Page 56 of Second Chance Wedding
Cole reached up and clicked the mouse to go back to the sales screen and shot a quick text off to Ky in the convenience store to break up the teenage lovefest out front.
“Guess I don’t have any friends, then,” Ben muttered.
“Hey, come on. That can’t be true. Just because those guys showed their true colors doesn’t mean there aren’t good kids out there. Look at it as an opportunity to find someone like yourself who doesn’t want to be stabbed in the back.”
“Maybe.”
Ben wore his heart on his sleeve now, pain radiating off him in waves as he stood and moved to the shelves to straighten something that was already straight before he paced the tight confines of the small rental building.
“Tell you what,” Cole said. “We always have a company Christmas party at the big gaming place every year. It’s coming up, so why don’t you think about what I said and make a point to talk to a few different kids at school. When you find one or two you want to hang out with, invite them to come with you.”
“Really?” Ben’s expression shifted from surprise to suspicion. “Are you going to add the cost to what I owe?”
The question left Cole chuckling as he shook his head. “No, Ben. Every Blackwell employee is welcome to bring a date or their family, so I figure you can bring a few, people too.”
Ben crossed his arms over his chest and canted his head to one side. “Are you saying that because you want me to bring my mom?”
Cole lowered his feet to the floor and gave Ben credit for being astute. Too bad he didn’t have that ability in picking friends. “If you want to, sure. She could probably use a night off and some fun.”
Ben stared Cole down for a long moment before giving Cole another shrug.
“My ex-friends are probably gone now,” Ben said. “I guess I should get back to work.”
“Hey, Ben, whether you ask your mom to come or not is up to you. That wasn’t why I issued the invitation.”
Ben seemed to weigh the words and finally accept them at face value. “She’s usually busy working. She works even more now that the boutique is open.”
The teenager’s tone landed on the edge of bitter. “It’s hard work running a business. It’sa lotof work and responsibility knowing people count on you for paychecks, not to mention paying business expenses on top of personal ones.”
“I guess.”
“Money makes the world go round, Ben. Gotta have it to live, you know? Look, you decide about whether you want to include her. Either way, you can hang out and meet the rest of my family,” Cole said. “They all own a piece of the business, so you should know who they are since you work for them, too.”
Ben straightened and nodded. “I’ll come if she lets me. Thanks. And thanks for maybe letting me bring friends.”
“You’re welcome. Now get back to it. And, hey. If things get too tense at your grandparents or your mom changes her mind about dinner, you both have an invitation to my family’s Thanksgiving. Ky’s coming with his girl, so it’s not just us Blackwells,” he said, referring to the assistant manager of the convenience store. “Got it?”
Between the Taylors and his father not being around for Ben, Cole hoped the kid got the message that he had other people in his life who cared. Family didn’t always mean blood relatives.
“Yeah, I got it. Thanks, Cole.”
Cole stared at Ben’s shaggy head, seeing none of his mother’s coloring or looks in his features except for that brief flash of sincerity on the boy’s face instead of his typical snark.
Ben had royally screwed up in stealing the limo, but right now, he seemed to be a decent kid who searched for his place in the world and had learned tough lessons along the way.
Ana was right in that Ben needed help channeling hormones and raging emotions into something productive, but maybe after this talk they were finally on the right track. “Looks like we’ve got customers,” Cole said, seeing the occupants of a Subaru getting out and heading toward the door.
Cole watched as Ben pushed open the door and took a quick look outside, relief lowering his shoulders from his ears when he saw his loser friends were gone thanks to the text Cole had sent to Ky to run them off.
Ben stepped out but held the door for the customers before closing it behind them and heading on his way.
Cole forced himself to smile at the newcomers, but his thoughts raged.
Ana hadn’t even told Ben who his father was?
ChapterThirteen
Silence steeped the room in tension, and if not for the scrape of utensils against the elegant China, Ana might wonder if she’d gone deaf from the ringing in her ears.
