Chapter 4

CHAPTER 4

A quick online search told Molly more about Ben than she wanted to know. Yeah, he had money. The stinker was filthy rich! Who knew playing a game could be so lucrative? She scrolled past the stats and rehashed games and went for the personal stuff. Judging by the photos she found he dated models and actresses. Not just one in particular, but an absolute parade of skinny, gorgeous, famous ladies. If he deigned to share his time with a normal woman, it didn’t make the news.

Benjy was a player.

Several pages into her search she found mention of a divorce a few years ago, but that tidbit wasn’t interesting enough for pictures and juicy details. He’d been new to the major leagues when that happened, if her math was correct.

If you searched Molly Blake on the internet you’d get her Facebook page and nothing else. Even then, it was necessary to sift through other Mollys to find her. Beyond social media there was interesting information about other women with the same name as well as a couple of obituaries. Not hers, thank goodness. That was it.

Nothing about her three failed engagements. No posed pictures of her with any of the men she thought she’d loved and then bailed on. She’d only left one of them at the altar. Thank goodness that detail was nowhere to be found on the net. The other two engagements had ended early. For a while the relationships had been so good, so right, and then they weren’t. What was wrong with her? Was she broken?

Every time she believed she was in a forever love it was great, for a while. It felt so right! Then there came a moment when she realized it was wrong . The wrong man. Maybe the wrong Molly.

She heard movement, the scrape of a chair leg, on Ben’s balcony. Leaving her laptop behind she headed that way. He sat in one of the small chairs and looked out at the gulf. For a second, just one or two, the movement of the waves reminded her of her half ornament. She really should just toss the thing. Half a heart. Was that all there was of her, half a heart?

“Okay,” she said as she sat in her own chair, on her own balcony. “I’ll play along but you will not pay me a dime.”

“I’m happy to pay.”

“Consider it a favor for an old friend.”

That’s what they’d been, after all. Friends. She didn’t remember everyone well from those old days, but she had great memories of Nat and a couple of other girls, and she remembered Benjy. Ben. He didn’t look at all like a Benjy, not anymore.

He’d been smart in class, she remembered. He caught on to everything fast, and was never shy about helping those around him who didn’t. He’d been her only close guy friend, but then he’d lived right down the street and their parents had been friends. Well, friendly neighbors. Ben, his parents, and his three brothers had lived three houses down and across the way. There had been backyard cookouts, Halloween parties, and group garage sales. Until he’d moved away, Ben had been a part of it all.

Yes, he was a friend. Though back then he hadn’t been six-foot-two and all muscle. “Why can’t you just tell Rosie to go away?”

“She’s Tristan’s sister and he loves her. I don’t want to hurt her feelings or make the wedding weird.”

Molly laughed. “Pretending to be involved with me isn’t weird?”

He had a nice smile. It was real. “It’s not going to be a chore, Molly.” He stood. “Let’s go for a walk on the beach.”

He should ask Molly to convince Natalie that signing a prenup was a good idea. Tristan was so reluctant about protecting himself financially he might not even have asked his bride to take care of this perfectly logical and necessary step.

Love didn’t last. Why not plan for every possible outcome?

Now was not the time to bring it up. Asking Molly to pretend to be his fiancée for the next few days was probably enough of a favor to ask.

Strolling on the beach was more enjoyable than his early morning golf outing had been. He relaxed more with every step. The sound of the waves and the scent of the salt water added to the mix. So did Molly. After all these years, who knew that he’d still feel something when he looked at her?

A breeze caught her hair and made it dance around her face.

“You mentioned staying with your parents for a while. Are they still in the same house?”

“Yeah. They talk about moving now and then, downsizing since they’re empty nesters, but they like where they are so it never happens. I don’t want you to think I’m destitute or anything. I’ve got plenty of savings. I didn’t like my job but it was a good one. Dad insisted that I save. I can’t tell you how many times he told me to put away as much as I could for old Molly. I just don’t see the need to resettle anywhere until I have a new job. And a plan.” She sighed. “I never plan like I should.”

“I will pay you.”

“I said no. If you mention it again I’ll tell Rosie everything .”

He couldn’t have that.

“My folks moved back to Huntsville a few years back. Not to the same neighborhood, but when Dad retired that’s where they wanted to be.”

“I had no idea.”

He needed to know… “You never married?” he asked as they stopped to stand before the waves, shoes in hand, and enjoy the view.

“No,” she said. “I came close a time or two. Well, three, actually.”

“What happened?”

She sighed, looked down and stuck her toes deeper into the wet sand. “It just wasn’t right.”

“Did you love them?” The minute the words were out of his mouth he regretted them. The question was too personal, too probing. It wasn’t a question he’d want her to ask him.

