Friendzoned (The Busy Bean)

by Rachel Blaufeld

  Of course, we gave in to their demands to celebrate our wedding with us, so a month and a half later, we came home and threw a big private party at the Bean. Zara closed down for us and Roderick manned a makeshift bar—with some recipes from friends of his up at Vinos & Veritas in Burlington. Gigi made me a cupcake cake, and this time I actually got to eat it. Hunnie made straws of a special-edition rose-petal honey. The straws had been the last project we’d finished before I left Vermont. We’d found a manufacturer for the straws, and now they were sold all over Vermont in little gift shops and boutiques, not to mention a few places outside the state that had started carrying them.

  It had been a magical night. To be honest, returning to New York had been hard, but with Ben by my side, I was fine. We’d enjoyed the last year—being married, working hard, and exploring dive restaurants around Brooklyn. It was a New York I didn’t know growing up, and it was all ours.

  I was still waiting for Ben to appear, so I opened my eyes and focused again on the hummus-filled photos in front of me, trying to funnel my creative thoughts. They would be a fun client to work with when I got my mojo centered.

  Yes, the big dogs had come calling a few times too. Just the week before, I’d met with the Tao group, but I didn’t have the time to dedicate to a client of their status. If I did, I’d have to drop all my small-business clients and be prepared to travel all the time. Neither would work with our upcoming move back to Vermont, spending time with Branson on his college breaks, or anything else we planned.

  A high-profile marketing career wasn’t what I wanted from life anymore. Brooklyn had been fun, but two years was long enough. I was looking forward to celebrating the holidays back in Vermont and not having to rush back to the city.

  “Are they closed?” Ben called again.

  “Uh-huh,” I mumbled, squeezing my eyes shut and wondering what he was up to, thinking he’d brought champagne or something.

  “Don’t say a thing. Shhh,” I heard him say from across the room.

  Our brownstone wasn’t that big—it was mostly an open floor plan on the first floor and two small bedrooms and a bathroom on the second. One good thing about moving back to the Mad River house was it had space . . . and lots of it.

  “I thought we were celebrating later?” I asked with my eyes sealed shut. I knew better than to ruin one of Ben’s surprises.

  “We are. I’m officially done at the office here,” he whispered.

  My nerves tingled as I sensed him moving closer.

  “Put your hands in your lap,” he said. “Palms up.”

  “Ben, seriously, don’t play a prank with my laptop out.”

  When we first moved to Brooklyn, he’d constantly joke that my parents were at the front door. I fell for it every time, running to look out the window and simultaneously finger-combing my hair. Then there was the time he fed me calf’s liver and onions after telling me to close my eyes, assuring me it was Chinese takeout. Yuck, I almost threw up in my mouth at the memory of it.

  I sensed Ben very close to me. He still smelled like Vermont, what I thought of as a mixture of pinecones and rushing water. Lost in Ben’s scent, I nearly jolted when I felt something soft like mink in my hand.

  “Open up.”

  Sitting in the palm of my hand was the tiniest puppy I’d ever seen. Midnight black and white and tan, and probably only a couple of pounds. Maybe four. Or three.

  “Ben, what did you do?” I whispered, not wanting to wake the sleeping puppy. Truthfully, I was in a bit of shock myself.

  “We talked about getting a puppy in Vermont, and well, I decided to go ahead and get us one.”

  “He’s so sweet, but . . .” I lifted the pup and checked to be sure I’d gotten the gender right, and when he barely opened his eyes, I giggled. “He looks drunk.”

  “A while back, I put us on a waiting list. Someone else backed out of taking home this little guy,” Ben said, smiling down at the puppy, “so now he’s ours. He traveled a long way to get here today. I couldn’t wait to surprise you, but you don’t seem so happy. I thought we talked about it,” he said, his voice wavering slightly.

  “No, we did talk about it. And he’s absolutely precious. It’s just, I took on this new client . . .”

  “Well, let me take him and you can finish up. You also have to think of a name. The breeder called him Red Beagle, but I’m sure you can come up with something more creative.”

  “I don’t have to finish anything now. I was going to wait until tonight to tell you—”

  The tiny beagle rolled over in my hands, revealing his pink belly and those big brown eyes staring at me, waiting for me to love. Of course I melted.

