Friendzoned (The Busy Bean)

by Rachel Blaufeld

  “Do you know Scott?” I couldn’t help but ask on our way toward the cupcakes.

  “Scott Stevens? Of course,” she said with a twinkle in her eye. “We went to school together.”

  “Oh?” Yep, there was something more there. “I was at his farm with Ben and Branson, and he seemed to have fond memories of you.”

  “Not now,” she said before grabbing a cupcake.

  I made a mental note to explore the matter later and went about leading the book club, eating cupcakes, and admiring everyone’s nail polish while smelling phantom Americanos and Ben’s woodsy scent.

  I decided after a good night’s sleep, I would do what Brenna (and I) wanted and make amends.

  33

  Ben

  Saturday morning, I moped around my house, hoping my dad would call with a chore he needed help with, or maybe Branson would text me, wanting to hang. I could take him to see the new house, and he could pick out a room to use when he was there.

  Or I could make some notes of work I needed to have done on the new house. It would take less time than I’d originally thought, but I didn’t dwell on that either.

  Frustrated, I glared at my phone, lying there all quiet on the counter.

  Idle time wasn’t my friend. Rather than pace or head into the hospital to check on patients who didn’t need checking on, I opened my laptop and reviewed an app contract. It was perhaps my biggest one yet, and I had no one to share the good news with, no one to toast with, not a fucking soul to even congratulate me.

  Rather than wallow in self-pity, I went over some of the details in the contract. I was lost in the provision where it explained my medical license was accepted through endorsement of the state of New York when there was a knock on my door.

  For a second, I thought I was imagining it, and then I heard it again. It was soft and timid, but someone was rapping on the wood.

  I opened the door to reveal a disheveled Murphy with windblown hair framing her tear-streaked face and ruddy cheeks. Mentally, I reprimanded myself for wanting to grab her and hold her. Her car was at the bottom of my driveway, and for a moment, I thought it was running. I guessed she was here to say good-bye. She must be heading off to somewhere with her parents, a place where she could be a well-known Landon.

  “Murphy.” I blew out her name with a sigh of relief. I was unbelievably happy to see her, yet still angry about what had happened with her parents, contradictory emotions that swirled into a cocktail of confusion.

  “Ben, I’m . . . I’m sorry . . . to just show up like this.” Her eyes glistening, she sniffed back tears. “But I didn’t know whether you would see me or not.”

  “Murph, I would always see you,” I said, knowing it was true. My heart lashed at my mind over how I’d ignored all her messages, giving her the impression I wouldn’t see her. “Come in.”

  She walked slowly over the threshold. “Ben,” she said, her voice hoarse and strained. “I’m sorry.”

  I noticed she was wearing those boots I loved, and couldn’t help the small jolt of lust running through my body.

  “It’s not your fault,” I said, leading her toward the family room that had no family to enjoy it. Speaking to her as we traversed the hall was the coward’s way. “Your family is your family, and I can’t change that.”

  “Ben, look at me,” she said, taking control of the conversation, and I did as she asked, turning and leaning my hip into the wall. “It was a shock seeing my parents like that. It took me totally by surprise. For all my life, they said jump, and I did exactly that. I didn’t know any better. When they walked through the door of the Bean, I couldn’t reconcile this life here with the life I’ve lived for the majority of my life.”

  She approached and hesitated before placing her palm on my chest. I wasn’t sure what she wanted to do, but I nodded. Her hand landed over my heart, her gaze still locked on mine.

  “I left New York because of the terrible way they treated me, and you were the one person who didn’t judge me about what happened. Your heart has always been larger than life. Even back at Pressman, you never judged me. I took all of that for granted years ago, and then again when we went to the inn.”

  Her gaze fell to the floor, and mine dropped to watch her chest rising and falling. She was trying to catch her breath.

  “You didn’t deserve what I did,” she said. “I can’t apologize for my parents’ actions, but I can apologize for mine.”

  Her hand slid down my chest before she turned and walked away, and I followed her every move. My head thought it was a good thing she was leaving, but my heart started to crack at the idea of her going, despite what I was about to do myself.

