“Yeah, that’s all. It’s not like you chattered on about it for hours or anything, is it?”
Ben smiled at the evil look Kenzie shot at Chase. “Well, like I was just saying, it’s nice to know that you care.”
“You know it,” said Chase. “I don’t know a single person around here who you haven’t helped in one way or another. It’s only to be expected that we all want to see you find the happiness you so deserve.” He shot a wary look at Kenzie. “I just hope for Charlotte’s sake as well as yours, that she does make you happy. I know at least one person who’s ready to skin her alive if she doesn’t.”
Kenzie sputtered. “I never said that! I just …”
Ben laughed. “It’s okay, Kenzie. I know you’ve got my back.”
At that moment, Eddie came over to join them. He punched Ben’s shoulder and grinned at him. “So, I hear you’re finally ready to join the rest of us and fall in love and settle down.”
“It’s definitely a possibility.” Ben smiled. He wanted to believe it was possible; he hoped it was. But life had already taught him that even when you believed something was certain, it didn’t necessarily happen.
Eddie held his gaze for a moment, then nodded. “As long as you’re admitting that much at least, I’m happy.”
Ben smiled. He liked Eddie. His smile faded a little when he saw Emma, Jack, Missy, and Dan coming in. He knew he wouldn’t get off as lightly with them. At least not with Emma or Missy.
Emma came straight to him and reached up for a hug. He had to lean across her baby bump in order to peck her cheek. He tried to focus on how happy she and Jack must be and not let his mind wander. He’d always known that Charlie and he would one day have to talk about their loss. And since they’d skirted around the edges of discussing it last night, it was weighing heavily on his mind. In all the years they’d been apart, he’d tried to keep his memories and his love for Charlotte locked away in a box. The love and pain that he felt for their child who had never been born, those feelings he had buried even deeper. He knew that until he and Charlie could face those feelings together, they could never move forward.
“Where is she?” asked Emma.
Ben laughed. “Hi, Em. It’s nice to see you too.”
“Oh, sorry. Hi, Ben. You know I love you. I’m just so excited! It’s finally happening, and I get to see it.”
Jack slid his arm around her shoulders with an apologetic smile. “Sorry, Ben. You know what she’s like. How are you doing?”
“To be perfectly honest,” he smiled at Jack, “since I know that’s something you like to do, I’m already a little weary of being the center of attention. I’m not used to it and it doesn’t suit me.” He smiled kindly at Emma. “But I do appreciate it.”
“Don’t worry,” said Missy. “You won’t be the center of attention for long once Charlotte arrives. You know everyone’s going to bombard her with questions.”
Ben nodded. “Yeah, and she’s much better able to handle it than I am.”
Dan smiled at him. “I don’t know how you handle it at all.”
Missy reached up and planted a kiss on his cheek. “Hey, you stepped a long way outside your comfort zone for me.”
It was true. Ben remembered Dan standing up in front of everyone and declaring his love for Missy and proposing to her. If Dan had been able to do that, then Ben could certainly enjoy being under the spotlight of everyone’s curiosity about him and Charlotte being back together. “It seems like everyone’s here early tonight. Here come Nate and Lily.”
The others all turned to greet them. When Lily finally reached Ben, she smiled. “Where is she then? I’m dying to see her.”
“She should be here any minute.”
Missy laughed. “At least we hope so. She never was too big on being punctual.”
“Or reliable.” Ben turned at the sound of Pete’s voice. He hadn’t even realized that he and Holly had arrived.
“Don’t you start!” Emma scowled at Pete.
Pete held his hands up with a smirk. “Don’tyoustart, Em. I don’t want to incur the wrath of the pregnant lady.”
Emma shook her finger at him, but Ben could see she was laughing.
“How about we all get a table?” suggested Missy. She looked at Ben. “I’m assuming Charlotte really is going to be here any minute?”
“She should be.” Ben closed his eyes for a moment as he realized that even now there was a sliver of doubt in his mind. He couldn’t guarantee, not for Missy, and especially not for himself, that Charlotte really would even be here. That made him sad. It reinforced for him that she was right that they did need to take their time. He didn’t only need to learn who she was now. He also needed to learn to trust her again. No, that wasn’t fair. It wasn’t that he didn’t trust her; it was more that he didn’t dare believe his luck.
The others made their way outside and pulled a couple of the big picnic benches together to make room for everyone. He hung back by the bar wanting to catch Charlotte the moment she came through the door and to get her to himself for a minute. He checked his watch and was relieved to realize that she wasn’t late. It seemed all the others had shown up early. He made his way to the doors, hoping to spot her as she arrived. It felt wrong to him that all his friends arrived with their partners, they’d come out as couples. He and Charlie were the longest standing couple around, but they weren’t a couple yet. His heart raced when he saw her car pull into the square. His heart neither knew nor cared about the whole couple thing; his heart just wanted to be next to hers.
