by Susan Hatler
“That guy you were dating,” he said, and then he raked a hand through his hair. “I was setting up my rocket display when he came in and confronted me. He thought you and I were spending too much time together working on our projects and that something was going on between us.”
“What?” I said, completely and totally shocked. “There hadn’t been anything going on between us.” I mean, duh. I wouldn’t have been dating the other guy if Ben had been interested.
“He didn’t believe me when I told him that. He said if I didn’t have feelings for you then I wouldn’t stop him if he ruined your project. Then he proceeded to take out a bottle and pour liquid into your volcano. It turned everything green.”
Yep, ugly sour apple-colored green. I scratched my temple. “If he’s the one who ruined my project, then why didn’t you tell me when I accused you?”
A pained expression crossed his features. “Because I didn’t stop him, Sarah. I deserved to take the rap for that reason alone.”
My nerves felt frazzled as everything he was telling me sank in. Then something hit me, and my stomach clenched. “But I ruined your rocket. I punctured it with my key.”
He glanced down a moment. “I deserved it for not stopping him.”
“No, you didn’t . . .” I let out a long breath as everything I knew turned upside down. Ben hadn’t ruined my science project. He’d actually felt bad for not stopping the jerk who had ruined it. And he’d called me dimples because he thought I was beautiful. I was stunned speechless.
He reached for my hand. “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you at the time. Maybe I should have.”
“No, I’m the one who’s sorry. I destroyed your project and accused you of destroying mine.”
“You had good reason to think I’d done something wrong,” he said, quietly, as he traced my palm with his finger. “When I kissed you outside Effie May’s house, it was supposed to be all for show to get us into the house. But it didn’t feel fake to me.”
As he laced his fingers through mine, I lifted my lashes. “That kiss hadn’t felt fake to me, either. It had felt so incredibly real.”
His gaze dropped to my mouth. “I want to kiss you right now.”
My heart rate picked up speed. I turned my face up to his and his lips came down on mine. Chills vibrated through me. But I hesitated, my lips frozen against his. I knew he didn’t want a pretend kiss this time. If I kissed him back then I’d be kissing him for real.
And with that last thought, I pressed my lips to his and kissed him over and over until his hands cupped my cheeks. His tongue parted my lips and he tasted me, making me dizzy and limp. I snaked my arms around his neck, pulling him closer to me until he pulled back.
“I don’t think that was a pretend kiss,” he whispered, his breath warm against my cheek as he kissed me again.
I made a little mewing sound. “There’s no reason for us to pretending right now. Nobody was watching, except maybe Moose.”
Ben chuckled against my lips and then kissed me again, warm and sweet. He tasted me over and over, seeming to drink me in until I was lost. Feeling like I was floating, I settled in closer until I was sitting sideways in his lap.
His arms came around me and he held me close. “I’ve wanted to kiss you since high school,” he whispered, kissing my cheek, my jawline, and then a sensitive spot behind my ear.
“Why didn’t you?” I asked, loving the feel of his lips against my skin.
“I didn’t know if you would let me . . .”
I settled my palms on both of his cheeks, waiting until he opened his eyes and those almond-brown eyes peered into mine. “I definitely would’ve let you.”
He groaned. “I was a stupid, stupid kid.”
I giggled, wrapping my arms around him, loving the feel of being so close to Ben. He kissed me softly and the world narrowed down to just our breath and our lips and my heart beating loud and fast in my ears.
Then Moose gave himself a mighty shake, spraying water over us. Ben and I pulled back, staring at each other. Both of us started laughing. Moose pawed at my leg and cocked his head to the side, looking up at us as if he didn’t get what was so hilarious. I wanted to tell him that nothing was funny. Everything was just perfect.
Chapter Nine
At seven o’clock the next morning, we managed to find a space in the parking lot outside of a cute and quaint restaurant. The red brick building was set in Midtown’s busiest section. Flowers and shrubs were planted around the perimeter and a bright red-and-white striped awning over the door had gold gilt letters spelling out the name Wisteria and Holly.