  “He looks like a toy,” I said, smiling. “He’s pretty cute. Such a little peanut.”

  Ben knelt on the floor at my feet and rubbed the puppy’s belly while staring at me.

  My cheeks heated. “That’s a cute name, right? Peanut? Isn’t Snoopy a beagle?”

  Ben nodded. “That’s it then. Mr. Peanut.”

  Despite being a bit overwhelmed, I blurted, “I’m in love already.” It couldn’t be helped.

  “You said you were going to tell me something tonight. Is everything okay?” Ben asked, interrupting my moment of happiness.

  Pulling Peanut up to my face, I inhaled his sweet puppy breath before cuddling him back on my lap. I’d had a show-quality miniature poodle growing up. Penelope was her name. Peanut was better already because he was shedding all over my lap. He wasn’t meant to be looked at and admired but not played with. “This is a Vermont type of dog, right? I don’t want to have some froufrou pup.”

  “Ha, yes, he’s not a froufrou pup. Short hair, musky, a little sneaky and adventurous is what the breeder told me.”

  “How did he get here?” I asked.

  “Actually, he’s from North Carolina. He flew here today and landed at JFK a few hours ago. I met him at baggage claim and took him to the vet, and here we are.”

  “You gave this a lot of thought.”

  Leaning in to kiss me, Ben murmured, “First, I asked you to move back to New York with me, and you did, and now I’m dragging you back to Vermont. I wanted to make it special, and like you were taking a new friend with you.” He knelt in front of me, eye level with the puppy but gazing up at me, his hand on its soft fur.

  I’d reconnected with a couple of old friends in New York, but mostly I’d kept in touch with Hunnie and Gigi over the last two years, scheduling visits back and forth. I’d joined a women-only workshare space and sometimes got together with a friend from there. I’d loved living in Brooklyn, and I’d miss it, but Vermont was my home in my heart. Especially since it was where Ben and I had reconnected.

  “Well, we’re taking two friends now, kind of,” I whispered.

  Ben stilled and met my eyes. “What?”

  Goose bumps broke out all over my body. “Yes,” was all I said.

  “We’re taking who, exactly?” he asked, glancing at my belly.

  I’d thought he’d forgotten. We hadn’t used protection for about six months, deciding to let things happen when they happened. And now they’d happened . . . a few weeks before we moved.

  “I’m actually around nine weeks already. I saw the doctor today. When I first missed my period, I thought it was stress and the move. I waited about ten days and then still didn’t get it, so I used a home test. Yep, positive. But I wanted to make sure-sure.”

  “Peanut, you’re going to be a big brother.” Ben’s hand still rested on the puppy before his lips landed on mine and his tongue quickly entered my mouth. We didn’t let go of each other for a long time.

  Pulling back, Ben stood. “What did the doctor say? Does he . . . or she . . . know I’m a doctor? Did they give you any information? Did you hear the heartbeat?”

  “She said you’d be upset about not being there, and told me to come back on Friday with you so you could hear the heartbeat too.”

  “Smart doc.”

  “She’s very well re
garded, and is going to ask around for a referral in Vermont for me.”

  “You know what? You’re making me the wealthiest man alive, Murphy. Damn straight, the richest.”

  He moved close, being careful of the puppy as he kissed me, then pulled back. “We should probably add on to the house, in the back.”

  Deciding to distract him, I asked, “Does Peanut have a crate?”

  “In the front hallway,” he said, raising an eyebrow.

  “Let’s go, Baby Daddy,” I said playfully.

  Ben placed Peanut in his crate before lifting me gingerly and carrying me off to the bedroom.

  I snuggled close, whispering, “Funny how I never wanted our friendship to leave my dorm room at Pressman, and now you never want me to leave the bedroom, period.”

  All I got was a huge laugh.

  Later that week, we were spread out in bed, naked and our limbs twisted in the sheets as Ben ran his palm up and down my thigh, deep in thought.

  That morning, he’d heard the baby’s heartbeat for the first time and had immediately cried. “I’m sorry, I know I should be tough or maybe not so affected by this because I’m a doctor, but I can’t help it,” he’d said in front of the obstetrician. With his finger, he’d traced the alien form on the screen like a small boy in wonderment over a new toy.

