by Hanna Hart
When she called out, “I can help you here!” he’d walked up to her so full of nerves that he didn’t know what to say.
“I just need to deposit this,” he said, sliding his check across the countertop.
June picked up the thin strip of paper and flipped around before sliding it back toward him. “Can you sign the back, please?”
“Oh, right,” he said quickly. “Sure.”
Bennett signed the paper and handed it back to her. He felt like an absolute idiot as he tried to make awkward conversation with her about working at the bank and the summer weather. He’d never been so taken by a girl before—especially one he had hardly spoken to.
She must have realized how nervous he was, because at one point, she frowned, lifted a carefully plucked brow, and asked, “Are you okay?”
Bennett swallowed and then exhaled a loud breath, cursing his inability to flirt with the girl.
She excused herself to deposit the check, and while she was gone, fearing he was going to further blow his chance to ask her out, Bennett pulled out a strip of receipt paper and wrote her a note.
When June came back, he slid the paper over to her with a shaking hand and she stared down at it curiously. If she had opened the note, she would have seen it said, “Do you want to have dinner sometime?”
But June didn’t read the note. Instead, she craned her neck toward the teller next to her and called, “Stephanie?” in a loud voice.
Stephanie, Bennett would later learn, was the code word at the bank for “We’re being robbed!”
June was so sketched out by Bennett’s nervous behavior and the questions he’d asked her about working at that stupid bank that when he slid her the note, she thought he was trying to rob her.
The silent alarm was pressed by another well-meaning teller and the police promptly showed up and put Bennet in handcuffs.
“I was just trying to ask her out!” he shouted with a laugh, nodding toward the paper slid across the counter.
The police didn’t listen and brought him outside. They frisked him for weapons and repeatedly asked what he was doing in the bank before putting him in the back of their cruiser. After explaining to them for the third time that he was just trying to ask the beautiful teller out, a Latino officer let out a small hint of a smirk.
“One sec,” he said, throwing a finger into the air. The officer, Moyer, walked back into the back and emerged not two minutes later with June at his side.
Officer Moyer nudged June toward the car and gave her the okay to open up the door to the backseat.
“You’re free to go, kid,” Moyer said exasperatedly, if not a bit sheepish.
Bennett stepped out of the car and wiped down his pants before meeting June’s eyes. Her face was apple red, a full flush of embarrassment.
“I’m sorry I almost got you arrested,” she said, staring down at her feet.
“I’m sorry I scared you,” he smirked. “Clearly, talking to girls isn’t my strong suit.”
“I uh,” she stammered. “I thought you seemed kind of shifty and I got spooked. It’s only my first week here and I guess there was a robbery last week. But then after they escorted you out, I opened your note and, well,” she shrugged. “Sure.”
“Sure...what?” he asked curiously.
June played with the note, holding it open with her thumbs. “Well, uh,” she handed it to him. “The note. If you—I mean, you were trying to ask me to dinner and if you’re still interested then, sure. I would love to go.”
The two stood in front of the small city bank next to the police cruiser. He looked down at the quickly scribbled note and then back up at June. The sun hit her ginger hair with its warm, dry heat and she seemed to light up like an angel.
As people walked out of the bank, they eyed Bennett suspiciously, but he couldn’t care less because at that moment, he had already fallen impossibly in love.
He took June out that very night, and they became inseparable for the next two years.
They broke up when Shannon and Roger Brooks signed him up to run the Brookside Ranch they had just bought in Montana.
The pair met three years later when he’d come back to Houston while his ranch was undergoing a renovation.
June was outside a pharmacy having a heated argument with her sister, Megan. He watched from down the road as they yelled at each other. When Megan stormed off, Bennett took it as his opportunity to reconnect.
He walked up beside her and casually said, “You look like you could use some ice cream.”
June pretended not to be surprised to see him, but he saw the flicker of her eyes begin to widen when she first looked at him.
“You’re buying,” she said with a coy smile.
And just like that, she looped her arm through his and they were back in each other’s lives. Only this time around, they had learned to flirt like pros.
Seeing her again after six years felt surreal, but not entirely unwelcomed.
“I guess we’re just carrying on our tradition of awesome reunions,” June said bashfully, looking down at her hands as she fiddled with a stack of hold cloth napkins on the countertop.
“You know what that means, right?” he said suggestively, nudging her arm.
“We’re going to fall hopelessly in love?” she snorted. “Don’t count on it.”
He winced. “Not on your life!”
“So, what does it mean?” she grinned.
“It means I have to take you out to dinner,” he said matter-of-factly.
If this had been any other ex-girlfriend, Bennett would have run in the opposite direction. But the thought of getting a meal with this ex didn’t fill him with dread.
She laughed and shook her head. “That’s sweet, but I can’t.”
“Aw, come on. I’m in town for a couple of weeks visiting the parents,” he said. “Spice up my homecoming!”
“Ah...” she muttered. It seemed like she was going to say something but thought better of it. She bit her lip nervously as he encouraged her to come out with him, then said, “I don’t know, Bennett. I’ll be lucky if I don’t get fired tonight for this. My bosses are pretty particular about not letting guests leave with dinner displayed all over their suits and dresses.”