The scent of bacon hung in the air as we entered. Moose wriggled and squirmed from inside my purse.
“Is he going to be okay in there?” Ben asked.
“There’s a mesh panel on each end, so he’ll have plenty of air. Plus, he has his chew toy and a full belly. I think he’s fine. We’re the ones who still need breakfast.”
We managed to get a table right away. Moose was being very quiet and the server didn’t seem to notice that my purse was misshapen and lumpy. I stashed Moose and my purse right at my feet under the table and I reached for a menu.
Stone-fired grits with roasted red peppers and shallots caught my eye, as did the delicious-sounding goat-cheese and wild mushroom omelet. My stomach growled. Thanks to the South, banana and coffee would never be a good enough breakfast ever again.
“Morning y’all,” the server said. She was a young woman with blonde hair pulled back into a ponytail, and she poised a pen over a pad. “What can I get for you today?”
“Coffee,” Ben and I said in unison.
We laughed and then Ben’s brow rose. “Do you know what you want?”
I nodded. “I’d like the grits and goat cheese omelet.”
Ben smiled. “That sounds good for me, too. Could I get that with a side of bacon?”
“Sure.” The server took our menus, vanished for a second and reappeared with a coffee pot. She filled our two mugs before dashing off again.
With our order in, I sat back and surveyed him. I thought about our kisses last night, which had continued until my lips were swollen. He’d been so sweet, walking me to my bedroom door and then saying goodnight before heading off to bed. I really wanted to know if he was still thinking about those kisses, too.
Instead of asking, I said, “I wonder what Gina’s going to have us do for the third task.”
Ben stirred cream into his coffee. “No idea. We’ve done the love and respect part, the trust and teamwork part, so now we have to prove commitment.”
Could Ben and I ever have commitment when he didn’t believe in marriage? My fingers toyed with the crisp edge of the tablecloth. Good question. If only I had the guts to ask.
We made small talk companionably until our food arrived.
Suddenly, a woman seated nearby said, “Oh, goodness. Not now.”
I looked over to see her struggling with her handbag. I figured she must have a stuck zipper or something. I reached for a spoon and took a bite of my grits. They were creamy, well-seasoned, and delicious. I could get very used to eating these.
My cell phone rang. “It could be Gina,” I said, since I normally wouldn’t answer my phone in a restaurant. After Ben nodded, I answered, “Hello?”
“I believe you have my dog,” a woman said.
I swallowed hard, feeling the weight of Moose in my purse, as a warm lump against my legs. I held my hand over the phone and whispered, “It’s a woman who thinks Moose might be her dog.”
Ben nodded. “We need verification.”
I drew in a breath. “What color collar was your dog wearing?”
“Purple,” she said.
“Actually, he wasn’t wearing a collar,” I said, feeling suspicious. “May I ask why you didn’t put up flyers?”
“I did, but Atlanta’s a big place. I guess he got a good distance from my house.”
My heart sank. That could be true, I supposed.
“Wh
at’s his name?” I asked.
“Spot,” she said, cheerfully.
I peeked under the table. “Hey, Spot.” Moose’s little head popped out of the purse, that big doggy grin on his face. Spot? Why had he answered to the name when he didn’t have a spot on him at all?
“How did you lose him?” I asked.
“I was taking him to the park to play. When we got there he jumped right out of the car and chased after this little girl’s dog. I did my best to catch him, but it was too late. He’s really fast. Your ad says that there’s a reward?”
I blinked. “Yes, there’s a reward for clues to finding the dog’s home. But I’ve never heard of an owner wanting a reward.” I covered the phone with one hand again. “Does that seem odd to you?”
Ben’s forehead creased. “It seems like getting her dog back would be reward enough. We should meet her in person to see how Moose reacts to her.”
I sighed. I’d been rescuing dogs for a long time and there was nothing better than getting a dog back to its rightful home. But this did not feel right. I was suddenly seized with the urge to haul Moose out of Atlanta as fast as I could and keep him forever.
