Page 105 of Resisting the Fall

“What? It seems like a pretty clear indicator.”

“True,” I said, realizing he was right. Though unlike when we were dating, there was a knowledge of where our kissing was supposed to lead. A pull that would be extremely difficult to resist. “Maybe we should issue a temporary no kissing order for the rest of the night.”

Ben pulled into a diagonal parking spot in front of the market and glanced over at me. “If that won’t keep us in check, I don’t know what will,” he deadpanned.

I shifted in my seat to face him, not sure how to read that. “If you’re actually worried about it, you can just drop me off at my mom’s.”

He considered me a long moment before putting the truck in park. “What kind of ice cream do we want? Cookies and cream?”

I smiled. “How’d you know?”

“I’ll be right back.” He left the engine running, and my gaze slid to the car parked next to ours—Edna Bloomberg’s Buick.

Oh, this could take a while.

Fifteen minutes later, Ben came out carrying a pint of ice cream in one hand and a sack of groceries in the other, Edna B happily chatting at his side. He sent me an apologetic glance as she came to stand at the passenger side window nearest her car and rapped on it with her knuckles. I scooted over and cranked the window down.

“Hey, Edna,” I said. “You’re out and about late.”

She released a heavy sigh. “Frank is backed up, if you know what I mean.” She pointed at her lower stomach, and I regrettably knew exactly what she meant. “He ran out of Miralax yesterday and was griping so intensely about his discomfort this evening, I had no choice but to make a run to the store.”

“You’re a good woman.”

“It was worth it, being that I got to see you and Ben. He said the two of you were out to dinner in Burlington?” Her eyebrows rose to match the intonation of her question.

“We have to share a meal a day.” I wanted to stifle that look in her eyes. Hopefully, she hadn’t somehow discovered we’d also been at the Walkers’ for lunch. “It’s part of the court order.”

“Is a late-night ice cream run also part of the court order?”

“It should be.” Ben stepped to her side. “Where would you like me to set these groceries?”

“The passenger seat is fine, dear.”

While he went around to put the groceries in her car, Edna leaned toward me, dropping her voice. “I won’t pretend to know all that’s gone on between you, what with how tight-lipped you’ve both been over the years, but what I do know is that the two of you have been given a rare second chance. Don’t throw it away.”

I blinked, uncertain how best to respond.

Ben shut the door and started back around, pulling our attention to him. He stopped on the sidewalk in front of her. “I hope Frank feels better.”

“Thank you,” she said. “And thanks for your help.”

Ben nodded, then continued to the driver’s side.

Edna’s gaze met mine again. “Some things are worth sacrificing for. That man’s one of them.”

Again, I just stared at her, unable to form a coherent reply. One thing was for certain—Edna B really didn’t know what had happened between us. Maybe she should be having this pep talk with Ben.

“Is your favorite color still green?” I asked, taking a spoon of ice cream directly from the container set on the table between us.

His gaze held mine, shifting back and forth between my eyes as if appreciating their color. Then he nodded. “I don’t think that one will ever change. Do you still go through a bag of dark chocolate chips a week?”

“It depends on the week. Sometimes I manage two bags.” I couldn’t even remember how we’d started on twenty questions, but it had been about sixty questions ago. I tapped my fingers on the table, thinking of my next question. Finn looked up at me with a less-than-pleased expression from where he was sleeping on the couch. “What has been your top memory since you moved home?”

Ben scooped up a bite of ice cream but left it in the carton, his gaze down while he considered my question. “Probably the day I opened Dust & Timber. It had been a rough two years getting there, but that felt like a bright spot.”

“I’m sad to have missed it,” I said.

Ben didn’t look up. “Yeah.”