“Talk about picky.”
She laughed, and Bennett continued, “If that happens, I’ll take you out to commiserate about you losing your job.”
“And if I don’t get fired?” she asked.
“Then I’ll take you out to celebrate.”
He extended his hand to her for a shake, and she stared down at it hesitantly.
“Come on,” he said, “it’ll be fun, I promise. And if it isn’t, you can throw a drink on me.”
June let out an amused breath and, against her better judgment, shook his hand and said, “I’m free Monday.”
Chapter Four
June
June and Bennett spent the rest of the wedding reception talking and reconnecting. June was surprised at how easy it was to pick up where they’d left off. It was so easy that it made her nervous.
But not nervous enough to turn him down when he asked her to see him again.
“Be careful, and don’t talk to strangers!” her daughter Ember cautioned in her cute little munchkin voice. It was the same loving advice June gave to Ember whenever she would drop her off for a playdate.
Tonight, Ember was being watched by Megan.
Megan was happy to do it. She had a little girl a year younger than Ember and it gave the girls someone to play with.
To June’s relief, her sister didn’t ask about the impromptu Monday-night babysitting. If she did, she would likely have been horrified to hear that June was meeting up with Bennett again.
Megan had always liked Bennett, but she was beyond opinionated about their breakups. After their second failed attempt at romance left June heartbroken, Megan vowed never to let her sister get mixed up with “that cowboy d-bag!” ever again.
As far as June was concerned,
she was just catching up with an old friend over dinner, but she knew her sister wouldn’t see it that way.
June met Bennett at The Haiku, a great Asian fusion restaurant they used to go to all of the time back when he lived in Houston.
The handsome brunette flagged her down as soon as she walked inside the restaurant.
He wore blue jeans, cowboy boots, and an old band-tee that she remembered him wearing back when they were together. So basically, his wardrobe hadn’t changed one bit.
June wore a pale peach floral slip dress that fluted at her calves with an oversized jean jacket over top. August in Houston was a balmy ninety-one degrees, so the coat was purely ornamental, but she loved the clashing look of the gentle silk and brash jean.
“You look…” he began, but his words tapered off into a flirtatious smile.
“Go ahead and say it,” she dared, grinning as he led her through the restaurant to their favorite table by the window.
The restaurant was beyond trendy. The tables were in Japanese style and low to the ground. But instead of sitting on pillows, you slipped down into the seating area. What looked like the floor was actually a circular seating area carved right into the ground to hide your legs.
“You look hot,” he said, looking satisfied. “You haven’t changed one bit.”
She blushed, but the compliment wasn’t unwelcome. It had been forever since her husband had made mention of her looks, except to say it looked like the sun had given her more freckles last summer and that she should get them checked.
“Well, thank you for meeting me here,” he said. “I took the liberty of ordering a couple matchas, two sakes, and some gyoza,” he said.
“Mm. I love pot stickers,” she said, her stomach already rumbling at the thought of them.
Bennett helped her down into the lowered seating and joined her at the table. He lifted the sake into the air and gestured for her to do the same.
June gave a small frown to the nutty, caramelly alcohol. She wasn’t a big drinker, but she didn’t want to be rude, so she raised her glass and downed the liquid quickly.
“So,” she began unsurely, not knowing where to begin with her old flame. “You know the couple who got married?”
“Greg and Amy, yeah,” he nodded. “I used to be friends with Greg way back when. We still keep in touch. I’m surprised you don’t remember that at all?”
“What did he do?” she asked as she adjusted in her seat.
“He’s a math teacher at St. Mary’s,” he explained, and she began to nod.
“Oh! Yeah, I do remember him! He had an affinity for whiskey, if I recall.”
“Well, he wasn’t a drunk or anything,” he said, and the two of them laughed.
“No, I didn’t mean that,” she said. “I just meant I’d never heard somebody talk about notes in whiskey before. Then again, I think it’s weird when people describe the alleged notes in wine, too. They say something tastes like vanilla or,” she paused, then in her best aristocratic accent she mocked, “‘A mild, crisp Gala apple finish’ and I’m just like...dude, it all just tastes like sour grapes to me!”
“Still not a drinker, huh?”
“Well, I’m no Greg,” she winked. “What do you know about the happy couple? How did they meet?”
“Ah,” he waved his hand in the air. “It’s a pretty cute story. St. Mary’s was having a clothing drive for charity and Amy brought in a bag of clothes. She handed it off to Greg, and the two had this chemistry, so they say,” he explained. “Anyway, I guess Amy didn’t know how to ask him out.”
“Sounds familiar,” she interjected.
Bennett smirked and she couldn’t help the thrill that washed through the pit of her stomach at seeing him smile.
“So,” he continued, “She just kept going through her closet and bringing in old bags of clothes. Finally, I guess Greg caught on and he was like, ‘How many clothes do you own, exactly?’ And I guess it made her laugh.”
“And the rest is history,” she added.
“Basically. What about you? How long have you been working at the Lipkin?”