“At one point I did. Or thought I did. How have you been, for the past eighteen years?” She changed the subject quickly, or rather shifted the focus of it. “I admit I looked online and saw that you’d been divorced. Sorry. I guess calling it off beforehand is better than the alternative.”

Molly didn’t play games, didn’t pretend she hadn’t done her research. She also didn’t ask what had happened or if he’d loved his wife of less than a year.

“The beginning of a marriage is special,” he said. “Beautiful in some cases, like this one. It’s a celebration, a joy. Divorce is the opposite of all that.”

“Sorry.” She reached out and took his hand, in comfort, friend to friend.

When he looked down at her she whispered, “In case Rosie your would-be-stalker is watching. This has to look romantic.”

He pulled her closer, leaning down and in so that his face was close to hers. “I’m going to kiss you.”

“That sounds like a command.”

“Maybe it is.” He moved closer; she did the same until their lips met. The kiss felt right, warm, and long overdue. It wasn’t a quick kiss, a peck on the lips that came and went. It continued on, not because he thought someone might be looking, but because he wanted it. Needed it? No. Molly was soft, responsive, arousing, special… all the things he didn’t need.

When she pulled away she said, her voice low and a little unsteady. “Well, that will send the hussy off in a huff. If she saw, that is. Maybe she didn’t.”

“We should try again, just in case.”

And they did.

The bachelorette party was being held in the same restaurant where they’d had their brunch earlier in the day. Molly did her best to steer clear of Rosie, but she could swear the girl was stalking her now, instead of Ben. If looks could kill…

Word was out. Molly was the subject of whispers and stares. Some of the stares were envious. Others, from Rosie’s cousins and a few friends who’d recently arrived, were hateful. It was impossible to ignore them all. She much preferred being a wall flower at these things. Give her a seat in the corner of the room and she was happy.

After a couple glasses of much-needed champagne, Molly finally managed to get Natalie alone. Well, as alone as they could be in a room like this one.

Nat grinned. “You and Ben! I should be surprised but somehow I’m not. You two were a hot item, back in the day.”

Molly laughed to cover up her discomfort. “This week is all about you and Tristan, not Ben and me. Everything is lovely. This has to be the most beautiful wedding celebration of all time. It’s certainly the most extravagant one I’ve ever been to.”

Nat sighed and looked around as if making sure no one could hear. “I wanted to elope, but Tristan’s mother insisted we make the wedding special . Bigger, better, the best of the best. It is nice, but I just want to be married.”

“You love him.”

“More than I thought possible.” Natalie launched into a monologue about her groom’s attributes, making him sound almost too good to be true. She ended with, “When are you and Ben going to get married? Do you have a date? Options are limited when you marry a professional baseball player. You get married within the next month, elope on an off day, or wait a year. There are a lot of weddings in the off season.”

“We’ll probably wait a while,” Molly said, her voice low and uncertain. If she stood here much longer she was going to tell the truth. She’d ask Nat to keep it to herself. Nat would be unable to do so. And then…

“I thought Ben would never remarry,” Nat said. “After… well, you know how hard that time was for him.”

She didn’t know, but couldn’t very well say so. So she nodded her head and gave a kind of sad half-smile.

Rosie saved her, joining them with a glare for Molly followed by a wide smile for Natalie. “The entertainment has arrived.”

The entertainment was a very fit, handsome blond man who was probably about Rosie’s age. He was dressed as an angel, wings and all. Wings and underwear, that was it. The underwear looked almost like a silk diaper, which in Molly’s opinion was not sexy. Music began and the guy danced. He initially focused on the bride, who just laughed at him, but soon he shared his attentions with all the women in attendance. The bridal party, family members, even Nat’s grandmother, who seemed to enjoy the display as much as anyone.

The angel tossed colorful foil-wrapped condoms around like they were favors at a Mardi Gras parade. Women caught the prophylactics in the air, squealing in delight, for some odd reason. Molly took a step back as the angel approached her, but he kept coming. He gyrated. He gave her a lascivious grin and waggled his eyebrows. Running would be cowardly, wouldn’t it?

He leaned in closer, gyrated again — he did have nice abs — and slipped one of his condoms into the pocket of her loose fitting dress. He leaned in closer, shook his hips in a way that made his wings ruffle, and tucked another into her bra strap.

That was enough. She took a big step back, almost running into the wall. The angel wisely turned his attentions to someone else. Someone who was happy to have him bump and grind in their direction. Rosie stared at Molly and grinned widely. Had Ben’s stalker instructed the dancer to embarrass her? It was definitely possible.

Cowardly or not, Molly waved to a happy Nat and left the party.