Page 38 of Live Like There's No Tomorrow
Jack grinned at him. “I bet you’re walking on air, aren’t you?” He looked at Pete. “And why should he have told you? We don’t all have to report every movement to you, you know?”
Pete laughed. “I know.” He looked up at Ben. “It’s just that I thought you’d be so thrilled you wouldn’t be able to wait to share your news. And yet you didn’t even tell your oldest friend.”
Ben smiled at them. “I do feel like I’m walking on air. After all this time, it’s hard to believe she’s really here.”
“I’ll bet it is,” said Jack.
“Oh, shut up!” Ben said with a laugh to Pete who was giving him his best intimidating stare.
Pete tried to look innocent. “I don’t know what you mean. I’m just waiting to see what you have to say. I’m curious.”
Jack looked from Pete to Ben and back again. “Should I make myself scarce? I know there’s some major undercurrent here, but I have no idea what it’s about.”
Ben laughed. “No, no need. It’s just Pete doing what Pete does best.”
“Well, does the reality live up to the fantasy? Was it worth putting half your life on hold?”
Ben stared at him. “Really? Charlotte’s back after all this time, and that’s what you want to know?”
“Yep, it sure is.” His face softened and he smiled. “I hoped against hope for you all these years. I thought you were a fool, as you well know. And now I’d like to hear that I was wrong.”
“In that case,” said Ben with a smile “I’m more than happy to tell you that you were wrong. I’ve always known it was worth putting my life on hold for.”
“And you’re saying the reality lives up to the fantasy?” Pete raised an eyebrow.
Ben shrugged. “Fantasy and reality never match up. But that’s okay, I prefer reality anyway.”
“So, where do you go from here?” asked Jack. “I’ve had to listen to Em chatter on about the two of you for the last nine months. And I’ve always wondered what would happen if you did get back together. I mean, you haven’t been around each other for years. It’s not like you can just pick up where you left off, is it? So much has changed in all that time. You’re both different people now than you were then. How do you plan to handle that?”
Ben laughed. “Now you sound like him. What’s the plan?”
They both laughed with him.
“Honestly, I don’t know what the plan is yet.” He shot a look at Pete. “I may need to come to you for help on that one.”
Pete nodded, looking more serious now. “Any time, you know that.”
“Thanks.”
“Okay, there’s no big overarching plan, I get that,” said Jack. “But short term what’s happening? Where’s she staying?” He grinned. “Are you taking any time off?”
Ben smiled. “She’s rented herself a little house out on Lexington Drive. And as for me taking any time off,” he pursed his lips, “I might just do that.”
“Since you’ve got such a capable assistant these days?” asked Pete.
Ben met his gaze. “And what’s that supposed to mean?”
Pete shrugged. “Exactly what I said. You never wanted to take time off before because you didn’t have Charlotte, and you weren’t able to take time off because you didn’t have Angel. These days you have both. What I don’t know is whether that’s the best of all worlds or the worst of all worlds.”
The way Pete’s blue gaze bored into him made Ben feel uncomfortable. “I feel like whichever way I answer will be the wrong way. As far as I’m concerned, Charlotte being here makes it the best of all worlds. End of story.”
Pete nodded slowly. “Then that’s all that matters, isn’t it?”
“It is. Anyway, I’ll let the two of you finish your lunch, and I’ll get back to work.”
Chapter Eleven
Charlotte was nervous when Ben pulled up at her place to take her to Giuseppe’s. She hadn’t expected to be, but she was. This really did feel like a first date, only worse in many ways. She wasn’t meeting a total stranger. She was meeting her oldest friend, a man she described as her soul mate, and yet, in some ways he did feel like a total stranger. She knew so little about his life now, so little about what he’d done in all the years they’d been apart. They weren’t just getting to know each other, they were starting to get to know each other again. Getting to know who they each were now. They shared so much history, but they still had so much to learn. She’d been ready far too early, she’d been sitting out here on the porch waiting for what felt like ages, but she was still surprised to see Ben’s car.
