Once in a Lifetime(61)

Made perfect sense. Ben had certainly done the same to Jack enough times. Living next door to each other made it especially easy.

“I saw the dollhouse in the garage,” Jack said.

Well, hell. “So?”

“So you haven’t built anything like that since Hannah.”

“Don’t read anything into it,” Ben said. He sure as hell didn’t want to. He also didn’t want to think about how he’d stalked the bluffs until he’d found the sole house with a dollhouse on the porch. Or how he’d then gone to the hardware store and spent a small fortune buying the materials for the replacement dollhouse he was making Aubrey.

Or why he was making it in the first place.

He plopped down in between Jack and Kevin. Kevin immediately crawled onto Ben’s lap for a hug. Obliging, Ben wrapped his arms around the huge dog, giving him a full-body rub that had Kevin groaning in ecstasy. Then he burped in Ben’s face.

“Your dog smells like my chips,” Ben said.

“He might’ve had a few.”

Ben leaned back and closed his eyes.

“You’re not going to talk about what you’re building in the garage?” Jack asked.

“No.”

“Okay, then I’ll talk. At first, I didn’t approve of Aubrey for you.”

At this, Ben slit open his eyes and looked at Jack. “Didn’t approve? What the hell are we, eighteenth-century virgins?”

“I didn’t approve,” Jack said again, “because I thought she wasn’t your type. You’re quiet. You’re introspective. You don’t like flash. You’ve had a lot of shit in your life, and you came out on top. You’re one of the strongest people I know, and whenever I need anything, you’re at my back, no questions asked.”

“Yeah? Maybe you could learn something from the no-questions-asked thing.”

“Don’t be an *,” Jack said. “Hannah was such a great match because she was like you, very much so. I always thought when the day came that you landed yourself in another relationship, you’d need that same quiet strength she possessed, just like yours. But I was wrong. Aubrey is a force. She’s not quiet. She’s not easy. But in her own way, she’s really good for you. She brings you out of your shell. She challenges you. She keeps you on your toes.”



“Thanks, Dr. Phil.”

Uninsulted, Jack smiled.

Ben didn’t. “I’m not getting involved with Aubrey.”

Now Jack laughed.

“Shut up. I’m not.”

“Okay. But you’re involved. Everyone knows it but you. Have you seen Facebook lately? Lucky Harbor’s favorite son—you—has a poll up on whether or not you should settle down with Aubrey. Odds aren’t in her favor at the moment.”

“Jesus.” Ben wasn’t amused by this. By any of it. “People need to mind their own business. Aubrey could do way better than me. And we have sex,” he said bluntly. “That’s not the same thing as being involved. Not everyone has the future on their minds, like you and Luke suddenly do.”

“I like her,” Jack said, no longer amused, either. “A lot. But I’m not saying marry her. I’m saying just relax a little bit and enjoy being back here in Lucky Harbor. Enjoy having a woman who looks at you the way she does. And you look at her, too, you know. I’ve seen you with those moon eyes.”

“Yeah?” Ben asked. “Well, shoot me next time.”

Jack ignored this. “I think it’s fair to say I know you like no one else does. This thing with Aubrey is different, and you know it.”

Ben thought of how she’d been trying to make a difference, giving the seniors a place to go, giving anyone who needed it a place to go. Hell, she was even excited about working with troubled teens. He thought about how she felt in his arms, how she made him feel in hers—like he was the best man she knew and the only one she wanted. She moved him at every turn, without even trying.

And he knew Jack was right. This thing, this…whatever it was that they were doing, it was different.

And different was terrifying. And he wasn’t ready to fall in love. He’d been there, done that, and it had flattened him. “I’ve told her, and now I’ll tell you,” he said. “I’m not looking for a committed relationship. I don’t have it in me right now.”

“Whatever you say, man.” Jack rose and snapped his fingers at Kevin.

Kevin squeezed his eyes tight and pretended to be asleep.

Ben found a laugh after all. “Leave him.”

“He ate chili tonight at the firehouse.”

“Take him,” Ben said.

Kevin sighed and jumped off Ben’s lap, farting as he did so.

“Thanks,” Ben said, waving the air in front of his face as he rose too.

“Yeah, should’ve warned you,” Jack said. “He’s got some serious hang time with those.” Jack gave Ben a look that said they weren’t closing the file on this subject.

Ben opened the door. “I’m okay, you know. I’m fine on my own.”

Jack met his gaze. “Yeah. But you’ve been on your own a long time. Maybe it’s time to try something new.”





Chapter 22