any activities scheduled for this evening with the group, so he decided to hit the gym. They were hiking up to twenty miles tomorrow, but he needed to clear his head tonight.
More like clear Avery out of his head tonight.
He made sure Savannah was set, double-checked the lock behind him, and headed down the hall to the elevator. While he was on the way, his brother called.
“’Sup?” he answered.
“Tweaking the Dragon Roll. What are you up to?”
“I’m headed down to lift.”
“Uh-oh. Who ticked you off?”
He hit the elevator call button. “Avery.” Feeling as though she was right behind him, he twisted to look over his shoulder. The hallway was clear, and he breathed a sigh of relief. The elevator opened and he slipped inside and pressed the button for the lobby, leaning against the back wall. “You should have heard her.” Ben lifted his voice an octave. “Divorced eleven years? Something’s seriously wrong with you.”
Quin snickered.
He went on, trying to convince himself as much as Quin. “As if a single man must automatically want to be married. I like my life, thank you very much.”
“Spit on her again,” Quin cheered.
“You’re a horrible person.” Quin’s version of support was less than helpful.
He laughed lightly. “Give her a break. You’re not an easy guy to love.”
“Whoa there, Tonto. Who said anything about love?”
“I did. But the panic in your voice makes me want to know whatyouthink about it.”
Small beads of sweat broke out on Ben’s forehead.
“And now your silence tells me all I need to know. You like her.”
“I like her more when she’s not with me.” That was the truth. The doors slid open and he left the elevator, only to stumble into a group of boys loitering in front of the doors. “What’s this?” he asked, pulling the phone away from his face.
Landon spoke up. He was taller than the other kids, and somehow, when you’re a boy, height makes you the leader. He wore the responsibility well, looking Ben in the eye as he talked. “Principal Brown says we can’t leave the hotel, and they won’t let us play ball inside.”
Twelve heads hung low in disappointment. The smallest kid held up a football as if it were evidence to their great sadness. These were the same kids who had flooded the dunking booth, spending all their tickets for an opportunity to drop the principal.
Ben couldn’t stand to see their dejected faces. What were eleven-year-old boys supposed to do cooped up in a hotel for the night? At least these guys wanted to do something active.
“I have an idea.” He stepped to the front desk and had a quick conversation with the manager on duty. Her name tag said Jenny, and she had a beauty pageant quality about her with big white teeth and shiny lips. She hurried around the desk and motioned for them all to follow her down the hall.
“Where are we going?” asked a redheaded boy.
“Name?” Ben pointed at his chest.
“Rigby.” He sniffed loudly.