“We’re flying out of state today, but we’re not sure what time. I’ll call you back to give you a time and a meeting place. Sound good?”
The woman agreed and we hung up. My appetite had faded despite the delicious fragrance of goat cheese, mushroom, and garlic, floating up from my plate of eggs. At the next table over, the woman with the bag made a loud hushing sound that caught my attention. I looked over at her. She continued eating her breakfast but she wore a frown. Weird.
“What if Moose really is her dog?” I asked.
He added a dash of salt to his eggs. “Then we have to give him back.”
“She sounded odd,” I said, scooping up a forkful of the omelet, which was fluffy and light and held a hint of heated spices. “I just want to make sure she is his real owner and that she’ll be good to him.”
Ben reached across the table and held my hand. “We’ll screen her and make sure she’s good, or we won’t hand him over.”
“Okay,” I agreed, but in an odd way it felt like my family was breaking up. Not that Ben, Moose, and I were a family. But I’d become attached to them both and soon enough it would all be over. I watched as Ben traced a circle across the back of my hand. My heart sank. “I hope it will all be fine,” I said, a lump forming in my throat.
All of a sudden, the woman with the bag let out a startled cry and then a large black cat jumped out of her bag and launched itself across the floor of the restaurant.
Adrenaline pumped through me as my own bag wriggled. I grabbed for my bag, but it was too late. Moose broke free and took off running after the cat, which shot a few hisses Moose’s way and then proceeded to speed up a chair and onto a table. An outraged patron—whose breakfast was now invaded by kitty feet—let out a wild shout. That shout only spurred the cat on and Moose chased after him.
I sat there, too stunned to move.
“Moose!” Ben shouted and then chased after him.
Moose chased after the cat. The cat’s owner dashed after all of them, shrieking something about Mr. Fluffykins having bad manners. I got out of the seat as Moose made a fast lap coming toward me as he chased Mr. Fluffykins, who’d decided to use the tables as his preferred means of avoiding capture. As Moose flew by, I reached out and caught him.
He squirmed and barked happily in my arms, his tongue lolling out of his mouth.
The cat’s owner cried out, “Mr. Fluffykins! How could you?”
The cat climbed up the back of a stunned patron and perched himself on the man’s shoulder, licking a paw like he was totally unconcerned about the whole ruckus he’d just caused. The owner snatched Mr. Fluffykins off the patron’s shoulder and cuddled him.
The manager steamed up to us. “Did you not see the signs out front? We don’t let pets in here anymore. We haven’t since last week.”
“Um, no.” I hadn’t seen the sign, but I also hadn’t known they had ever let pets in. I just didn’t want poor Moose to be stuck home alone all morning.
“What sign? I didn’t see any sign,” Mr. Fluffykins’s owner said.
Ben gestured to the owner. “We’re really sorry. Either the signs aren’t out there or they’re not in a spot where they’re very visible.”
“I bet that lawn guy moved them again.” He groaned, slapping his hands together. “Okay, I have to clear this up.”
While Ben paid our bill, Mr. Fluffykins sat nestled in his owner’s arms, giving Moose a triumphant look as he was taken out the door ahead of us. I gave the area outside a cursory look. The sign was there, and quite visible. Oops.
Ben draped his arm around my shoulder. “You’re becoming quite the criminal this weekend.”
“I’m just looking out for Moose.” My spirits dropped even lower as I set Moose down and let him sniff the bushes. “What if we’re sending Moose back to a bad home?”
He pulled me into a hug, pressing his mouth against the side of my head. “I meant what I said about not letting him go back if it’s a bad home. Okay? We won’t let the woman have him if things don’t seem right.”
“Okay,” I said, feeling somewhat mollified. But his words brought me back to the question that had been going around my brain ever since Ben had kissed me last night. How could Ben and I be right for each other when he didn’t even believe love could last?
