Gilbert continued, “You and Maleah Hale, huh? I couldn’t believe it when I saw you two. So explain it to me, dude. How the heck did you get Maleah Hale to come back to this backwater Podunk nothing of a town? I thought she fled the coop and would never look back.”
Ben inhaled a steadying breath. He’d already said why Maleah was in town.
“I wanted to marry that girl,” William said. “She even went with me to homecoming one year. Afterward, she told me she thought of me as more of a brother.”
“Ripped poor Will’s heart out and ground it into the dirt with her heel, she did,” Gilbert said and picked up another beer.
“Save some beer for Maleah,” Ben said with a pointed look.
Gilbert lowered the glass and put it back on the tray. Maleah returned, phone in hand. She made eye contact with Ben and then said hello to the boys.
“Little Maleah Hale is all grown up. Damn, it’s good to see you, lady,” Gilbert said.
He should have stopped there, but Gilbert being Gilbert, added, “I can’t believe you’re seeing this doofus. How did Ben nail you down? Tell me his secrets so I can find someone as pretty as you.”
William elbowed his friend again. Then he looked up at Maleah. “Gilbert hasn’t learned the art of silence. Once an idiot, always a moron. How’ve you been? Is your great-aunt doing okay?”
Maleah made a pained expression. “I’m not sure yet. I need to go back and visit her again tomorrow morning. Thanks for asking about Aunt Kiki, Will. That’s thoughtful of you.”
Ben watched the exchange between William and Maleah and wondered if a girl like her would consider dating William. Back in the day, he’d known Will had a crush on Maleah and that she never took his advances seriously. William never married, and as far as Ben knew, he almost never dated. Could he still be burning a torch for Maleah after all these years? He supposed so. Look at her. Why hadn’t Ben seen it before? Oh right, Kinsey had eclipsed his world. What an ignorant teenaged fool he’d been. Well, that was never going to happen to him again. He’d sworn to it.
Gilbert was never one to be ignored for long and said, “Ben told me not to drink your beer. Which one do you like the best and I’ll order pints for everyone.”
Maleah stood at the end of the table, since the boys had commandeered her seat. She chose a beer from the taster tray and took her first drink. “Which one is this?”
“The Arête Amber Ale,” Ben said.
“This is tasty.” She took another drink.
“I’ll buy the next round,” Gilbert offered and picked up the stout.
William chimed in again, taking everyone off guard. “So, are you dating our Ben here, or is Gilbert spreading horrible rumors?”
The color in her cheeks rose. God bless her porcelain skin, Ben thought with a snicker. He was coming up with the proper sarcastic response to William’s untimely inquiry, but his tongue was busy swallowing the IPA.
Unfortunately, Maleah appeared to choke after hearing the question. She sputtered once, then sprayed beer on the glass and on her hand. Beer dribbled down her chin, and she went to wipe it away but smacked herself in the face with the glass. Flinching caused more spilled beer and now her shirt was wet. Three men fixated on the fascinating new “Maleah Show.” Ben tore his gaze away and reached for the napkins. He offered them to her. She dabbed away the mess, then surprised Ben by sliding onto the seat next to him. Maleah planted a kiss on his cheek, then turned to face Gil and Will. She flashed her perfectly straight, orthodontically enhanced smile that was camera worthy.
“Ben’s my savior. Truly, and we couldn’t be more thrilled about reconnecting after so many years. I’m a lucky girl to have found him. If you don’t mind, we’re having a small, private celebration dinner.”
Maleah squeezed Ben’s leg beneath the table in a gesture that he thought she wanted him to go along with this contrived malarkey more than copping a feel of his thigh. Although the placement of her hand was acutely acknowledged by his bat and man Rocky Mountain oysters.
Ben cleared his throat. “You heard her, boys. The lady would appreciate a little privacy.”
“I knew it!” Gilbert said. “You two look like a couple. I said to myself after seeing you two gettin’ it on, ‘Good for them.’ I always liked you, Maleah. You’re a sweetheart, and Ben needs that after the whole Kinsey mess.”
Ben may or may not have accidentally thrust his steel-toed work boot into Gilbert’s shin, but the effect was as desired. Gilbert shut his trap about Kinsey.
“Ouch!” Gilbert glared at Ben for a second then turned to Will. “Come on, pal.” He slid over, pushing his way out of the booth. “I need a beer and I promised the happy couple I’d buy the next round.”
William resembled a sad puppy as he and Gilbert found their feet. Ben wasn’t about to rub salt in William’s wounded heart, even if there was no relationship and Maleah was lying through her pretty white teeth. What is she up to?
Gilbert headed to the bar, but William lingered for another minute. “It’s really good to see you, Maleah. I’m online all the time. You should friend request me so we can stay in touch. Or maybe you’re not on social media? I live in town too. Ben knows where I live. We should have a cookout or something.”
“Yeah. That’d be all right. Aunt Kiki needs me, but I’ll check my schedule. Have a good night.”
William looked reluctant, but he turned and joined Gil at the bar. Maleah moved back to her seat and didn’t speak as she drank another beer.
Ben leaned forward and lowered his voice. “Does this mean we’re officially dating?” he teased.
She placed her forearms on the table, meeting him halfway, and deflected the question like a pro. “Are you and Kinsey no longer together? When did that happen? And I’m sorry to hear it.”
He did not want to talk about his ex. Repeat that. No ex at the dinner table. Ben scrunched up his face for a second and then tried to relax his jaw so he could speak.
Ben returned to the previous subject. “You may have crushed poor Will’s soul. Gilbert said you stole his heart back in high school, and it appears you still own it.”
She whispered conspiratorially, “It’s in a jar in my mother’s basement. Don’t mess with me or you could suffer even worse consequences.”
Ben sat back and saluted her. “Duly noted.”
Their food arrived and Maleah shared the story about how William wouldn’t stop asking her out when they were in the ninth grade. She refused to go out with him again after the homecoming dance, and he began leaving notes on her locker and giving her little gifts. Although he was a nice guy, she would never feel the same way about him as he did her. She didn’t want to go through that again, which was why she lied about dating Ben.
“Since I’m only in town until I find out more about Aunt Kiki’s condition, or until my cousin Brielle arrives, do you mind if Gilbert and William think we’re seeing each other?” She took a bite of her salad, swallowed, and then apologized. “Sorry to put you on the spot without asking first, but I reacted badly, and now it’s done.”
“It’s no problem on my end. I’ll be working all week in the Aspen Building. I doubt I’ll even be seeing you much after tonight,” Ben said.