AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Worse ways to spend your time.”
She smiled. “True enough. However, it would be nice for him to have a human to share his life with too.”
“No girlfriend?” Or wife? Or ex-wife?
“He dated a woman in San Francisco for a few years. But she lost her mind once he made all that money, and her true colors showed through. Thank the good Lord for that.” Stella paused and glanced down at her feet. “After Rex and Jennie died and everything came out, Atticus was never the same. He’d always been so serious and older than his age, but this was deeper. A wound that hardened into scar tissue, I guess you might say. Like me, he lost his best friend. Losing you might have been the worst part for him. In fact, he never had another friend like you. He never wanted to get close to anyone after that.”
“I get it.”
“Are you that way too?” Stella asked softly.
“I don’t trust people. It’s easier not to fall in love with them in the first place.”
“It makes perfect sense that you’d feel that way.”
“The one time I did, he let me down.”
“That short actor? What’s his name?” Stella asked.
I laughed. Ben hated it when people called him short. “Benjamin Potter.”
“He makes those dumb movies about the spy, right?”
“That’s right.” Only the highest-grossing films of all time.
“I don’t care for that kind of movie. Give me a romance. Why aren’t there more romances?”
“I’m not sure,” I said, smiling.
“Because men run everything. That’s my guess.”
“What about you?” I asked, changing the subject away from Ben. I would forever be known as the woman who almost married the most famous movie star in the world. “How did you love again so easily? After what they did?”
“Jasper Moon isn’t like other people. That’s all. He offered me everything, including loving my boys. It was impossible not to trust him. When you know, you know.”
“Yeah, I guess.”
“You’ll see. One of these days a man will be genuine and true. He’ll offer up everything he has just to hold your hand.”
“Maybe.”
“Atticus is hosting Thanksgiving at his house this year. It’s his first one since he moved back here. Really you should join us.”
“Is the restaurant open on Thanksgiving?”
“No, we close on the holiday so we can be together as a family.”
“What about guests? Where do they eat?”
“We send them into town usually. However, we hardly ever have guests for Thanksgiving. In December, we get busy, but this isn’t a big weekend. Jasper and I agreed early on that we’d rather have a family dinner than revenue from the restaurant. We’ve always put our family as our highest priority, not howmuch money we can bring in at the expense of time with our boys. Finley, whom you’ve met, and our assistant chef, Elliot, live here on the property, so we’ve invited them as well. We hired both of them just last month, and I have a feeling they’re homesick. Please, won’t you join us? It would mean a lot to me. And I apologize in advance for the mother guilt I’m bestowing upon you.”
I laughed, softening to the idea. It would be such a treat to see all the boys grown up and to spend time with people I’d once thought of as family. “Before I accept your invitation, I’d like to see Atticus. It might be weird between us, and I don’t want to wreck his holiday.”
“You worry a lot about wrecking things for other people.”
“Do I?”
She didn’t answer. Instead, she nodded toward the door. “Atticus almost always comes over to the restaurant for lunch with Scout. His dog.”
