by Olivia Miles
“There’s nothing to tell, really,” he finally said. “I like her. She’s a sweet girl. A good person. But it’s not fair to Violet for me to get involved with anyone right now.”
Emma’s eyebrow shot up. “But it’s fair to Violet to see her father alone, and clearly unhappy being so? Admit it, Ben, you like being in a relationship. There’s nothing wrong with that.”
Ben’s back teeth grazed together. “Violet needs my full attention now. She’s been through a lot. She doesn’t need to go through any more disappointment.”
“And who said there would be another disappointment?” Emma countered.
“Is this how you speak to all your clients?” Ben replied.
“They’re patients, not clients. And it’s working, isn’t it?” Emma winked.
“No,” Ben shot back, but he knew that wasn’t the truth. Emma had a point. It might be different with Mary. But might was a very big word.
“I’m not willing to take that kind of gamble,” Ben said.
“So you’re willing to spend the rest of your life alone?”
“I didn’t say that,” Ben shot back.
“But that’s the choice you have,” Emma said, her expression remaining strangely neutral.
She’s good, Ben thought, with only a twinge of annoyance. “I don’t have a choice,” he said firmly.
“Ah, but you do. You always have a choice.” Emma made a grand gesture of shrugging, indicating that it was his life, that he was a lost cause, that she’d given up on him. Just like a part of him had given up on himself. She pushed herself up from the couch and slowly made her way to the back hallway.
Ben tented his fingers, told himself to forget what she’d said, that she was stirring him up, that she was just being overly concerned like always. Only this time she’d hit a nerve.
“And what happens if it doesn’t work out?”
She stopped with her hand on the wall and gave him a small smile. “And what happens if it does? You deserve happiness, Ben. Just like Violet.”
Ben sat in the chair and listened to his sister and daughter play tea party in the purple bedroom he’d set up for Violet all those years ago. He smiled at their laughter, chuckled at the way Violet directed Emma through the ritual, even reprimanding her at one point for reaching for the fake sugar bowl instead of waiting to be served. And he thought of the one other person who had sat down in this very apartment, donned a tiara, and filled his daughter’s world with imagination and hope.
And he thought of how different this past week had been when the sweet possibility of her stopping by no longer existed.
He swallowed hard, pushed himself out of his chair, and cursed to himself when he considered the triumphant look in his sister’s eyes.
It was worth it. Some things were.
“I’m running out,” he said, pausing in the doorway to Violet’s room. “Mind babysitting for a bit?”
“Tell Mary I said hello,” said Emma, before reaching for her plastic teacup.
***
Mary stood behind the counter of Sunshine Creamery and stared into the empty storefront. The rain was coming down harder now, pelting the windows, and darkening the sky. Shadows danced on the walls, but other than that, the ice cream parlor hadn’t seen any activity all day.
Admit it, she told herself. You won’t see a customer in here all day. You’re wasting your time. You could be home with a good book.
She glanced at Gramps’s photo on the wall, her stomach knotting. She’d made a promise to him, a promise to keep this place going, and she’d given it her all. Her sister was right; she couldn’t have done more if she’d tried. Maybe it was time to say good-bye to the old place, to let it go, to keep it only in memory, or maybe together with Lila and Sam, they would think of one last brilliant way to save it.
The ice cream truck idea had come to her that wonderful afternoon when Ben and Violet had stopped by. Was it worth pursuing though? Lila thought so. They’d talk with Sam, come up with a plan, and crunch some numbers.
She should have gone to her sister earlier. There was no use struggling on your own when people who cared about you and were willing to be on your team were there, if you were willing to let them in.
Mary sighed and brought a ruffle-edged bowl from the stack she kept on the counter. She considered her options, and decided that today was a Triple Truffle kind of moment. Nothing like chocolate ice cream with chunks of fudgy brownies and chocolate chunks to lift a mood. Or, maybe, soothe a broken heart.
She gave herself an extra large scoop and came around the counter to sit on a stool, turning her back to the windows. She wanted to face the shop, to listen to the old jukebox, to imagine that her grandfather was just in the backroom, that she could enjoy this shop without the worries she now associated with it.
The ice cream tasted just the way it had when Gramps made it. She’d treasured those recipes. She still did. At least they would carry on, even if this building didn’t.
She was just finishing scraping the last bit of ice cream from her bowl when the bell above the door jingled.
She jumped, then reddened, feeling sly and underhanded, eating on the job, and guiltily turned to face the customer, for once hoping it was just her sister, and not someone who contributed to the till.
But it wasn’t a customer. And it wasn’t her sister, either.
It was Ben. Ben, with soaking wet hair and hesitant grin, looking more adorable than ever. For a moment she forgot that she was holding the ice cream cup and spoon, that her lips felt sticky with chocolate, and that he had broken things off with her last weekend. Her heart began to flutter and all at once the room felt brighter, despite the gloomy weather.
But just as quickly she remembered. She tensed and set the spoon on the counter next to the bowl. “What are you doing here?”
