Love Imagines (Sully Point, Book 6) by Nicole Smith

together. His ex-girlfriend came
after him, burned down his house, shot at a building they were staying in, and
eventually shot Sam. When people go off the deep end about a relationship, they
can really lose it."
    "I remember that, reading about it in the papers.
But, surely Suzanne wouldn't go that nuts...right?"
    Rose shrugged. "I don't know. What you've
described is an unstable person, that's for sure."
    Ben ran his hand through his hair again, pulling
it away from his face. Rose found herself wanting to reach out a hand to caress
that face, but she didn't make a move. It was crazy that she was so drawn to
him so quickly. And it reminded her of this crazy Suzanne.
    She stood up and began clearing off the table.
"Well, I think the next step is for you to talk to William," she said rather
briskly.
    Ben looked a bit startled at her tone and activity
as she put away the sandwich fixings. He held onto the last bit of his sandwich
when she reached for it.
    "Not done yet," he said, and grabbed his drink as
well.
    "Sorry. I just have some stuff to do today and I
thought I should get to it."
    "No, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to break into your
day like this."
    Ben finished off the sandwich, and then his drink.
Rose knew she was being a bit cold, but she needed to keep him at a distance
until she could figure out what was going on with them.
    "Rose, I wanted to ask you to dinner for tonight.
Would you go out with me?"
    She turned from wiping down the counter to face him.
"I don't know, Ben. Do you think it's safe with Suzanne in town? What if she
hears that you are seeing someone? It could set her off."
    Ben tilted his head to one side and frowned. "I
don't want to let her control my life, but I see your point. She's so unpredictable,
and the last thing I want is for her to come after you."
    Rose took in a quick breath. "I wasn't thinking
she'd come after me."
    "I don't think it's such a far-fetched idea."
    "Maybe you're right, but in any case, we shouldn't
be seen going out together, agreed?"
    He nodded slowly. "Agreed. But I do want to see
you."
    "How about we meet up at Sam and Anna's place for
dinner? We could ask them more about the situation they were in before."
    "That might be very helpful. I do still want
to go out to dinner, just the two of us, but for now I think this probably is
the best thing to do. Meet you there around seven?"
    Rose thought that time would be something Anna
could live with and nodded.
    "Okay then, I'll be off so that you can get done
what you need to do today. Thanks for lunch, Rose."
    "You're welcome. I'll see you tonight."
    He walked to the front door, opened it, turned and
waved, and then was gone.
    Rose wandered into the living room and plopped
down into the brocade chair. What had she just done? First she gave him signals
like she didn't want him around, then she turned right around and set up seeing
him again that very night! Sighing, she picked up her phone to call Anna.
    * * * *
    "Sam, we're having company tonight. Your sister.
And Ben Sterling."
    Sam walked into the kitchen. Anna opened the
fridge to see what she had to cook for a dinner for company.
    "What, did she just call and invite herself over,
with a date?" Sam asked his wife.
    "Yes, she did. It was odd. She said they need to
ask the two of us some questions about a 'situation' but didn't spell out what
it was about."
    "That's a bit strange. Do you think the two of
them are getting involved?"
    Anna rolled her eyes at him. "Of course, they
are."
    "Anna...do you want to tell me something?" Sam
asked eyes suddenly intense as he stared at her.
    "What are you talking about?"
    "You're eating a stalk of celery. You hate celery.
Except for when you were pregnant with Joshua, then you couldn't get enough of
it. Are you...?"
    Anna's eyes went wide as she stared at the celery
in her hand. "Celery! Sam, you know..."
    He could see her thinking rapidly.
    "You know, I think maybe I am," she said in a
wondering voice.
    Sam reached for her and they hugged