Not Your Match (11 page)

Andi looked around the living room littered with boxes, then folded her arms. “Yeah, I’m going to leave you to deal with all this yourself.”

“I’m a big boy.”

“Nope, I’m staying. I can’t remember the last time I spent a Saturday doing physical labor instead of working. This feels awesome.”

He was glad she was sticking around, even if it did make his palms sweat. “Thanks, I appreciate the help.”

She smiled. “You’re welcome.”

“So you work a lot of weekends?”

“More than I’d like to.” Andi bent down and swiped the wall with a rag one last time. “Okay, your entire condo has been scoured top to bottom. Good thing it’s small or it would’ve taken a lot longer.”

“You didn’t have to clean for me, but thank you.”

“Well, I didn’t clean everything
.
We’ll still need to vacuum and mop after all the boxes are unpacked. And probably dust all the furniture. Where do you want to start?”

“How about the living room? You can put stuff away while I hook up the television.”

Andi laughed. “Guys and their priorities.”

“Hey, my team’s playing tonight. I need to at least have it set to record.”

“And I did promise you dinner on the night you moved in as well.” Andi motioned to the bookcase. “Want me to put the DVDs there?”

In Arizona, the bookcase had been filled with Whitney’s favorite romance novels and knick-knacks. She hadn’t texted him since Christmas. He was relieved, but also hurt she’d given up so easily. Ben swallowed and looked away. “Yeah, that’s fine.”

They worked in companionable silence while Ben drilled the mounting plate for the flat screen into the wall. Andi helped him hoist the television, and he couldn’t help but be impressed by the definition in her arms. Whitney had been soft, almost fragile. Andi was far from that.

Stop it,
he told himself. He had to quit thinking of Andi that way, and he definitely had to stop comparing her to Whitney.

Once the television was secure, Andi opened a box and unpacked the DVDs while Ben worked on connecting the chords.

“So you haven’t signed up with the matchmaker yet, huh?” Ben asked.

Andi groaned. “Don’t even get me started. Your sister’s crazy.”

“Tell me something I don’t know.”

“It’s been three days. Give me a chance to breathe. I know I need to do it, but I
really
don’t want to.”

“You don’t want to go to a matchmaker, or you don’t want to date?”

“Maybe a little of both.” She sighed, and the sound did funny things to his insides.

Ben stepped off the ladder and turned on the TV with the remote. The screen came to life, and he arrowed through the setup for the cable. “It’s not easy getting back out there after a long-term relationship.”

“Think you’ll ever be ready to date again?” Andi set a handful of DVDs on the bookshelf.

“I hope so, eventually.” He wondered if Andi would still be single when that time came.

“Me too. Right now, I just want to absolve Rachel of her guilt in the whole Mark situation so she stops pressuring me.”

“She’s always been a fixer.”

“Well, Mark and I aren’t fixable. Even if we were, I don’t want to fix it. Seeing him again made that much clear.”

Ben stole a glance at Andi. “Are you doing okay after that?”

“I’m fine.” Andi shuffled DVDs on the shelf. Was she alphabetizing them? He had to hide a laugh. “What about you?” Andi asked.

“What about me?”

“Rachel seems to think you and Whitney are getting back together.”

“Definitely not.” Ben hit the buttons on the remote harder than necessary. The screen blinked to life with ESPN. He set the game to record and flicked the TV back off.

“You sound certain.”

“I am.” Even if her texts had been all sorts of confusing.

“Mind if I ask what happened? I know you’ve broken up before.” She smiled apologetically. “Rachel told me.”

Ben walked over to a box and opened it. He wasn’t sure he wanted to go through his whole relationship drama, especially with the girl who was making his heart zing. But Andi was so easy to talk to. He’d always liked that about her. “This is the third time Whitney’s left me. But the first time since the engagement.”

“She left you?”

Ben nodded. “It’s always the same story—I wake up one morning to a note, and she vanishes. I spend a few days tracking her down, making sure she’s safe. And after a few weeks, she comes home, and things go back to how they were.” He tossed aside a box of electronic cables for the television. “I can’t do it anymore. This was the last straw.”

“Why does she do that?” Andi’s expression was appalled.

“Rachel never told you?”

Her blank stare was answer enough.

Ben sighed, rolling his shoulders. He didn’t know why he was surprised. Rachel and Whitney were as close as sisters, and Rachel didn’t like to talk about Whitney’s “problem.” Not that she knew how bad it was. Rachel seemed to think if she pretended it didn’t exist, it’d go away. Which was pretty much how Whitney dealt with it, too. “Whitney’s severely bipolar. She was diagnosed a few months after we started dating, right after her first ‘episode.’” He made air quotes with his fingers. “That’s what her therapist likes to call it when she goes off her meds and disappears from life.”

“Oh, Ben.” Andi rested her hand on his arm. “I didn’t know.”

Ben gulped. His skin prickled and burned where Andi’s fingers grazed it. “Rachel doesn’t like to talk about it. Neither does Whitney, for that matter. She thinks she’s fine. And she is, as long as she takes her medication. I know it doesn’t work for everyone, but it does wonders for her.”

“But she doesn’t always take it.”

