Not Your Match (8 page)

Andi smiled, pulling into the movie theater parking lot. This was nice, talking to Ben. They’d talked before, of course. But never about such personal things. She’d never talked to any guy like this. “Your Christmas mornings sound a lot more fun than mine.”

“What happened after your grandparents came?”

“We’d get ready for the big Christmas party. It was one of those formal affairs for rich clients. My job was to stay out of the way.”

“Wow. I didn’t know Christmas could be so lame.”

Andi shot Ben a stern look, but couldn’t hold it and burst out laughing. “It wasn’t all bad. My parents are excellent gift-givers, and I think they felt guilty about being so busy, because they certainly tried to buy my love. I got enough new toys and gadgets to keep me occupied all day, trust me.”

“That’s so different from what it was like at my house. After Rachel and I had torn into our presents, we’d go to our grandparents’ house and play with cousins. There was a lot of food, a lot of fun, and a fair amount of fighting involved. Everyone brought treats and we’d snack all day so no one had to spend time in the kitchen. We’d usually go to a movie that evening, so I’m actually glad you wanted to do that.”

Andi smiled. She’d mentioned a movie precisely because she remembered Rachel loving that tradition. “Are you missing your parents?”

Ben shrugged. “I haven’t spent Christmas with them since college. They’ve gone on cruises the last few years. In Arizona . . .” He cleared his throat and gazed out the window. Andi whipped into a parking spot as a cloud descended on them. “Well, we usually spent Christmas with Whitney’s parents.”

She wondered if Ben was thinking about the text Whitney had sent. She wondered if he was considering getting back together with his ex-fiancée. Rachel certainly seemed to think Ben and Whitney belonged together. Andi opened her mouth to respond, but Ben already had his door open and was out of the car. Obviously he didn’t want to talk about it.

They walked side by side into the theater, talking about their favorite Christmas memories and laughing. Ben held the door open for Andi, making her heart quicken. It had been a long time since she’d been treated like a lady.

The smell of popcorn instantly assaulted Andi when they entered the lobby. She took a deep breath and groaned.

“Smells good, huh?” Ben said. His mouth quirked up in the corner, and Andi wondered what it would feel like to kiss him.

Stop it.
Just because Ben actually listened to her didn’t mean she needed to fall into his arms. She quickly looked at the menu above the concession stands. “I’m stuffed from breakfast.”

“Me too. But you can’t see a movie without popcorn. That’s un-American.” He put a hand on the small of her back, spreading fire through her body, and guided her toward the concession line. “C’mon. My treat, since you made breakfast.”

Andi batted her eyes sweetly. “Well in that case, I think I need an Icee too.”

“Only if you’ll share.”

Andi’s mouth grew dry at the thought of sharing a drink with Ben. Of placing her lips on the straw that touched his. Would there be one straw, or two? This was starting to feel a lot more like a date than a friendly hangout between childhood pals.

She hoped there would only be one straw.

Soon Andi held a giant Icee in her hand—only one straw—while Ben held the popcorn in his. Andi took a big sip and gave an exaggerated sigh. “So good. Want some?”

“Andi?”

Andi froze, her eyes wide. It had been six months since she heard that voice, but it still sounded exactly as she remembered it. She looked up at Ben, who peered over her shoulder at the speaker.
Mark?
Andi mouthed. Ben gave an imperceptible nod.

Why hadn’t she considered he’d come home for Christmas? His parents, his sister, his nephews . . . they were all in Los Angeles. But seriously, he had to be at this
theater, at this
exact moment? What had she done so wrong that the universe repaid her like this?

She plastered on her best
I’m over you
smile and turned around. His hair was shorter than it had been the last time she saw him, the dirty blonde locks almost buzzed. He’d gained a few pounds around the middle, but not enough that most people would notice. He still looked as handsome as ever, and rage flared through her.

Seven years. She’d wasted
seven years
on him.

“I didn’t expect to run into you here,” Andi said, the words coming out harsher than she’d intended.

Mark shifted his weight from foot to foot, a sure sign he was uncomfortable. “Yeah, we’re back for Christmas.” He reached out and pulled a woman forward. Andi hadn’t noticed her before. The woman was completely average in every way—average brown hair of an average length, average weight, average height. “This is Mandy. My fiancée.”

The woman he’d left her for. She stood there, clutching her purse strap and looking like she’d rather be anywhere else in the world at that moment.

This unremarkable person was still somehow more important to Mark than the seven years of history he’d shared with Andi.

Andi couldn’t help herself. She glanced at Mandy’s left hand. A diamond sparkled in the light. A diamond she’d been so sure would one day rest on her finger. Andi’s eyes flicked up to meet Mark’s. They brimmed with a sympathetic apology. She wanted to slap him. He didn’t get to absolve his guilt by doling out compassion. She was the wronged party here.

“Congratulations,” Andi said. Her mouth felt cotton dry. Ben’s shoulder brushed against hers, and she leaned into him. “Sorry, I’m being rude,” Andi said. “This is Ben. You remember him from high school.”

“Of course.” Mark reached out and the two men shook hands. He glanced back and forth between Andi and Ben. “Are you two . . . ?”

Ben wrapped an arm around Andi’s shoulder, pulling her close. “I just moved back to Los Angeles and we’ve reconnected.”

Andi melted into Ben, more than willing to let Mark assume they were together.

“That’s great. Congratulations.” Mark couldn’t seem to stop nodding. “I’m really happy for you.”

Mandy placed a hand on Mark’s arm. “We’d better go. The movie’s starting.”

“Right. It was good to see you, Andi.”

