Page 55 of Let's Call a Truce
I held his gaze and was shocked to realize I believed him. For the first time in our relationship, I didn’t assume he was trying to undermine or tease me. It felt right.
“So this is the single dad. You didn’t mention he was so handsome.” Katie eyed Ben in a way that made my blood boil as she walked over.
“I’m Ben Thomas. It’s nice to meet you.” He reached out for a formal handshake.
“Katie Tran. My husband, Minh, is around here somewhere.” She followed the comment up with a dismissive wave. I tried not to roll my eyes. Katie and Minh were extremely happy, and theonly explanation was that Ben’s attractiveness made her brain short-circuit.
We’ve all been there, sister.
Morgan squealed from the porch as she rushed down the steps to give us both hugs. “Friends! It’s been years since we were all together for something like this!” She turned to introduce herself to Ben and stopped short, her eyes going wide. I couldn’t stop the laugh that boiled up.
“Morgan, this is Ben. His daughter, Paris, is friends with Sophie.”
“Nice to meet you, Morgan.” Morgan murmured something that could have beenhellowhile her skin turned from pale white to pink to tomato red. Morgan’s husband, Kevin, and Minh made their way down the steps.
“Where’s your wife?” Kevin asked as the introductions continued being made. Ben stiffened beside me.
I held my breath. Was I about to get the answers to the questions Asia wouldn’t answer? The ones I hadn’t worked up the nerve to ask Ben myself?
“No wife. It’s just me and Paris.” His tone made it clear the topic wasn’t up for further discussion, and I deflated just a bit.
“Well, it keeps the numbers even,” Katie said brightly. “I brought cornhole. We can have a little tournament.”
I excused myself to grab a beer from the refrigerator. The women flew in on my heels.
Katie threw herself against the countertop. “Where the hell have you been hiding him?”
“I literally couldn’t form a sentence when he looked at me.” I tried to swallow my laugh at Morgan’s dejected face, but it burst free.
“I haven’t been hiding him. This is the first time he’s even been here.”
“You just met him?” Morgan asked. “How are you even functioning right now?”
“No, she’s been stuck with me for years.” I turned to find Ben coming through the back door. “We work together. But our daughters became friends this year. Sorry, if I had known you were gossiping about me, I would have given you a bit more time.”
He threw me a wink as he grabbed himself a beer. My heart hammered in my chest, and I couldn’t take my eyes off him as he made his way back outside to the guys. I fought, unsuccessfully, to stop my smile.
“Oh my god, he is swoon-worthy, and you are totally smitten.”
All the arguments I wanted to make died on my tongue, so I shook my head at them as I headed back outside. Let them decide what I meant.
We played cornhole, everyone joking with each other to the sounds of our kids’ laughter coming off the play set. Ben was all soft smiles and self-deprecating humor, and I found myself more charmed by the second. He shrugged as his beanbag hit the grass instead of the board.
“I never promised to be good when I agreed to be your partner,” he said across the space between our boards, and everyone joined in on the laugh.
After our mini tournament, in which we were thoroughly destroyed, we gathered around for lunch. The girls made plates, but mostly ate by grabbing a piece of food as they flew by, heading back to the slides or swings.
“It must be nice to have another single parent you are close to at work,” Kevin said. I bit my lip, thinking about the fight that started it all. Ben’s mind clearly went to the same place.
Ben looked at me with a sheepish smile. “It took us a while to become friendly. I may have been a bit of a jerk when she first started.”
“I doubt that.” Katie fluttered her eyelashes, and I fought off a scoff.
Ben laughed.
“Oh, trust me. I was. Her first week, she had to cancel a meeting with me last-minute because of a kid-related emergency. She overheard me complaining to another colleague about it. You’ve known her longer than me, so I’m sure you can imagine how that went over.”
Morgan jumped to Ben’s defense. “It couldn’t have been that bad.” He’d convinced these women he could do no wrong.