He frowned at her sharp tone, but she didn’t apologize. He’d hurt her. Whatever his motives, however well his intentions, he’d let her down.
“Are you free?” He shoved his hands in his pockets, not breaking her stare.
Mary’s self felt hollow. “Free as a bird.” There was no sense in pointing out the obvious. They were completely alone. For the first time ever, she was happy for the lack of business.
“Violet misses you,” Ben said.
Disappointment landed square in her chest. “Well, I miss her, too,” Mary said. “I’d be happy to still see her. She can stop by whenever she wants. But that’s your decision.”
Ben nodded. “She’d like that.”
Mary chewed her lip, wondering if that was all he had to say, if he was just strolling by, and thought he’d ask. Her gaze drifted to the droplets of rain that had gathered on the shoulders of his wool coat. He didn’t have an umbrella, and he was slightly out of breath. No one was out for a stroll today, and he hadn’t bothered with a cab, it would seem. He’d run here. All this way. To see her.
She started to speak, to ask why he had come, if Violet was the only reason, but he started to speak at the same time, and they both stopped. Ben laughed nervously, and he held out his hand. “Ladies first.”
This time she demurred. She needed to hear what he had to say. She had nothing left to say. Ben had made his decision. Or had he?
“Violet misses you,” Ben repeated. His gaze tore through hers, as if he was contemplating his next sentence. “I miss you, too.”
“Ben.” Mary blinked, trying to process what he was saying, what it meant. If it changed anything.
He stepped forward, holding a hand up, and her heart began to hammer as he closed the distance between them, until she could smell the rain on his skin, feel the heat of his body, conjuring up all those memories of their night together that she’d tried so hard to push from her mind.
“Being with you . . . It scared me. I didn’t know I could care about another woman again, I didn’t realize I could imagine a future.” He shook his head. “I pushed you away. It seemed easier than taking the chance on the unknown.”
&nb
sp; “But nothing’s changed,” Mary said. “The future is still unknown. Nothing is certain.”
“Some things are. My love for my daughter . . . that’s one. I want her to be happy. But I want to be happy, too. And these past few weeks since we’ve gotten to know each other have been some of the happiest days I’ve had in a long time.”
Mary gave a small smile. “Same here.”
“So what do you say?” Ben asked, his gaze turning hopeful. “Are you willing to give it another chance?”
Mary looked away as her mind began to whirr. It would be so easy to give in, to say yes, to fall back into that glorious place she’d found with him, but something had shifted, something had changed. That hope she’d felt, that joy, had been replaced with reality, and all its brutal possibilities.
She stole a glance at him, her heart softening a bit. Life was full of sweet possibilities, too.
She swallowed hard, trying to think with her head, not her heart, to remember how it felt to love someone and to be left. To have that happiness ripped out from under you.
“I don’t know, Ben.” She shook her head, hating her words as much as she knew they were true. “I don’t know if we can get back to that place. I dared to believe, you see, that this might be something special—”
“It was special,” he said firmly. “It is special.”
She sighed as she looked up at him. “I guess I don’t know how I can stop myself from wondering if you’ll do it again. Wake up one morning and have a change of heart.”
He reached out and took her hand before she had a chance to snatch it back. He held it tightly, and oh, it felt so good. So right.
“I didn’t have a change of heart,” he said, his eyes pleading with hers. “I worried . . . that you might. Someday.”
Mary shook her head, giving a bitter smile. “And here I thought this place was an issue. That you saw me as someone who could never give you the time you and Violet needed. Someone that had to work weekends and evenings.”
He looked at her quizzically. “It’s because of this place that my daughter smiled again. Don’t ever think I wouldn’t support your dreams.”
Ben reached forward and wiped her lip with the pad of his thumb. He turned it over, smiling at the smear of chocolate.
Mary’s lip still tingled from the sensation. She drew a sharp breath, sobering herself. She needed to be certain this time. She needed to be sure. If there was such a thing.
“This thing we have. You. Me. Anyone, really. It’s a risk.”
“I’m willing to take that risk if you are,” he said, dropping her hand to slide his arms around her waist.
She smiled up into his eyes, listing to the rain pelt the windows. From somewhere in the distance the old jukebox was playing her favorite tune, again, as if her grandfather had arranged it that way, somehow.
Sunshine Creamery was empty, but standing here, in Ben’s strong arms, her life had never felt fuller.
Some risks were worth taking.
Epilogue
Mary and Violet were sitting on an old patchwork quilt in one of Mary’s favorite shady corners in Lincoln Park, enjoying a “spot of tea” with mismatched plastic cups and saucers when Ben strolled up the path toward them, a long, cardboard tube tucked under his arm and a secretive smile teasing the corners of his mouth.
“Are those the plans?” Mary asked excitedly as she shifted to her knees.
Ben just gave a shrug as he dropped onto the grass beside them, nearly spilling the pitcher of fruit punch that Violet had helped make earlier. Mary tried to reach for the tube, but Ben masterfully maneuvered it out of reach.
Mary elbowed him. “Come on, let me see.”
