Sealing the Deal by Sandy James Page B

compliment! Ben said all he did was ask for your help, and voilà, there’s Ben in the center of the gym. Not only did you give him the perfect way to apologize and make amends, but you also raised a couple thousand dollars for breast cancer research.”
    “It was nothing.”
    “To me, it was a helluva lot more than nothing .” Mallory leaned back. “I— we —want to help you. Raising Emma won’t be easy, and you’ll need your friends’ help. Don’t shut us out.”
    Which was exactly what Beth had been doing. Beth needed to hear the warning, but she’d already made up her stubborn mind, probably because of Jules’s rejection at the first favor Beth had asked of one of her friends.
    Instead of tossing out yet another lie, Beth said, “Robert will be there for Emma. You should see him with her. If I didn’t know better, I’d think she was his biological daughter.”
    “Why do you think he’s so attached to her this quickly?” Mallory asked.
    Since Beth had asked herself the same question over and over, she gave the answer she’d finally arrived at. “I think he’s finally ready to settle down.”
    “Turning forty will do that to a guy,” Mallory said with a smirk. “So you think this is a midlife crisis?”
    “Not at all. He loves Emma. I have no doubt of that. He talks about how smart she is, even claims she’s brighter than any of his nieces and nephews.”
    “But how does he feel about you?”
    Beth hesitated, not sure she was ready to confront her fears let alone share them with Mallory.
    “Beth?”
    “We’re just friends, Mallory. That’s all.” How could she tell any of the Ladies how afraid she was that Robert wanted Emma and was willing to settle for Beth since they were a package deal? He was so open about how he felt about Emma, and although he was physically attracted to Beth, that didn’t mean he held any true affection for her.
    With a frown and a shake of her head, Mallory pushed her chair back and stood up. “Be careful.”
    “With Robert?”
    “That, and with the Ladies Who Lunch.”
    “What’s that supposed to mean?” Beth asked. The statement held a note of threat that made her bristle.
    “That means don’t push us all so far away that you can never find your way back.”

Chapter Eight
    Beth looked around her classroom, tears blurring her vision. There were balloons, streamers, and hand-painted signs welcoming her back. Since the principal normally frowned on parties during school hours, she was shocked to see an enormous sheet cake on her worktable. Next to it rested a pile of paper plates, napkins, and plastic forks.
    “Oh my…” She sniffed hard, willing herself not to cry in front of the kids. Her gaze swept the faces of the students in her Service Learning class, the clear organizers of this little gathering. Most were grinning, but a few girls had tears in their eyes as well. “Thank you all.”
    For some odd reason, a teacher showing too much emotion freaked out students, as though teachers were supposed to constantly be in total control of themselves. Laughter was allowed. But tears? Never.
    “This is so sweet.” Beth turned to see Mallory and Dani standing in the doorway, smiling.
    No surprise the Ladies Who Lunch helped make this happen. While Beth’s students started bustling about, cutting the cake and handing it out, she went to her friends.
    Brushing aside the guilty feelings that had dragged her down after the tempestuous lunch a few days ago, Beth hugged each of her friends and murmured her thanks.
    “We’re glad to have you back,” Dani said before embracing Beth. Then she brushed away a stray tear. “Douglas High wasn’t the same without you.”
    “We’ve missed you,” Mallory added with a quick hug. “Oh, and Jules is coming by soon. We’ll be the Ladies Who Lunch again today, if only for the half hour we have to eat.”
    “That’ll be heaven.”
    * * *
    By the time lunch period rolled around, Beth was already exhausted. She’d