Page 36 of Let Me Love You (Excess All Areas 5)

Decide.

“Hey, Ben. I just wondered if I could pop around. I packed up your things.”

The words hit him hard in the gut. Was that what it had been like for her when he’d messagedherabout her things? Wait, had that made it even harder on her, as if he hadn’t cared enough to even call?

“That’s okay. I can come over and get them if that’s easier.”

“It’s not a problem. I’m heading by your house anyway. It’s not a big deal. I need to get to Asher’s before sunset forShabbat.”

There was probably a point when hearing her say Asher’s name so easily wouldn’t hurt, but today wasn’t it. “Okay. When are you heading out?”

“Now. I’ll be there in five.”

“Drive safe, babe, yeah?”

There was a pause. “Yeah.”

And then, she hung up.

And he thought through his words and slapped his palm to his forehead.

He was such an insensitive dick.

Drive safe.

The day after she rear-ended some doofus.

Babe.

He’d called her babe so many times. It rolled off the tongue. A habit. A pet name.

But she wasn’t his babe anymore.

He grabbed his phone and pulled up their messages.

Sorry, he typed.That was insensitive.

Dots bounced on the screen for a moment.The drive safe was funny. On my way.

Drive safe, babe.

Had she realised how good the word babe sounded coming out of Ben’s mouth before? In that whiskey and smoke voice of his.

Babe.

Four letters that made her melt.

When Asher used affectionate words, it was sweet. When Ben said them, she…melted.

Her phone rang as she turned onto the main road from her parking spot, and she answered it. “Hello?”

“Chaya,” her mum said. “I just wondered if you’d thought more about having a second chuppah, outside, so if it’s not raining you can have the service open to the sky.”

“If money was no object, I might. But seeing it is, no. It’ll cost too much to have all those flowers over both of them. I’d rather have one beautiful one than twomehones. Plus, it’s Manchester. More likely to rain than not.” She scowled at the driver who turned without indicating. She still needed to get the damage of the previous night fixed, without someone else adding more.

“I understand. I’m just glad we get to celebrate this with Rachel and Daniel. Leah’s daughter just got engaged to a Muslim man and they won’t get to celebrate the same way we will.”

Every part of her body tensed. What was it Rabbi Laibl Wolf had said, about the shared Jewish soul? There was such joy in it, knowing you were so connected to your own people and being able to express and share every part of yourself, including your faith, with your partner. But she also understood Leah’s daughter’s decision.

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