Free Sealing the Deal by Sandy James Page B

Seven
    “You’re what ?”
    Beth winced at the way Danielle screeched the question. “I’m moving in with Robert.”
    “But… but…” Danielle stared at her wide-eyed from across the table at the coffee shop. “You didn’t even tell us you were going out with him.” Her voice held a note of censure, as well as a touch of hurt and a lot of anger.
    Mallory and Jules were glaring every bit as hard, and Beth was sure to hear their displeasure soon as well.
    Why were they all against her when they didn’t even know the particulars of the situation?
    “That’s ’cause we’re not going out,” Beth said. Knowing that answer was going to trigger a slew of questions from the three Ladies Who Lunch, she hastened to explain. “Robert and I are friends. That’s all. He knows how hard it is for me to raise Em all by myself. He built that big house over in Stone Haven for himself, and he decided he wants us to move in with him.”
    “I don’t get it.” Dani pushed her empty coffee cup farther away. “Why build a house like that for himself?”
    Beth shrugged since she’d been asking herself the same question. “Maybe he wanted to hold it while the value appreciates? Maybe he decided he liked it while he was building it? All I know is Emma will have a great place to live, and I’ll have a friend to help with watching her.”
    The scowl Jules tossed her way told her she’d hit a nerve.
    Good . If Jules hadn’t been so selfish about letting Aubrey watch Emma with the twins, Beth might not need Robert’s help.
    Who was she kidding? Her feelings for Robert grew each day, and Jules’s rejection would never change that. Even if Aubrey had Emma every school day, Beth would still be taking Robert up on his generous offer. They needed time to see if they could become more than friends. Much more, she hoped.
    Dani’s brows knit. “So you aren’t a couple?”
    “No. No way,” Beth replied. Not yet. Although she feared her heart had already settled on Robert. She had no plans for a relationship beyond sharing the home and seeing if a true relationship grew from the time they spent together. For all she knew, he might decide she wasn’t at all what he’d expected, especially because living together he was sure to see her at her worst.
    Since when did she feel the need to lie to her friends, especially Dani? The Ladies shared everything. The four of them had always been close and entirely open with one another. Now there was a wall between Beth and Jules over the nanny request, and more walls were going up between Beth and the group with each half-truth she told.
    She just wasn’t ready to share what was budding between her and Robert—if there was anything even budding between them. She had no confidence it would last, and if the Ladies knew, things could get awkward if Robert changed his mind and just wanted to be platonic roommates.
    Once she was sharing a home with him, he might realize exactly how high maintenance she could be and give up on even thinking about being intimate. Isn’t that what her last two boyfriends had told her? She was too fussy, too particular? Why should Robert be any different?
    Beth liked what she liked. That was that. She tried to never be insistent or contrary, but when it came to food or beauty products or even clothing, she had certain preferences. She also hated things to be disorganized.
    Emma had thrown a kink in Beth’s orderly life from the first moment she chose to take over her care. Having a baby and keeping things neat and clean weren’t compatible. After seeing how much Robert had straightened up her apartment while she slept the other night, he might have assumed she was as messy as he was. Far from it.
    She’d been to his home and his office. God love him, the man was a slob. Surely once he realized how fussy she was, he’d ask her to move right back out. If she hoped to keep her sanity, perhaps she needed to learn to relax some of her standards, which might make