He leaned in, stealing a kiss instead, and despite her anticipation, Mary relaxed into the moment, savoring the sweet taste of his mouth.
“Ew!” Violet squealed, and then interrupted into a fit of giggles. “Kissing! Kissing!” She bent forward at the waist, laughing as if this were the funniest thing she’d ever seen. This was always her reaction when she caught them in the act, despite it being a more frequent occurrence, as Mary was pleased to note.
Pulling back, Mary and Ben watched her for a moment and then glanced at each other, falling into laughter themselves. “Come on, let me see,” Mary said, nudging him again.
“Not until I hear your news,” Ben said firmly. To drive home his point, his made a grand show of tucking the plans behind his back, far out of Mary’s reach.
Mary sighed. She’d been holding in the announcement all day and now she felt as if she could burst. “Sam and Lila loved the idea. They said they couldn’t have come up with something better themselves, actually. They think it’s not just great for business, but also for marketing. A win-win, so to speak.”
“Does that mean you’re going to be driving an ice cream truck?” Violet asked excitedly.
“Only in the winter,” Mary clarified. “But during the rest of the year I’ll hire someone to do it for me.”
Hire someone. She could barely even wrap her head around it. A mere month ago she was concerned she wouldn’t make it another year, and now she was actually feeling secure enough to bring on a college kid to help drive her food truck. Sam had helped her crunch the numbers, and with the extra sales she should pull in from the food truck, not to mention the uptick in sales it should bring to Sunshine Creamery’s main store, growth was now a realistic possibility.
“It’s a brilliant idea,” Ben said.
Mary took his hand across the picnic blanket. “And it was all yours.”
“No, it was both of us,” he said firmly. “But good things happen when you let people in.”
Mary felt her eyes prickle with happy tears. She looked up at the sky, where not a cloud was in sight. It was a beautiful day, full of sunshine, laughter, warmth from the inside out. It was not a day for tears. Even the happy ones.
“Now it’s your turn,” she said.
Ben’s eyes danced as he rubbed his hands together, dragging out the moment, and finally reached for the paper tube. He took his time rolling off the rubber bands and unveiling the detailed rendering of the three-story house with tall arched windows and a walk-out deck.
“Which one is my room?” Violet asked eagerly, crawling around on the blanket until she was wedged between them.
Ben pointed to a room at the back of the house, with a big bay window. “That one. You’ll have a view of the yard, though I have to set your expectations a bit lower and say it’s more like a patch of grass, being a city lot and all.”
“And which one is yours?” Violet asked.
Ben exchanged a knowing smile with Mary and tapped his finger on the biggest room in the house, with large windows on two walls. “Mary thought this one was best for me. So I’d always have sunshine.”
“What about Mary?” Violet asked, looking up at her. “Are you going to live in our house, too?”
Mary blushed and looked away, stumbling over her words as she tried to think of a tactful excuse. “Oh, honey, this is your house—”
Ben’s hand was on hers, warm and firm, sure and steady. She felt her breath catch and she looked up into his deep, cloudy blue eyes and felt her heart warm on his smile.
“What do you think about that?” he asked, as casually as if he were suggesting a pizza for dinner, which he would, she was sure, before the day was through.
Mary blinked as she processed what he was asking, knowing that it would lead to something she’d thought she once lost and now had somehow found again. A family. With Ben and his sweet little girl.
“I think these past few months have shown me that anything is possible.” She smiled up into his face as she flung her arms around his neck and gathered Violet in for a squeeze too. “Yes,” she cried. “A thousand times, yes.”
Also by Olivia Miles
Grand Central Publishing/Forever
Mistletoe on Main Street
A Match Made on Main Street
Hope Springs on Main Street
Harlequin Special Edition
‘Twas the Week Before Christmas
Recipe for Romance
Sweeter in the City Series
Sweeter in the Summer
Sweeter Than Sunshine
Coming Soon
NO SWEETER LOVE
Can friendship lead to forever?
Claire Wells just helped the only man she’s ever loved choose an engagement ring…for another woman. With her heart in pieces and her professional life in shambles, she turns to the one man she can always count on: her best friend. Ethan is more than just a shoulder to cry on—he’s sweet, and funny, and okay, easy on the eye. In many ways, he’s the perfect guy…aside from the fact that she’s looking for forever and he’s just looking for fun.
Ethan Parker is all too aware of his reputation as a ladies man. Inviting Claire to pose as his date for his cousin’s wedding seems like the perfect solution for them both—she needs a break from the city and he needs to show his family that he’s fully capable of committing to one woman. The trouble is, the more he pretends that Claire is his girlfriend, the more impossible it becomes to view her as just a friend…
About the Author
Olivia Miles is a bestselling author of contemporary romance published by Harlequin and Grand Central Publishing’s Forever imprint. A city girl with a fondness for small town charm, Olivia enjoys highlighting both ways of life in her stories. She currently resides just outside Chicago with her husband, daughter, and two ridiculously pampered pups. Olivia loves connecting with readers. Visit her website at www.oliviamilesbooks.com.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is purely coincidental.
