Page 83 of Entirely Yours
“Benoit, I need your help.”
My twin continues to wipe down the countertop, looking up at me with a raised brow. “Am I not being helpful enough?”
I set down the tray of coffee mugs I have and look at him straight on. “You’ve been moody lately.”
“I havenot,” he says, rather moodily. Now it’s my turn to raise an eyebrow.
“Do you want to talk about it?” I lean my elbows on the bar, recognizing I haven’t been giving him very much attention recently, especially given the fact that he and Thea moved back to Sassafras around the same time. I’ve been neglecting my twin.
He’s been wearing his glasses a lot more, and his eyes look tired behind the lenses. His shoulders are slumped and his back slightly hunched.
Ben shrugs, sulking.
So, that’s a yes.
“Ben, I know things have been busy here. Are you regretting your move? We can hire some more college students when school starts back up in the fall. It won’t slow down here, but at least we can get some more help.”
Ben shakes his head. “No, it’s nothing with the shop. I love it here—I’m really glad I made the move.” He stops, pondering how much more he wants to tell me. “It’s Colette.”
“Cole… What about her?”
“It’s a long story, I wasn’t expecting her to?—”
“Benjamin!” Well, speak of the damn devil. Cole storms over to the both of us, looking as if it’s a very real possibility that smoke is about to start streaming out of her ears. Her red hair halos around her head, creating the illusion that she’s on fire. “What. Did. You. Do!” she screams.
I put my hands up and back away slowly, making a mental note to check back in with Ben later.
When I get to the storage room, I find Gabe. Great, I need his help too.
“Gabriel, I need your help.”
“What can I do for you, brother?” Thank God he’s in a better mood than Ben was.
“I want to plan a surprise baby shower for Thea. You and Ben did such a good job with Chloe’s party, I figured you could help me with this.”
Gabe slaps his hand on my back. “Of course. What if we did a co-ed shower? Someone at work did that recently, and that way we can ‘shower’ you, too.” He does jazz hands as he says the word “shower” for extra emphasis.
“I don’t hate the idea. I mean it will probably just be our family.”
Gabe narrows his eyes. “That doesn’t feel right. We should do it at Louie’s, invite the whole town!”
The whole town?
“That seems like overkill…”
“No way,” Gabe insists. “Leave it to me and Ben, it’ll be the most memorable baby shower this town has ever seen.”
That’s exactly what I’m afraid of.
Jules is being shady.
I’m trying not to read into it, but he’s definitely been dodgy in the last week or so.
This morning I asked him if we should run into Boston to the big baby department store there, that way I can test a few things out before seeing if I can find them cheaper on Facebook marketplace or at the thrift store. He nodded but then suggested that we wait. When I pushed further to see if we could plan on next weekend, he pulled his hair out of his bun, retying it with a noncommittal, “Maybe.” His nervous tick.
I thought he’d be excited about my enthusiasm for the baby, but maybe he’s having second thoughts.
Dad isn’t much better. I tried asking him if he’d go with me, but he replied with some lame excuse about his knee acting up so he’d better not drive that far. Before I had a chance to argue or suggest that I drive, he told me I shouldn’t be behind the wheel when my belly is this big.