  But then she stopped in front of the sectional sofa and slid to the floor, her back to the front of the sofa, her legs stretched out in front of her.

  Dropping her head back, she blew out a long breath. “I can’t stand it anymore,” she said matter-of-factly.

  “Can I get you some water?” I asked.

  When she shook her head, I joined her on the floor, plopping my ass down next to her. Unable to resist this woman anymore, I wove my fingers through hers and squeezed her hand.

  “Murphy, here’s the thing,” I said, turning to look at her. Her eyes met mine for a second before her gaze dropped to the carpet. “Look at me,” I told her, and when her red-rimmed eyes locked onto mine, I said, “The thing is . . . I love you.”

  The weight that had been sitting on my chest was back in earnest. Pressure rang in my ears. Does she love me too?

  “I don’t deserve your love,” she said, squeezing my hand back. “Ben, what I did was awful. I should have stood up to my parents in the Bean, told them we had plans. Then I dragged you to the inn with them, when it should have been just us. They were terrible to you and me, and I let it go on. The thing is . . .”

  I thought she was going to say she loved me back, but she continued to ramble.

  “I like Vermont. It’s growing on me. The syrup, the honey, and all the trees. The weather. My boots,” she said, looking at her feet, and then her gorgeous green eyes met mine again. “And you.”

  The weight fell away from my chest, and my heart soared with hope.

  “I don’t belong in my parents’ world,” she said firmly. “I never want to go back there, and I told them so the next morning. I like serving coffee and helping Hunnie. I want to be here for Gigi’s wedding, and strangely, I think your sister and I could be friends. Apparently, these boots are made for staying.”

  Her words seeped into places I didn’t know existed. Tiny crevices where I held my feelings tight.

  “Murphy,” I said quickly. “There are some things I should tell you—”

  “No, let me finish. I need to apologize and make this right. You see, I went to see Hunnie and she told me this story, actually it was a lesson from her grandmother, about the sweet in your life and holding on to it. Ben, I want to hold on to you because you’re my sweet.”

  I needed to tell Murphy what I’d just signed, but my mouth had a mind of its own and found its way over to her lips. We kissed with all the pent-up emotions we’d been struggling with, and I had no idea how long we stayed like that.

  Minutes melted into each other as I made love to Murphy’s mouth. At first, we were tender and then we weren’t, punishing each other’s mouths with the tension of this past week.

  Finally, when we needed to breathe and I was certain her lips were bruised, I broke away, panting. Still on the floor, my ass full of pins and needles, I blurted, “I don’t know the right way to say this, but I’ve been hired to work on a full exercise and nutrition line, complete with an app and training program.”

  “Ben, that’s amazing,” she said, her palm cupping my cheek.

  “The thing is . . . it’s going to take me away from here. From my family, and now, I guess, from you.”

  “Where are you going?” Her eyes wide, she swallowed hard.

  Feeling like the worst kind of jerk, since she’d only confes
sed to liking Vermont moments before, I sighed. “New York.”

  “What?” Her question was quiet, but the pain in it was clear. “The one place I thought I’d never have to see again.”

  “Brooklyn, actually,” I said to clarify, and this got me a reaction I didn’t expect.

  Murphy tipped her head back and let out the loudest laugh I’d ever heard from her. “Brooklyn?”

  I nodded. “Yeah, I’ve already rented a place there. I’m going to mostly work on the app and nutrition stuff, but I’ll also see patients two or three days a week and operate one day a week. It’s a heavy schedule, but I’m young and up for it. Then I can decide which is the better match for my life, because I can’t keep up with both forever. But . . . I don’t get why you’re laughing.”

  Her reaction had totally confused me. I didn’t know if she thought the idea of a country bumpkin like me living in New York wasn’t plausible or what.

  Smiling at me as she pushed her hair behind her ear, she then ran her hand down my cheek again. “Because this is the cherry on top. My parents already find you below their standards, you know, being a doctor and all that, and the only thing worse to them than Brooklyn is Queens.”

