Sealing the Deal by Sandy James Page A

rift.
    “See you all later.” On that, Jules strode out of the coffee shop. The bronze bell hanging at the entrance rang as she opened and closed the door.
    “I should head out, too,” Dani said. “I’ve got a crapload of papers to grade.” She frowned at Beth. “Call me if you want to talk.”
    Beth nodded, but the only person she had any intention of talking to was Robert. He understood. He cared. After Jules let her down, she began to fear her friendships with the Ladies meant more to her than they did to the three of them.
    “Mallory?” Dani asked. “You coming?”
    “Go on, Dani,” Mallory replied. “I wanna talk to Bethany for a second.”
    Bethany . What Mallory always called her whenever she was frustrated with her. Just like a mother getting ready to scold a child.
    Dani left on a snarky, “All righty, then.” The bell marked her departure as it had Jules’s.
    “Why do I get the feeling you’re going to start in on me, too?” Beth asked. Her coffee was empty, and the smell of the freshly baked muffins called to her. Baked goods were always her favorite comfort food, but she wouldn’t wolf one down with model-thin Mallory staring at her.
    “You’re really moving in with Robert?” Mallory asked.
    Beth nodded, not feeling the need to keep justifying her choice by explaining it yet again.
    “But there’s nothing romantic? Nothing at all?”
    Shouldn’t lying to friends get easier with each new telling? “Nope. Nothing at all.”
    “I don’t believe you.” Where Jules was brutally honest, Mallory used tact. Those four words were a polite way of her calling Beth a liar.
    Which she was. She simply shrugged. “Believe what you want.”
    “Bethany… We all care about you. You know that. But I also know you’ve had a crush on Robert for a long time.”
    “A crush? You make me sound like one of my students.”
    “Then call it something else,” Mallory countered. “An attraction. An infatuation. Desire.”
    “What makes you think I’m attracted to Robert?” If Mallory saw how Beth felt, surely others would as well. Just more fodder for the gossips…
    “It’s the way you look at him when you’re together, and you can stop looking like you’re about to have a panic attack.” Mallory let out a little chuckle. “I doubt anyone else sees it as clearly as I do. Or am I wrong?”
    Beth stood at a crossroads. Here was her chance to confide in someone about her feelings for Robert and what her fears were about why he was inviting her and Emma to move in. Mallory was someone she could trust to not repeat anything Beth told her, not even to Jules or Dani. Probably not even to Ben.
    But if Beth confided in Mallory and Dani found out, she’d be hurt. Dani had always been Beth’s closest friend. Her confidante. If Beth was going to spill her guts to anyone, it should be Dani.
    If Ben found out, he’d probably go right to Robert. The last thing Beth wanted was Robert knowing she was jealous that he seemed to want Emma in his life more than her.
    Mallory’s hand covered Beth’s where it rested on the table. “It’s okay. I understand. I just… I’ve always felt like I owe you, and helping you with this would be my way of paying you back.”
    “Why would you owe me anything?” Beth asked.
    “You were the one who helped Ben and I reconcile.”
    When Ben had come to Beth to ask for help when he and Mallory had temporarily split up, she’d arranged a big event at Douglas High’s volleyball team’s senior night. Ben showed Mallory how much he supported her in her breast cancer battle by letting Beth shave him bald right in front of everyone. Then he’d gotten down on one knee to propose. How could Beth resist helping true love find a way?
    Beth waved Mallory’s comment away. “If I hadn’t helped him, you’d still have worked it out. You two are meant for each other.”
    “Just like I think you and Robert are supposed to be together. And for heaven’s sake, learn to take a