Seeing him on a date with a young, beautiful woman made me realize how different we were. Friendship between us would never be more than awkward and complicated. I had decided that night that I didn’t need any more complications. Ben Tyler and I were better kept at a distance.
“We’ve been really busy,” I said softly. “The kids have had so much going on with school and their activities. I feel like I’ve been running nonstop for weeks.”
“You should take a break then.”
I put my hand to my forehead, “That’s a nice thought. But it probably won’t happen.”
“There’s no time for late night wine? There’s always time for late night wine.”
I smiled at his confidence. “How did your date go the other night?” If he could change the subject, so could I.
“Date?” His brow wrinkled with confusion.
“Megan?”
A surprised chuckle shook his shoulders. “Megan? Is that why you’ve been avoiding me? Liz, I told you the pool was yours, any time you wanted.”
“I haven’t been avoiding you! I told you we’ve been busy. Look! I can’t even get the trash out on time. That’s how busy we’ve been.”
He gave me a frown that said he knew the trash had nothing to do with our schedule. “My date went fine. Even with party crashers ruining my game.”
“I am sorry about that.”
“And I am kidding, Liz. I swear. Megan and I didn’t end up having all that much in common. We haven’t been out since, but it had nothing to do with you and the pool.”
“Oh.” My mind spun a little with his words. “So are you dating someone else?”
His eyebrows dipped low, “No. I’m not seeing anyone.”
“Then I should set you up!”
“Excuse me?” He looked startled. I hadn’t meant to scare him.
I put some excitement into my tone, trying to sell the idea. “With my sister!”
If possible, he looked more surprised than ever. “Liz, I don’t think that’s a good idea.”
“Why not?” I demanded. I thought about calling the doctor. My mood swings were slightly terrifying. I felt sorry for Ben. He always seemed to get the worst of me.
He sucked in an exasperated breath, “Well, don’t you think that might be awkward? What if Emma realizes what a terrible person I am and tells you. You’ll be stuck knowing all of my embarrassing habits.”
“You’re not a terrible person.”
“How do you know?”
I smiled gently. “I know. Ben, we might not know each other well, but I know enough to see what a good person you are. I think you would really like Emma.”
“Liz…”
“Please? Just one date?” I blinked at him with wide, hopeful eyes.
“What if she doesn’t want to go on a date with me?”
I played with my hair in an attempt to hide my knowing smile. “That’s always a possibility. But it doesn’t hurt to ask.”
“I guess not,” he agreed.
“So is that a yes?”
He smiled slowly at me, “I suppose it is. I apparently cannot say no to you.”
“This is a good thing, though. You’ll love Em. I promise.” He didn’t say anything in return, so I felt like I had to continue to sell the idea. “I’ll call her today and see what she thinks. I’m sure she’ll be up for it. She loves it when I set her up.” She hated it when I set her up. But I hoped she wouldn’t mind a date with Ben. She had obviously found him attractive before.
He pulled out his cellphone from his pocket. “If you give me your number, I’ll text you. Then you can pass my number along to your sister. If she’s actually interested, she can text or call me.”
“Sounds good!” I recited my cell number and watched him punch it into his phone. When he lifted his eyes to meet mine again, he wore a cautious smile. “You’re going to have so much fun.”
“I’m sure we will.”
Uncomfortable with his intense gaze, I went back to wrestling the trash bag from the inside trash can.
“Here, let me,” Ben cut in. His hands brushed over mine as he moved to take the bag from me.
“Oh, no, it’s fine. You don’t want to get your suit all dirty.” I looked down at my workout leggings and plain black active long-sleeved T, clothes I used to hide all of the kid smudges and stains that happened all day long.
“Liz, seriously, this bag weighs more than you do. Go back to your kids.”
“My kids!” I gasped. “I have to get them ready for school! We’re going to be late again.”
His expression turned amused again and he waved me off. “Go, Liz! I’ll take care of this.”
“You’re a saint, Ben Tyler.”
“Go!” He pointed toward the door, this time I obeyed.
I rushed back inside and went to work washing little hands and little faces, making sure hair was brushed and their outfits looked decent enough for school.
By the time we had backpacks and lunches together and had piled in the van, Ben was gone. I didn’t pay attention to the trash because I had more important problems on my mind, like arriving at school in the next three minutes, but the garage seemed bigger for some reason.
It wasn’t until later in the day that I realized why my garage had felt so much larger than usual.
I had been in and out of the garage all day with the little kids. Between dropping off and picking up Lucy from pre-school, grocery shopping and running some errands in town, I had never realized that the garbage cans were missing.
Jace, Lucy and I picked up the big kids after school and grabbed some smoothies before Blake’s game and then cheered him on to win. He scored a goal and everything! I was so proud.
By the time we got home, the kids were starved again and I had at least an hour of homework to look forward to before bedtime. The day, like most others, had been exhausting.
And yet when I pulled up the driveway, I couldn’t stop the relief that rolled through me. In front of my closed garage sat my two outdoor garbage cans. The lids were closed, not propped open from too-many bags and my forgetfulness.
I parked the van, and ran to check out the cans. They were both empty.
Ben had fixed my trash problem!