“No, she doesn’t. After she goes a few months on the meds, she forgets what it’s like without them. She convinces herself she’s fine, that she can handle life on her own. She hates being tied to the medication. It makes her gain weight and she says it gives her brain fog. So she stops taking the pills, and she’s a good enough actress that I usually don’t notice right away. But after a few weeks, she’s moody and depressed all the time. By then it’s too late.” Ben swallowed, the pain and soul-crushing fear of the last four years washing over him. “I can’t get her out of bed. I can’t make her eat. We’ll fight because I’ll try and make her go see a therapist and take her medication. And then she’ll run away. Once she hits rock bottom, whatever friend she’s crashing with calls me or her parents, and we convince her to go see her therapist. Sometimes she’s hospitalized for a while. Then she starts taking her medication, and everything’s great again.”

“That sounds awful.”

“It is.” It was hard loving someone more than they loved themselves. He wouldn’t stick around to watch her destroy her life. If she had been willing to try, met him halfway . . .

But she hadn’t.

Andi wrapped her arms around Ben. He held her tight, relishing the feel of human contact. Whitney had rarely been capable of listening to him talk, and physical affection had been infrequent.

“Thanks for listening,” Ben said.

“Of course.” Andi pulled away and pushed aside a box, as though sensing he needed a subject change. “Looks like we’ve unpacked everything in here. You don’t have much.”

Most of it had been Whitney’s. He’d dropped her stuff off at her parents on his way out of town.

“Should we do the kitchen next?” she asked.

“Sure. But I really can do this by myself.”

“Not a chance. We’re getting this done by kickoff. Then I’m buying a pizza and cream soda. We need to christen your new condo in style.”

A couple of hours later, they sat in front of the TV, a beer in one hand and pizza slice in the other. His end table was piled with his favorite home improvement magazines, just like he’d imagined. There were dishes in the cupboards and clothes in his dresser. With Andi’s help, they’d unpacked every box. Not that there’d been many.

“Go!” Ben yelled at the screen as the quarterback ran the play. He took a bite of pizza. This place already felt like home.

The game went to commercial, and Ben stretched. “Need another drink?” he asked Andi.

“I’m good, thanks.”

Ben fought the urge to rest his arm along the back of the couch and pull Andi close.
This isn’t a date,
he reminded himself. They were just friends, even if Andi was every guy’s dream come true. “More pizza?”

Andi laughed, patting her flat stomach. “I’ve already had three slices.”

“Can I get you anything at all? Seriously, you’ve helped me so much today.”

“Actually, there is something you can do for me.”

“Okay.” He took a sip of his drink. Maybe she needed help with something in her condo. Perhaps the faucet leaked, or she needed shelving for a closet.

“One of my friends called yesterday and asked me to teach a ballroom dance class to teens. It’s every Tuesday for two hours starting next week.”

“That’s great.” Ben smiled, pleased at the idea of Andi dancing again. She worked too hard. “I’m glad you’re picking it up again.”

“I need to find a dance partner to co-teach with.”

Ben’s palms started sweating. Flashes of dances they’d shared made his whole body heat. “Me?”

“You said if I started dancing again, so would you.” Andi leaned forward, resting her elbows on her knees. “C’mon, Ben. It’ll be fun. Like the good ol’ days.”

“Right. It’ll be exactly like going back ten years in time.” Right down to his pathetic crush on the unattainable girl.

“The classes are free for troubled youth. Elle works for a non-profit that tries to give kids a better future.” She bumped her foot against his, sending fire through his veins. “You can say no, but then I’ll become Andi Harmon, Attorney at Law and talk you into it.”

Dancing with Andi took no convincing. “Okay.”

She blinked, her eyes widening. “Really? I had a speech prepared and everything.”

“I can say no if you want to give it to me.”

Andi cocked her head to the side, putting a finger to her lips. “If I give you the speech, I’m going to have to bill you for my time.”

Ben laughed. “By all means, don’t give me the speech then. I doubt I can afford your rate. It’ll be fun to hit the dance floor with you again. You always were my favorite partner.”

“You were mine, too.” She threw her arms around his neck. “Thank you. It’s going to be awesome. Promise.”

Ben wrapped his arms around her, relishing the hug. Her soft, warm body brushed against his, and he closed his eyes. “I believe you.”

“You’re not going to back out, are you?”

Ben thought of placing his hand at her waist, of holding her warm fingers in his. Of being close enough to smell her apple shampoo and coconut lip gloss once a week for two hours. His nerves buzzed with anticipation. “I’m not going to back out. I can’t wait to start.”

Andi knew if she didn’t make an appointment with Toujour soon, Rachel would keep pestering her until she did. First thing Monday morning, Andi called Toujour. They’d had a cancellation and so she was able to get in the next day.

She nearly called and canceled. She picked up the phone half a dozen times during work on Tuesday, only to hang it up again without dialing. The whole idea of a matchmaker was bizarre, and it wasn’t like she wanted to date again. But then she thought of Rachel’s face, her eyes wide and desperate for Andi to accept the olive branch that would sweep away her guilt.

She’d go to the appointment, awkward as it would be.

A long day at work meant she had to rush to make it on time. Andi fought through snarling traffic and pulled into a packed parking lot on the side of the building. Manicured hedges stood on either side of the front door, and three men lounged against the wall, cameras around their necks. Reporters? They straightened and glanced over at the sound of her footsteps, then relaxed and went back to talking.

Who were they waiting for? Luke Ryder?

Andi pulled open the glass door and stepped inside. She was nearly knocked back by the overpowering scent of incense. She couldn’t place the fragrance but it was spicy and sweet. The front lobby was crowded, every chair filled with a woman holding a tablet.