  “That’s our baby,” he’d whispered, and we shared a quick kiss.

  Now I asked, “What’s up?”

  I looked over and caught a glimpse of his bedhead and scruffy chin. Always the same Ben, no matter how many zeroes were in his bank account.

  “I just want you to be happy. I want you to have the life you always dreamed about.”

  Emotion clogged my throat. In all the years I’d known Ben, he’d never been able to shake this odd insecurity. It wasn’t an overt part of his personality, but it was there, an undercurrent that showed up in some conversations.

  “I’m beyond happy,” I told him. “Honestly, I never dreamed of any kind of life in particular, but if I had, this would’ve been it.”

  His hand found mine, and our fingers wove together.

  With Ben’s latest bonus, we were very comfortable. Not as wealthy as my parents, but who needed all the pressure that came with that kind of money?

  “Ben,” I said, making sure he saw me. “I love you, and I would love you with money or no money. Here, there, or anywhere.”

  “Dr. Seuss?” he asked with an eyebrow raised.

  “Yep. I’ve been brushing up on my reading for when the baby comes. I can’t read her or him romance novels.”

  This got me a huge laugh, and his tension disappeared.

  “Speaking of, I got these today.” He slid out of bed and walked toward the closet, his ass on display.

  Smiling, I had no idea what to expect because this was Ben.

  “Look,” he said, coming out of the closet totally naked and holding something in his hands.

  I looked more closely and realized he held a pair of Timberland boots in each hand—one in my size and one much smaller. “What are those?”

  He beamed with pride. “Real boots for you, and bite-sized ones for the baby. We’re not raising a city slicker, Murph.”

  “Hunnie put you up to this, didn’t she?”

  “You’ll never know.”

  “Oh, I know. Don’t you remember? She’s the Vermont fashion police.”

  In seconds, Ben set aside the boots and was next to me, sliding his hand up my thigh when he whispered, “I could talk to Hunnie about some honey, though. For drizzling here . . .” He traced my leg and the dip between my thigh and my core, up to my belly button and back toward my most sensitive areas.

  “You know what would be even better?” I said low. “A cupcake from Gigi, and I could smear the sugary-sweet icing all up and down.” Surprising him, I flipped him over and used my mouth to show him everywhere I would put icing.

  Groaning, Ben said, “You always did have a sweet tooth.”

  T H E

  E N D

  Thank you for reading Friendzoned by Rachel Blaufeld! Did you know there’s a bonus epilogue featuring Murphy and Ben? Get your copy here.

  Turn the page for more Rachel Blaufeld and World of True North titles.

  You Will Also Enjoy…

  More Busy Bean:

  Sweetheart by Sarah Mayberry

  Cowboy by L.B. Dunbar

  Cakewalk by Claire Hastings

  Studfinder by L.B. Dunbar

  Touchstone by Karen Stivali

  Heartwood by J.H. Croix

  Rachel Blaufeld’s many books include:

  To See You

  Hot For His Girl

  Wanderlove

  Acknowledgments

  If I thought a lot went into writing a book, much, much more goes into being part of a story world! Although it’s way more fun creating something with other author friends.

  Special thanks to Sarina for including me in this universe and guiding all of us with a very gentle hand. Hope to see you soon-ish in Vermont for coffee and pastries at Umpleby’s (yes, that’s a real place).

  To Jane, Natasha, and Jenn, thanks for the emails, reminders, marketing, and overall mojo throughout the process.

  Huge thanks to Pam Berehulke, who stepped into a new story world and made my words look pretty. I say it every time we finish a book, but you make what I do work on the page, and I can’t thank you enough.

  Virginia Carey was the first person I met in the book world, and she’s been a part of every book I’ve written. Thank you for your support, proofreading, and story advice.

  A shining light during this process was meeting and getting to know Claire Hastings. Thanks for lending an ear and reading my original draft (giving gentle feedback), and also dealing with my son’s college applications! LOL. P.S. Thank you for loving Hunnie and insisting I keep her.

  Thanks to Michele Rodriguez for her excellent beta-reading skills and pushing me to make my epilogue longer. There’s nothing like a juicy epilogue!

  And as always, thanks to my family for their patience and doughnut/coffee deliveries.