****
At eight o’clock, we arrived at the Botanical Garden, which was tucked into a neat little pocket of Atlanta’s busiest section. The building, a rounded and stunning expanse of dun-colored concrete and what looked like thousands of windows, stood proudly over spreading gardens I could smell, if not yet see.
Gina Larson, a tall and imposing woman with a head full of perfectly-groomed silver hair and a wide smile, stood at the entrance of the Botanical Garden, right where she’d agreed to meet us. We approached her and she cried out, “Jill!”
I flinched, still uncomfortable pretending to be someone else. But I managed my brightest smile. “Hi, Gina.”
Gina gave me a quick hug and stepped back. “You look so different. I can’t tell you how happy I am that your grandma invited me to be part of your engagement.” She turned her attention to Ben. “You must be Ryan.”
Ben smiled. “I’ve been called that a time or two.”
My phone beeped. Thinking it might be Moose’s alleged owner, I pulled it from my purse. “I’m sorry. I have to check this.”
Gina nodded and turned to Ben. “Well, Ryan, I am glad to see that the two of you have made it this far in the process and I sure hope you make it the rest of the way, too. Jill’s grandma would have wanted to be here to see her grandbaby marry the man of her dreams.”
“I’m sure she’ll be there in spirit,” he said, which I thought was very sweet.
I checked the text, which turned out to be from Avery: Red alert! Jill broke down and cried this morning. She’s worried you guys won’t make it back in time and she’s talking about canceling the wedding.
My shoulder muscles tightened. Time was ticking way too fast. We had to get that clue, get the charm, and get back to Sacramento before the wedding tonight. Poor Jill. Nobody should be this stressed out right before they got married.
I sent Avery a quick text: Try to keep her calm and tell her I’m on it. We’re only one task away. I will get this wedding charm to her in time no matter what it takes!
I slipped my phone back into my purse. “It’s so nice to see you, Gina, but we really have to get this task done. Our plane is set to leave soon and we’d be heartbroken if we didn’t get the wedding charm in time.”
“Uh, Jill?” Ben gestured to a white sign outside the gardens, which showed a picture of a dog with a red circle around it and a giant “x” over the dog. “Dogs aren’t allowed in the gardens.”
I clutched Moose tightly. “We can’t leave him in the car when it’s this hot outside and we don’t hav
e time to take him back to Jill’s . . . er, my grandma’s house. Plus, you know how stressed he gets when he’s not with us. I can’t abandon him when he’s already had a hard weekend,” I said, realizing I was starting to panic a little. Okay, a lot.
Gina put a hand on my arm. “Don’t worry, dear. You aren’t going into the gardens. I just had you meet me at the entrance because I volunteer here today.”
“We’re not going into the gardens? Where are we going then?” I asked.
Gina dipped a hand into the pocket of her slacks and drew out an envelope. “This will explain everything. I’m sure you’ll have no problem locating the charm. That is, if you really are committed to being married forever.”
“Oh, we are,” Ben said, his tone resolute.
“We definitely are.” I glanced at Ben, my stomach doing a little flip, wishing our words were true. I’d been in love with this guy my whole life. If only he believed in marriage. . . I took the envelope from Gina. “Thank you for your help.”
“You are most welcome.” Gina’s eyes held a light dancing in them that gave me a minute’s pause. Then she smiled. Her hand came down between Moose’s ears and she gave him a scratch. “Don’t worry, you’re headed to a dog-friendly place so your buddy here will have a good time,” she said, then headed into the entrance.
After waving good-bye, I handed Moose to Ben, ripped open the envelope, and pulled out a single sheet of paper, which read:
Dear Jill,
If you’ve come this far to retrieve the wedding charm, then you must have love and respect in your relationship, and trust and teamwork. But commitment means staying true to each other even when marriage seems impossible. And, believe, it does at times.
For this final task, you must go to the Don Carter State Park on Lake Lanier. You’ll have to row across the lake and find the old oak tree with the hanging moss and the twist in the trunk that looks like a lady’s face. I’m afraid you may find this last task quite difficult, but if you’re committed to marriage then you’ll succeed.
