Page 98 of Summer Weddings
“We’ll talk later,” he whispered. He wrapped his hand around the back of her neck and gently pulled her forward. He needed this. Ached for this.
He kissed her slowly, sweetly, teasing her lips until her head rolled back against the cushion in abject surrender.
“Mitch…” She tried once more.
He stopped her from speaking by placing his finger against her moist lips. “We both know Chrissie manipulated this meeting.”
She frowned.
“She’s no sicker than you or I.”
Bethany blinked.
“Let’s humor her.”
Her eyes darkened. “Let’s,” she agreed, and wound her arms around his neck.
* * *
“Thank you so much for coming,” Bethany said to Ben. It had taken a lot to convince him to speak to her students.
Ben had resisted, claiming he wasn’t comfortable with children, never having had any himself. But in the end Bethany’s persistence had won out.
“You did a great job,” she told him.
Ben blushed slightly. “I did, didn’t I?” He walked around the room and patted the top of each desk as if remembering who had sat where.
“The children loved hearing about your job,” she told him. “And about your life in the navy.”
“They certainly had lots of questions.”
Bethany didn’t mention that she’d primed them beforehand. She hadn’t had to encourage them much; they were familiar with Ben and fascinated by him.
Bethany wasn’t especially proud of the somewhat devious method she’d used to learn what she could of Ben’s past. Still, inviting him to speak to her students was certainly legitimate; he wasn’t the only community member she’d asked to do so. Dotty had been in the week before, and Sawyer O’Halloran had agreed to come after Thanksgiving. She found herself studying Ben now, looking for hints of her own appearance, her own personality.
“Haven’t seen much of you lately,” he said, folding his arms. He half sat on one of the desks in the front row. “Used to be you’d stop in once a day, and we’d have a nice little chat.”
“I’ve been busy lately.” In the past week, she’d been seeing a lot of Mitch and Chrissie.
“I kinda miss our talks,” Ben muttered.
“Me, too,” Bethany admitted. It was becoming increasingly difficult, she discovered, to talk to Ben about personal things. Her fear was that she’d inadvertently reveal their relationship. The temptation to tell him grew stronger with each meeting, something she hadn’t considered when she’d decided to find him.
Ben stared at her a moment as if he wasn’t sure he should go on. “I thought I saw you with Mitch Harris the other day.” It was more question than statement.
She nodded. “He drove me to the library.” He’d said he didn’t want her walking. The piercing cold continued, but temperatures weren’t as low as they’d been earlier in the week. Bethany could easily have trekked the short distance; Mitch’s driving her was an excuse—one she’d readily accepted.
“Are you two seeing each other now?”
Bethany hesitated.
“I don’t mean to pry,” Ben said, studying her. “You can tell me it’s none of my damn business if you want, and I won’t take offense. It’s just that I get customers now and again who’re curious about you.”
“Like who?”
“Like Bill Landgrin.”
“Oh.” It embarrassed her no end that she’d had dinner with the pipeline worker. He’d phoned her several times since, and the conversations had been uncomfortable. Not because of anything Bill said or did, but because she’d gone out with him for all the wrong reasons.
