Page 19 of 5 Golden Flings

“Nope. Sorry,” Molly answered decisively. “Baseball is the most boring sport there is. Well, no, soccer is first, but then baseball. The games are so long!”

Ben smiled. “They can be. What about you? What are you doing these days?”

She sighed. “I’d been working public relations for a tech company in Knoxville, but I was fired a week and a half ago.”

“What happened?”

“I wouldn’t date the boss.” The expression on her face wasn’t angry, exactly, but he could tell the firing or the reason for it or both annoyed her. “I could sue, I suppose, but I don’t have any proof and besides, I didn’t like the job all that much. This means for Christmas I get to go home and ask my parents if I can live with them for a while until I land another position.”

If she was thinking of moving in with her parents, he could safely assume she wasn’t married. Why not? She was gorgeous without trying too hard, easy to talk to even after all these years. Maybe, like him, she’d tried marriage and decided it wasn’t for her.

“You know,” Ben said, “I never got an answer from you.”

Molly had one of those faces that revealed everything. She must be a lousy poker player. He’d seen annoyance earlier, now confusion. “About what?”

“I asked you to marry me, and you said you’d think about it.”

She looked surprised for a split second, and then her expression changed, like she’d forgotten and with his reminder the memory came flooding back. “Oh, yeah. We were twelve atthe time. You proposed to me on the playground, just a few days before you moved.” She smiled and it was so familiar, sowarm. “It’s been a long time. I have to admit, I’ve moved on.”

Looking at her, Ben wasn’t sure he had.

OMG, Benjy Crusher! She hadn’t exactly forgotten his proposal, but the memory had been relegated to the back of her mind. He and his family had moved during Christmas vacation. He hadn’t been happy about it at all, and had proposed to her just so he’d have a connection with Huntsville and his old friends when he was living somewhere else. At least, that was what she’d thought at the time.

“I had to tell you there was no Santa Claus,” she said.

“You broke my heart.”

“Because I didn’t say yes?”

“Because you told me there was no Santa.”

“I could hardly let you move to a new school and embarrass yourself.”

He smiled. That’s when she saw Benjy in Ben. Well, this was awful. Sports car guy was an old friend!Veryold.

“I’ve since discovered that children who believe in Santa later than most are usually very intelligent and filled with the belief that anything is possible,” she said. “There’s nothing wrong with that.”

“Still, I could’ve really embarrassed myself in the new school, so thanks.”

Another piece of a memory slipped to the front of her mind. When he’d proposed Benjy had given her one half of a heart on a delicate chain. He’d kept the other half.Thatwas why the Tinsel woman’s ornament had seemed familiar.

“You’re welcome.” She didn’t mention the necklace he’d given her, but she did wonder where it was. In a box of keepsakes in the closet in her childhood bedroom, which was now a workout room for her folks? Had her mom tossed it during one of her purges? “I can’t believe you’re… right here.”

“Do you have plans for breakfast?” Ben asked.

“Bridesmaids’ brunch at ten. Natalie has already texted me about it five times.” Had that been an invitation or was he just being polite? She’d go with polite for now.

“The guys are golfing tomorrow morning, then we’ll have lunch somewhere. Tristan’s Dad planned it.”

“You golf?”

Again, that smile. “I will tomorrow. I don’t normally have time for much of a social life. This week is the exception.”

“Forced vacation.”

“You could say that.”

“We can get together sometime, I’m sure.” For breakfast, or a drink, or coffee.

---