Page 74 of The Ex-Best Thing
“Same thing. 1800s.”
We circle the property to stand in front of the church. I spin, taking in the entire surrounding land. Trees cover the hills on the other side of the valley and cows graze, most of them finding refuge in the shade from the heat.
“You think this will work for your video?”
“Only if you think it’s a good idea.”
He nods, coming to stand directly beside me. He’s so close I can smell his cologne. It’s obvious he showered after brunch, because he’s in different shorts and an Armstrong Redwoods T-shirt, his hair no longer sticking up in the back like it was at breakfast. When I glance down, I see black Vans—the exact shoes he used to wear ten years ago—and they make my stomach flip. Why these shoes? Why today of all days? He’s been in sandals for the most part, even boots on occasion. But Vans?
Is hetryingto send me back to memories of our time together? If so, it’s working.
Fate or the universe or plain good luck has handed me Benny on a gilded platter, and it’s about time I quit worrying about what this means, or what it could mean, when I eventually gohome. I only have the rental for two and a half more weeks, but I can’t let myself think about that.
My shoulders square up. “Why did you get all weird earlier?”
“What do you mean?”
“Right before you left, I told you I liked being domestic, and you didn’t seem to like that answer.”
Benny’s blue eyes are steely as they peer down at me. He takes his time formulating his response. “I guess I didn’t like the reminder that this is all temporary.”
My pulse jumps. He doesn’t break eye contact. “Why would that bother you?”
“Come on, Bree,” he says, taking a step closer, his eyes narrowing by degree. “Don’t pretend you don’t know.”
I need to hear it from him. He has more confidence in my knowledge than he should.
My silence spurs him to speak again. “Question for a question then?”
“That’s fair.”
Benny sits on the top step, so I sit beside him. The large church doors are right behind us, and from this vantage point we can see all of Bodega and the surrounding fields. The sun beats down on us, but we’re both in sunglasses and the warmth is welcome.
“I really enjoy having you around.” He shrugs. “I’ll be sad when you leave again.”
That answer feels like a bit of a copout, but I don’t know what more I expected. For him to express his undying love? To put aside his quiet life and jump back into my crazy one? He’s carefully crafted a pleasant existence, and adding me to it would do nothing but toss a match into a barrel of firecrackers…doused in kerosene.
“What’s your question?” I finally ask, unable to dwell on it anymore.
“What happened with Jaida?”
My head whips toward him. Nowthat’sgoing straight for the jugular. He’s playing dirty. “I feel like you owe me two questions for that one.”
“You agreed.”
I groan. He’s right, and it’s not even an exciting story. “She betrayed me.”
“I picked up that much from the song.”
This isn’t a moment I want to relive, mostly because there are a million things I wish I could go back and do differently. I can feel my nose wrinkling in distaste, so I smooth it out and inhale the clean air.
He’s waiting patiently, so I don’t rush. I tell him the events as unaffected as I can. “We had the same label. We ended up in LA at the same time, had meetings at our label on the same day. I don’t know why both of us were asked to meet in person. They do most of these meetings through Zoom these days, so part of me wonders now if that was orchestrated to get us in the building together—but I realize that’s reaching into paranoia.”
Given my behavior after the movie last night, though, I bet Benny’s on board with that line of reasoning.
I pick at the seam on my shorts. “Jaida and I don’t get along. That’s not a secret. But we ran into her in the lobby, and both got the news that our meetings had been pushed to the afternoon. Our rep was stuck on a plane and wasn’t in LA yet. Again, feels a little orchestrated, but I don’t know how she could have controlled anyone’s flight status, so I have to let that slide. It probably was a crazy coincidence, but it ended up ruining everything.”
I glance at Benny, and he’s watching me patiently, his blue eyes soaking in every word.