“About a month,” she said, trying to calculate the days in her head. “Yeah, I was sort of, well, I was in-between jobs for a while, and my friend works there and got me a job.”
“You like it?” he asked.
June shrugged. “It’s pretty good.”
“Surrounded by love all day long. Can you even stand it?”
She smiled at the comment and met his eyes as she began removing the heavy jacket from around her shoulders. “What makes you think I’m not basking in it? I could be in love right now.”
Bennett scoffed. “You’re not. I’d bet you aren’t even seeing anybody.”
“What?” she said, pretend-offended. “Why would you guess that?”
“Because if you were, you wouldn’t be here with me,” he said, leaning toward her.
“This isn’t a date, Bennett,” she said, and he gave her a testing look. “But you’re right. I’m not seeing anyone. I’m pretty fresh out of a relationship. A marriage, actually.”
“Ah, that sucks,” he said. “I’m sorry.”
She didn’t know why she said it. Maybe it was a defense mechanism. Something to tell him not to take this dinner as anything more than a friendly gesture.
The waitress came then, and the two of them looked up at her awkwardly.
“Do you need more time?” he asked, raising his brows toward her.
She shook her head, happy to momentarily escape from the topic of her failed marriage. “No, I’m ready.”
The two of them didn’t need time to search the extensive menu since they always ordered the same thing: yakisoba and endless tempura vegetables.
The waitress left them, and Bennett sat with both of his elbows on the table. He looked at June with a renewed, surprised expression and said, “So, you got married?”
June nodded, and he said, “I hadn’t heard.”
“There isn’t much to hear, evidently. It didn’t last,” she said, looking down at the pale line on her ring finger where a rose gold band used to sit. It was simple, without diamonds, but it was lovely.
“We met pretty much right after you and I broke up,” she added.
“Rebound,” he teased.
“A five-year rebound.”
“Wow. That’s long,” he said.
“Very, very long.”
“Then you must hate your job—having to see all of the happy couples exchanging vows and doing the first dance and the whole routine,” he reiterated.
“No,” she shook her head. “It’s nice. I get to work with my best friend, and it pays pretty well, so…” she shook her head, not wanting to talk about it anymore.
The truth was, when Danielle said she could get June a job, June hadn’t been expecting to make a living out of watching couples exchange their vows of forever before serving them drinks. When she first learned that she would be working at a wedding venue, she distinctly remembered asking Danielle if she was trying to kill her.
“What about you?” she said, changing the subject. “How’s the ranch? How’s the family?”
“Family is...you know,” he shrugged. “Complicated. Phoenix’s off touring the world. His wife left him for Hunter. Kennedy dropped out of school and is doing who knows what.”
“So, same ole, same ole,” she laughed. “Gosh, when we first met, Kennedy was only a couple months old! And what was Hunter?”
“Fifteen,” he said.
“Wow!”
“I know,” he mused. “It’s crazy how fast time goes by. Makes you feel old, doesn’t it?”
“Definitely. And how’s Mama Brooks?”
“As I said, some things never change,” he said, and they both shared a chuckle.
Mama Brooks was notoriously welcoming and kind, but in the same breath, she could also be overbearing and difficult to please. Though June had no idea what it must have been like to raise five headstrong boys as Shannon had. Mayb
e that was the attitude one needed to take to make sure everything stayed in order.
“So, I touched on my sob story,” June said. “What about you? Are you seeing anybody back in Montana?”
“Whoa! She went there!” Bennett exclaimed.
“Hey, you asked!”
“No, no,” he shook his head. “I’m not seeing anyone. I don’t have the heart for it anymore. But that frees me up for all that precious family time I’m spending here at the ranch.”
“And how’s the ranch?”
“It’s good,” he said. “Really good, actually. We’re still overlooking the mountains, and we have all of these activities for winter and summer. You know, stuff like snowshoeing, dog sledding, we do this Yellowstone tour, horseback riding, there’s a pool, spa, we do caving—”
“Caving?” she repeated, surprised. “I don’t remember you guys doing caving back when I was there. It’s not exactly an activity I expect to do at a luxury ranch.”
Bennet ran a hand through his dark hair. “Yeah, well, we have this amazing cave on site, and the tourists seem to love it. It makes them feel like they’re searching for gold or something, right?”
“Sounds fun.”
“Yeah, and we have all of these activities for kids, too!” he added.
June smiled politely, but inside she was cringing. She took a long pull at her matcha, giving herself a moment to think. She figured now would be a good time to tell him that not only had she been married, but she also had a daughter.
No matter how many times she tried to rephrase the statement in her mind, she couldn’t seem to force the words out of her mouth.
Did he really need to know she had a kid?
How much time would she be spending with him that she should let him into her life like that?
Besides, she reasoned, Ember didn’t need people coming in and out of her life after what happened with Lincoln. She needed stability, and Bennett was certainly not good at that.
“What kind of kid stuff?” she asked.
“Recreational activities,” he said easily. He had probably given this spiel to hundreds of people in the past: dates, investors, guests at his ranch.