“You too.” She thought for a moment he might go in for a hug. Andi grit her teeth and shrank against Ben. Mark settled for an awkward wave, and then he and Mandy left. She watched as Mandy grasped Mark’s hand and gazed into his eyes, laughing at something he said. Andi balled her hands into fists, red spots dancing across her vision.

As soon as Mark and Mandy disappeared around the corner, Ben dropped his arm from Andi’s shoulder and moved away. “Sorry. I hope that was okay.”

“It was more than okay. It was chivalrous. Thank you. It would’ve been too humiliating to get the sympathetic
you’ll find him one day, Tiger
expression.”

“Are you okay?”

“I will be.” Andi consciously willed her muscles to relax. Mark didn’t deserve her anger. He wasn’t worth that.

She’d mail the box on Monday. This time she meant it.

Ben glanced at Andi as she chuckled. Her laughter was almost silent, but her shoulder kept brushing against his as she shook with suppressed mirth. She held the Icee in one hand and the straw between her fingers as she hunched over the drink, trying to hide her giggles.

Ben looked back at the movie screen. He had to admit, as far as movies went, this one was pretty far out there. Implausible was a nice way to put it. But everyone in the theater seemed totally entranced by the action on screen.

The female CIA agent hooked her belt over a power line and slid down it, sparks flying behind her. She let go and fell thirty feet, just to stick a perfect landing on the top of a moving semi-truck.

Andi snorted. The glow of the screen illuminated her face, and he could just make out her scrunched up nose and upturned lips. Her expression, her posture, her humor at the movie were all so Andi. She had made him feel more alive in a week than Whitney had in four years.

Ben didn’t see what happened on the screen, but he did hear the cackle escape Andi.

“Shhh!” the person in front of them said.

“Sorry,” Andi whispered. She covered her mouth, shoulders still shaking, as the heroine did a somersault off the back of the semi and landed in the middle of the quiet country road, unharmed, hair still perfectly in place.

Andi glanced over at him, and Ben quickly redirected his focus to the screen. His stomach swarmed with confusing emotions. When he’d seen Mark, Ben’s nerves had buzzed with the familiar jealousy he’d always experienced in high school. Helping her save face in front of her ex had been more satisfying than Ben had expected. He’d been worried she’d spend the rest of the day blinking back tears, but she seemed fine.

His jean pocket vibrated with a text. Ben’s mind instantly crashed back to Whitney. What was he thinking? He couldn’t let his crush on Andi resurface.

Thirty minutes later, the final credits rolled. People filed out of the theater, but Andi sat back in her seat, watching the names scroll across the screen.

“Don’t tell me you’re hoping for a bonus ending,” Ben said.

“Oh, that we are so lucky. Ten bucks says it involves a kiss and fireworks. Or maybe an explosion.”

“Yeah, I can see why we’re waiting for that.”

“Okay, so there probably won’t be a bonus ending. I like to watch the credits and see how much goes into a movie. I think it’s cool how many people put their blood, sweat, and tears into these two hours.”

“Even when it turns out to be two hours you can never get back?”

Andi laughed. He loved the sound—open, unassuming, and comfortable. “Even when it’s as awful as this movie. Seriously, what were they thinking?”

The lights flicked on, and a few employees walked in, brooms in hand. Andi rose, and Ben followed her out of the aisle and down the stairs.

“It’s not the producers I question—it’s the audience,” Ben said. “I thought that lady in front of us was going to call you out.”

“I can see how you got that impression. But don’t worry, I’m excellent in a dual. She was pretty cranky for Christmas, don’t you think?”

“Well, you and your loud mouth were disrupting the movie.”

“Hey now. I might’ve been disruptive, but I don’t know how they can expect me not to be when they have a plot line as implausible as that one.” Andi swatted his arm, then linked hers through his, leaning her head against his shoulder.

Ben’s breathing stuttered. He was all too aware of her warm head on his arm, her hair tickling his chin, the apple scent from her shampoo surrounding him.

In the car, Andi fiddled with the radio as they drove back toward her condo complex—his now, too. That would take some getting used to.

“I’m feeling like we need to go home and frost sugar cookies or something,” Andi said.

Ben raised an eyebrow. “I thought you said you’d exhausted your culinary skills for another year.”

Andi ran a hand through her hair, and he caught a hint of apple with the movement. “Yeah, but it feels like a Christmassy activity.”

“You don’t even like sweets.” He remembered that much from their childhood. She had to be the only girl alive not obsessed with chocolate.

“No, but Rachel does. You can take a plate home. And it’s not like I hate sweets, I just like savory foods better. I’ll eat a snowman-shaped sugar cookie in honor of the holiday. It’ll be fun.”

Her childish enthusiasm was a breath of fresh air. Ben’s mind flashed back to last Christmas, when Whitney spent the whole day crying in her room and telling him to go away. Her parents had come over, and Ben spent a few hours making awkward conversation while Whitney refused to come out of her room. He’d been desperate to help her, and had felt utterly defeated because he knew that until Whitney was ready to help herself, nothing he did would work.

“Ben?”

He blinked, glancing over at Andi. She shot a look his way before focusing again on the road. “Sorry,” he muttered.

“Everything okay?”

“Yeah. Sugar cookies sound great.”

Back at Andi’s, Ben watched as she pulled ingredients out of her pantry and placed them on the center island. She piled her hair on top of her head in some sort of messy bun and pushed the sleeves of her Christmas sweater up nearly to her elbows. Ben couldn’t help the grin that spread across his lips as he watched her read the instructions, lips pursed.