She recovered quickly and grinned at him. “I think it’s a first!” She laughed, but she still looked shocked.
“Why are you so surprised?”
She shook her head. “I don’t know. I’m not. I mean, obviously, I am, but I shouldn’t be. You’ve been waiting for this ever since Vegas. You’ve been waiting a hell of a lot longer than that. We all have! But, I don’t know, I think I was kind of getting used to the idea that it wasn’t going to happen.”
“You were?”
She nodded. “Hell yeah. I thought one or the other of you had finally decided it was time to leave the past where … in the past.”
Had she been about to saywhere it belongs? Ben raised an eyebrow. “Why?”
“Oh, come on! You haven’t heard a peep out of her in months. I haven’t either, and I wouldn’t get in touch with her because I didn’t want to know anything that you didn’t know.” She made a face at him. “It’s taken so long that I was starting to wonder if she’d changed her mind, or if maybe it was too hard to break up with Alastair, or I don’t know, something! And then there’s you.”
“What about me?”
She sat up taller and put her hands on her hips. “I don’t know if you’re blind, or if you think we’re all blind. Angel!” Missy blew out a sigh. “She’s beautiful! And she’s so sweet, when you give her a chance—and I feel shitty that none of us have given her a chance, just because she’s not Charlotte. You and her just seem to fit. It’s like you silently became this team—this partnership—without anyone noticing.”
Ben stared at her. He didn’t know what to say.
Missy shook a finger at him. “Don’t give me the Mr. Innocent. You know damned well what I’m talking about! What did she say yesterday morning? Oh, I know. You’re kindred spirits, right? And you’re a genius.”
“She only said it was astrokeof genius to …” said Dan.
Missy swung to face him. “Don’tyoutry and defend her.”
Dan held his hands up and laughed. “Hey, I’m just reminding you of the facts. They get lost sometimes when you get …”
Missy glared at him and he smiled and zippered his lip. They both laughed and Missy turned back to Ben. “Okay, so maybe I’m getting a bit carried away, but I honestly thought you were coming over here to tell me that you were seeing Angel. I thought you were worried I was going to be mad at you.”
“Wow.” Ben shook his head. “It feels like you’re mad that I’m not.”
Missy shook her head. “No. I’m not. I’m just surprised.”
“Miss, after all these years … you’ve always known all I wanted was Charlie. How can you be surprised?”
She shrugged. “I don’t know. I know it’s crazy, but I think I’d really started to believe that it wasn’t going to happen.”
“And are you happy that it is going to happen?”
She didn’t answer immediately. “I don’t know. I really just don’t know. I’d love to believe that you two will finally make each other happy, but if you want to know the truth, I’m not sure that you will. Even more than that, I’m scared that you won’t.”
Ben nodded. He shouldn’t be surprised. Smoke and Joe had already voiced the same thoughts. “You know, I saw Emma earlier. I had to tell her because she heard me answer when Charlie called. So far, she’s the only one who’s been genuinely happy for me.”
“Aww, Ben. You know I’ll be happy with whatever makes you happy. I don’t want to pee on your parade.”
He held up a hand. “I know, I didn’t mean it like that. I should have said it differently. You and Joe and Smoke, you’re all wary, you have your reservations, and you’ve each questioned me about Angel. Emma? She just did her little happy dance.”
Missy pursed her lips. “Maybe that’s because our Em’s the only one who still believes in fairy tales?”
Ben nodded. “Maybe.”
Chapter Seven
Charlotte was exhausted. In the last forty-eight hours, she’d tied up everything that had been her life in London, and left it behind. She’d landed in LA last night and spent the night in an airport hotel. When she used to make this trip as a kid, her grandparents would pick her up at the airport and drive her straight home to the lake, and then she’d go out with Ben for a couple of hours as well. Getting old sucked! Last night she’d fallen into bed as soon as she got to her room. Of course, she’d woken up at stupid o’clock this morning, because her body thought it was lunchtime already. An eight-hour time difference did that to you.
She’d picked up her rental car. A month’s rental wasn’t cheap, but she hadn’t known what else to do. It meant she’d be able to get around while she got herself set up at the lake. She’d buy herself something small and economical as soon as she could, and the guy at the rental desk had told her that she could turn this one in early no problem—she’d only be charged for the days that she had it.
Her energy level soared as she caught her first glimpse of the lake. Home. That’s what this place felt like, even now, after all these years. Home was where the heart was, and her heart had stayed here with Ben.
