Page 75 of What it Takes
Laney had assumed when Ben said they were having a party for his parents, thattheymeant Ben and his brother, sister-in-law and nephews. She’d been wrong.
It didn’t measure up to the Fourth of July barbecue at the lodge, but there were still a lot more people than she’d expected in the Rivers’ front yard. A couple of large canopies had been erected for shade, and it looked like abring your own lawn chairmemo had gone out with the invitations. Ben had neglected to mention that.
“Laney!” May beckoned her over to where she was talking to a few other women.
At least Ben’s mother was a nice lady, she thought as she made her way to her. Laney had made the mistake of answering the phone fifteen minutes before she had to leave her camper, when her own mother called.
It hadn’t been a good conversation. One of her dad’s agents had quit abruptly and wasn’t that the perfect opportunity for Laney to give up on her silly little camping thing and join her father in business?
When that hadn’t worked, her mom had changed her tactic from a very strong suggestion to some blatant emotional manipulation. Her dad hadn’t been feeling well, according to her mother, and he needed to have a stress test.
Layne had finally told her she was losing cell service, which her mom believed because in her mind, her daughter was living in the wilderness. She’d promised to call her dad when she got a chance, though she had no intention of going to work for him. Then she’d cranked the stereo in her Camaro and done her best to shake off her mood on the drive over.
“I’m so glad you came,” May said, giving her a warm hug. “These are my good friends, Denise and Michelle. Ladies, this is Ben’s girlfriend, Laney.”
Laney felt her face freeze and hoped it had frozen in a reasonably friendly expression.Ben’s girlfriend.“It’s nice to meet you.”
They’d heard of her, of course. Everybody in Whitford knew she was working at the Northern Star, even if they hadn’t actually met her yet. She made small talk for a few minutes, until Alan interrupted to say hello. He hugged her, too, and then so did Chelsea. Jimmy kissed her cheek, and then told her Ben was in the house, finishing up a few things in the kitchen.
“I’ll go find him and see if he needs any help, then.”
It seemed as if it took her forever to get to the house, since she knew just enough people so she had to stop and chat a few times. But finally, she went in the side door and found him in the kitchen, dumping bags of cut vegetables onto a disposable platter.
“Hey, there you are,” he said, his face lighting up when he saw her. She remembered wondering what would happen if he looked at her like that on the day they met, but she couldn’t put her finger on when it had started happening—when Ben looked at her as though her walking into the room was the best thing to happen to him all day.
“Need some help?” She walked around the island to stand next to him. “Are you doing this all yourself?”
“Oh, Jimmy and I are smarter than that. The magic words arebring your favorite potluck dish. In a town like this, trying to outdo each other is practically a sport. You must not have seen the tables lined up along the garage wall, in the shade.”
“No, I didn’t. Do you have dip?”
“In the fridge, if you don’t mind grabbing them. I got two and we might as put them both out.”
She found the jars of ranch dip and popped the lids. He rummaged in a cupboard and found two plastic spoons.
“Thanks. That’s it, I guess.”
“Before we go outside,” she began, and she could tell by the way he moved closer that he thought she was going to kiss him. “Your mom’s introducing me to people as your girlfriend.”
“Okay.” He leaned his hip against the island and took her hand in his. “I haven’t used the word myself, but we’ve been dating all summer, Laney. It hasn’t been a secret.”
“I know.” And she did. “I’m not mad or anything. It was just a bit of a shock. It makes everything seem...defined. It’s a word that comes with expectations, you know?”
He gave her one of those smiles that didn’t reach his eyes. “You and I are the only ones who know what we’re doing, and even that’s a little fuzzy at times. To everybody else, it looks like you’re my girlfriend.”
“You’re right.”
“Ifeellike you’re my girlfriend, Laney. You must know that.”
“I know. I just feel...” She felt off-balance because her mother had called so close to May introducing her as his girlfriend, and she couldn’t help but feel like people were trying to put her in a box again.
“Hey.” He tipped her chin up. “Don’t let it bother you. It’s a party and there’s a bunch of people here. Things will be said, but just smile and know that you and I are okay. And there’s cake.”
She smiled, but she knew they weren’t okay. She knew he wanted a family of his own—that he wanted marriage and babies and a big backyard—and he had to be losing patience with her inability to commit to him. She wasn’t sure she could trust herself in a forever relationship and asking him to keep waiting wasn’t fair. But she couldn’t bring herself to walk away, either. “I like cake.”
“I know you do.” He kissed her, then. Quick and light, but it was enough for now. “Somebody’s coming or I’d do better.”
She was laughing when Tori walked in, carrying her baby. Chessie was a cute little blonde, about seven months old. She was named after some railroad thing, since Max was a huge rail fan, and her smile was one of the cutest things Laney had ever seen. “Is there a place I can change this little stinker? And I mean that literally, so maybe not on any surface that requires professional cleaning.”