  I swallowed hard and took a deep breath. “Are you saying you’d come with me? I’m sorry, that’s too much to hope for,” I said, more for myself than her. I’d take her with me in a heartbeat. “Would you at least visit me? I guess that’s a more appropriate suggestion, right? Is that what you meant?”

  Murphy shook her head, giving me a small smile. “Well, I meant I would visit, but if you’re offering for me to come, um, I wanted to tell you that I was just offered a social media job for a nail polish company. I negotiated the job to be remote, to help build my portfolio, and since it’s freelance, I can do it anywhere. I was going to do it from here. Which is why I was prepared to tell you I’d move here, permanently, but now you’re off to Brooklyn.”

  Unable to find the right words, I kissed her again, telling her what I wanted to say with my mouth and tongue, running my hand up and down her back as she leaned into me.

  “I don’t want you to visit, Murph,” I murmured against her lips.

  “You don’t?”

  “Selfishly, I want you with me all the time. You could do marketing there, make a name for yourself on your own. Remember your Brooklyn romance book and how you thought you’d never have your own love story? You can—I mean, you are. You’re having it, and it could be in Brooklyn.” My words came out so jumbled, I clarified. “You won’t have any expenses because you can live with me.”

  This made her pull away, and I cursed myself mentally. I’d come on too strong, suggesting too much, too soon.

  “This is coming at me quick,” Murphy said, “and there’s no denying I love you back, Ben. But . . .”

  The love of my life had finally said the words to me, and then they were followed with a but. Everyone knows nothing good comes after a but.

  “But we have to be equals.,” she said. “I can’t mooch off you. I’ve mooched off my parents all my life. My plan was to make it on my own, and I still plan to do that, but with you by my side. And you have to get over this hang-up with where I came from. I’m leaving all that in my past, like Hunnie told me to.” Then Murphy gasped. “Oh! Hunnie.”

  “Hunnie what?”

  Murphy’s brow scrunched, and I could practically see the wheels turning inside her head. “She’s going to miss me. And Gigi. They’ve become my friends, my first real friends. And her wedding.”

  “They’ll visit,” I told her. “And we’ll be back.”

  “Ugh, I never wanted to go to New York again, but I’m going,” she said. “And this time I’m going on my own terms. For you. Plus, I’ve never lived in Brooklyn.”

  Smart enough not to argue, I only nodded and smiled. I wanted to pinch myself at what was happening. If that made me a softie, I didn’t care. When it came to Murphy, all my caveman tendencies came out.

  Finally, I stood and scooped Murphy in my arms, then kissed her all the way to my bedroom, where I laid her down on the bed and stripped off her clothes. Within a minute, she was on the edge of the bed and I was on my knees, my mouth on her most intimate spot.

  “I want you,” she murmured, wanting for me to be inside her, but I had different plans.

  “You have me,” I said into her core, the vibrations of my words setting off tiny waves inside her that I could feel all the way to my spine. I rode each one and continued to tease and bring her to the brink before slowing down and revving back up.

  Only when she muttered, “Please, Ben, I can’t,” did I give in and let her climax. I wasn’t sure who liked it more, her or me.

  Needless to say, we spent the rest of Saturday in bed, only stopping to order some Asian takeout. On our way to pick it up, Branson called. He said his mom told him about Brooklyn, and he was happy for me. I promised him we would spend holidays at the ski house, which I’d planned to keep, but would sell my current house in Montpelier.

  “Brenna knew about Brooklyn?” Murphy asked over the Beethoven when I hung up.

  “Of course. I wouldn’t keep that from her. My parents, on the other hand, I just told them. I think they’re genuinely happy and want me out of their hair. To be honest, these negotiations have been going on for a long time. And then when you walked back into my life, I wasn’t sure if I wanted to follow through with the deal. Last week, when I took some time off, it was to consider it . . . because my licensure came through, and they presented a final offer I couldn’t refuse. It’s a collaboration between the university’s medical school, and the hospital, and a wealthy triathlete who had the idea but didn’t know how to execute it. That’s where I come in.”

