Page 97 of Love in Fine Print

“BG?” I asked.

“Bait girl, Cristal, she’s the best. After several whiskey’s he told her his wife, Ben’s mom, Christine, left the day she found out Roger died. She told Owen that she didn’t want to be a mom, he wasn’t Ben’s father, and she was leaving all at the same time.”

“He told a stranger all of this?”

“I told you, she’s the best. She’s got a knack for getting men to open up and drop their guard. But I went ahead and traced his familial genealogy and he’s definitely Roger’s relative and not Owen’s.”

“Oh my god, his Gran,” I said, more to myself than to Dominic. I knew that would be what would break Ben’s heart knowing that she wasn’t a blood relative.

“She knew,” Dominic stated plainly.

“Sheknew?”

“Yeah, she pushed Owen to legally adopt Ben just in case Christine ever came back and said she wanted him, but he refused.”

“So wait, his grandmother knew that he wasn’t her biological grandson.”

“That’s what Owen said. He claims it’s what came between them. They disagreed over telling Ben who his biological father was and it caused a huge rift between them.”

“Wow, okay. Thanks. I’ll, um, I’ll call you if I have any other questions. Oh, and I didn’t get the invoice.” Usually they came with the reports, but this one didn’t.

“Yeah, I wanted to get this to you ASAP. I’ll have the invoice to you early next week.”

I hung up the phone and started to call Ben, but stopped myself. This wasn’t information he should hear over the phone. He’d be home tomorrow, and I’d tell him. I didn’t know how I’d tell him, but I would tell him.

My head was spinning with ways that I could break the news to him as I grabbed the trays from my backseat and headed inside. As soon as I walked into the community room, my uncle rushed up to me.

“Where have you been?” he asked.

I held up the trays. “I was getting these.”

He brushed his hands on his pants nervously. I noticed Milo, Rosie, and the twins standing along the wall. They usually came on Sundays not Saturdays. Also, the rec room was filled with residents, and there were candles and flowers everywhere.

“What’s going on?” I asked my uncle.

His eyes twinkled. “You’ll see.”

The next thing I knew, he was on one knee in front of Miss B, asking her to marry him. She said yes, and the entire room erupted in cheers.

“Did you know about this?” I asked Milo, who was grinning from ear to ear.

“I had a feeling when Dad told me he was moving into a two-bedroom here to have more space for the two of them.”

“They’re moving in together?”

He nodded. “Yeah.”

“When?”

“Next week.”

“What?”

Milo shrugged. “That’s what Dad said.”

I stared, unable to process all of the news I’d learned in the past hour. Ben’s dad was not his biological father. Ben’s grandma had only asked him to run Ever After because she’d wanted him to get married. And, Uncle Mort and Miss B were engaged and she was moving into Bay View.

Ben had only been gone since yesterday morning, but in that time, his whole life had turned upside down, and I was going to be the one to tell him. I really hoped this wasn’t a kill-the-messenger situation because if it was, I was going to be six feet under.

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