  I glanced at Murphy and noticed that her eyes looked a little glazed over as I rambled on. “I know. This is boring.”

  Another throaty laugh came from her. “No, I was just thinking. Brenna came to see me and told me she needed you to back off and let her be a parent to Branson. She encouraged me to get you back because you needed to have your own life and let her live hers. She never mentioned New York, but she forced me right back into your arms.”

  “My sister might not have graduated from college, but no one ever said she wasn’t smart,” I said with a chuckle.

  “You can say that again,” Murphy said, stealing a glance at me. “I need to finish up with Hunnie, though. I can’t leave her stranded.”

  “You can still help her. Don’t worry—we’ll come back to visit. We’ll need a break from all the New York craziness. I don’t want you to give up anything you want.”

  “Are you ready for all of that?” she asked, and I reached over to squeeze her knee.

  “With you, I’m ready for anything, Murph.”

  “And Zara, I guess she knew the Bean was never a permanent thing for me, but I’m going to miss her. Roddy will have a bunch of shifts to cover until they find someone.”

  “Speaking of, we’re going to have to get a real espresso machine for our place so you can make me an Americano occasionally.”

  “And I’ll have to get a tip jar,” she said with a giggle.

  When we got to the restaurant, I ran inside and picked up the food. By the time I got back into the car, Murphy was playing Ed Sheeran.

  “My turn to pick the music,” she said, and I just grinned.

  As I turned back onto the road, Andrea Bocelli joined in with Sheeran, and I couldn’t help but give her a huge smile. “You found a mix combining something for both of us.”

  “That’s life, Ben,” she said while tickling my arm. “You’re from one place and I’m from another, and together we make a new mash-up.”

  I nodded. “Speaking of where I’m from and Brenna, I do want to talk to her about taking on an ownership role at our parents’ farm. They’re getting old, and she knows the sap business better than anyone. I don’t plan to inherit the farm, but it should be there for Branson if he ever wants it. And with Hunnie running all these joint venture
s, it’s a good way for Brenna to get reconnected and be a part of something new and exciting. Branson can help her and stay out of trouble.” I glanced over at Murphy. “Maybe you’ll back me up now that you two are so close?”

  “Oh yeah,” Murphy said, grinning. “With her little manipulation, we’re real close.” Then she added, “By the way, did you know there’s something going on with her and Scott?”

  “Stevens?” I asked.

  “The one and only. So, yeah, I’m going to insert myself in this whole maple-syrup business discussion, but with a side of Scott talk.”

  “Oh boy.”

  We laughed all the way home about the scare tactics Murphy planned to use on Brenna.

  When we got back, we set the food on the kitchen counter and made it as far as the hallway before letting the food get cold.

  34

  EPILOGUE

  Murphy

  “Close your eyes,” Ben called out as he opened the door, and I smiled. He was always up to something.

  “Don’t let all the leaves in,” I shouted back. It was early October, and I swore every day, a few hundred new leaves collected in our tiny foyer, blowing in from the yard.

  “A few won’t hurt,” Ben called back, and I chuckled. He was always teasing it was Vermont’s revenge on Brooklyn . . . the endless foliage with nowhere to go but inside.

  I was sitting at the dining table, finding it hard to concentrate on my latest social media client. A family-run chain of counter-service hummus-based restaurants had hired me after checking out my portfolio of work for Hunnie and Gigi. They liked how I’d infused a family-type feeling to all of the posts I’d done for Hunnie and Gigi, a feeling they felt was essential to community building.

  Instead of making notes on my future client, I was staring at my wedding band, so I did what Ben had asked and closed my eyes.

  A year ago, Ben and I got married at city hall, just the two of us, and then had dinner in an all-night diner. For old times’ sake, we had breakfast for dinner and brought our own bottle of Vermont maple syrup like real Vermonters. We also used another bottle of syrup at home to commemorate the day . . . and then we woke up and dealt with the wrath of Brenna, Hunnie, Gigi, and Zara.