Lia, her father, and her brothers all went to the restaurant without Ben. He had called and said that his appointment was taking more time than usual, and he would meet them at the restaurant. Her father, Larry, and her brothers, Leo and Lawson were antsy and wanted to head to the restaurant early to grab a drink.

Liam remained silent, but that was his way. One of the good things about her family was that they tended to reserve judgment, and they often kept their opinion to themselves. Lia was good at reserving judgment, but she had never been very good at keeping her opinions to herself. They had all been served with drinks of their choice and had settled into a table at the bar. The restaurant was a casual one and people were dressed in a mix of styles. Lia had opted for a pretty sundress, and her brothers were all wearing jeans and button-down shirts. Her father was in a polo shirt and khakis

They were all discussing whether they should hire a charter to take them deep sea fishing while they were visiting when Lawson looked up, pausing with his glass halfway to his lips.

Lia looked over her shoulder, expecting to see Ben in his raggedy clothes, but she saw Chance instead. He had noticed them and was headed right for them. Lia rolled her eyes, prayed for patience, and set her glass down so she wouldn't throw her drink in his face.

"Lia," Chance greeted, "Larry, Leo, Liam, Lawson." He went wound the table shaking everyone's hands. "What brings you all to town?" he asked carelessly, for all the world like he wasn't Lia's ex. "Oh, I bet I know, you wanted to meet Lia's new fiancé. She replaced me pretty quick didn't she." Her brothers and father had always seemed to like Chance, and Chance must have felt confident in their friendship because he was talking and acting as if they were old friends.

The four men looked from Lia to Chance and then back again, perplexed as to why he was even talking to them.

"Savannah's a small town, Daddy. You can't even get away from those you don't like." Lia picked up her glass with a hand that shook only slightly, partly in anger, but also out of fear of what Chance might say or do.

"It is a small town, isn't it?" he agreed. "Have you met Ben yet? I'm sure you'll like him, almost everyone does, despite the rumors about him." Chance leaned in and whispered the last bit. It was comical really as if he was a little girl or old biddy dishing out juicy gossip. However, Lia was too nervous to find it funny.

Her father and brothers didn't bite, they didn't say a word, they silently stared at Chance, waiting for him to get to the point.

Chance looked over his shoulder as if checking to see who was around, and he couldn't have missed Ben's entrance because he waited for a beat until Ben was in earshot. "You know they, the police and others, think he killed his first wife."

Lia closed her eyes in frustration. They hadn't even met Ben yet and this was the first story they were going to hear about him. He wouldn't stand a chance.

Ben's hand clapped down on Chance's shoulder, seemingly in greeting, but she saw Chance wince at the firmness of it. "Chance, what a surprise seeing you here, and it must feel terribly awkward for Lia and her family. Why don't you leave?" he suggested, sitting next to Lia and placing a kiss on her cheek.

"I just thought they should be warned about you, I doubt you or Lia will tell them the truth," he said defensively.

"Ah, the truth. If that was something you were really interested in you wouldn't be here spreading defamatory statements. I think you're jealous that you lost the girl, or you still could be mad that Huck pissed on you during the wedding, and your bride took it as an omen and ran away."

Lia bit her lip to keep from grinning at Ben's words. "Either way, as far as Lia is concerned, your loss is my definite gain." He reached for Lia's glass and turned to her with it raised in a toast. "To the prettiest girl in the room," he took a sip and placed it back on the table.

"Would you care to join us?" Ben asked, turning to the waitress as she arrived, ordering a drink of whiskey neat. "No, that's a shame," Ben said as Chance glowered at him. Everyone seated around their table stared at him until he turned and stomped away.

"Lia?" her father asked.

"First, let me introduce Ben, Ben this is my father, Larry, and my brothers, Leo and Lawson."

Ben stood and shook their hands, and Lia noted that he had put on a dress shirt and slacks, and his hair was still damp. He smelled wonderful too.

"I'm sorry I wasn't able to meet you when you arrived, but I had an appointment," Ben said as he sat back down. He then proceeded to charm everyone with the story of him, Lia, and Huck at Chance's wedding. Everyone was laughing by the time he was through, and it had loosened the atmosphere as they were escorted to their table.

"What do you do young man?" her father asked. After they had ordered. Now it was time for the third degree.

"I'm a writer," Ben said, sitting back in his chair apparently at ease. Lia was not though, she was wound tight with nerves, and as if he sensed it, Ben reached up and rubbed her neck as he spoke to her father. Lia bent her head and relaxed into his touch. It was as if he was saying everything was going to be alright without saying the words.

"Does that pay well? Can you support my daughter? My son says you live with her? Is she supporting you with that little nursing job of hers?" Her father leaned forward. "And what's this rumor about you killing your wife?

Lia wanted to put her head down and weep at her father's directness, and she felt Ben tense, it was subtle, but she felt it.

"I see where Lia gets her directness from." Ben gave her father a small smile.

"Stop trying to charm me, boy. I wasn't born yesterday." Her father's eyes narrowed.

Lia saw her brothers tense. He hadn't been this hard on Chance when he had first met him, but perhaps it was because she had told them all about Chance before they had met him.

"Fine, I'll shoot straight," Ben agreed, his face turning serious.

"I would like to start with your offensive statement about Lia's little nursing job. There is nothing little about it, she saves lives and she's good at it, and I'm quite sure that it is more than anyone at this table can claim to have done with their lives. Yes, I live with Lia, she offered, and I needed a place to stay. Your daughter doesn't need me or anyone to support her, she does just fine on her own, and finally, my finances don't concern anyone but myself and my wife when the time comes."

"And the bit about your wife?" Lawson said, leaning in, fascinated by Ben.

"I won't dignify that with an answer, the records are public, and you can find plenty about it mentioned in the local newspapers. Local rumor has never had many facts behind it, where would the fun be in that?"

There was a silence at the table as they all regarded Ben.

"What do you write?" Lawson asked, "I'm working on my masters in English Lit."

"I used to be a freelance journalist, now I write fiction."

Liam and Leo were also well-read, they got their love of it from their mother, it was a gene that seemed to skip Lia, but for once she was glad her brothers were all bookworms because they were all able to find common ground with Ben.

Her father remained silent, watching Ben interact with his son's. Lia didn't have much to say for herself, even when they started to tease her about her lack of interest in reading.

The rest of dinner was uneventful, and they walked back to the house in groups of two, and Ben and Lia were following behind.

"I'm sorry Lia," Ben said, taking a deep ragged breath. "You were right, that didn't go well."

"Thank you," Lia said stopping him.

"For what, ruining your relationship with your father?" he asked with a self-mocking smile as he looked down at her.

"No, for standing up for me as you did. No one has ever done that for me. I felt appreciated," she paused, "I felt loved Ben. I know that's not what you meant," she held up her hand before he could object, "but it was how it felt." She went up on tiptoe and gave him a gentle kiss. "It was you being you, grouchy Ben, I wouldn't want you any other way. I don't think I would recognize you otherwise." She linked her arm through his and they continued walking.

"You clean up nice," she teased.

"I had to make an attempt, didn't I?" he asked, but he was thinking hard about something else.

"No, you didn't, and part of me hoped you were going to turn up in an old t-shirt and ratty jeans. You do realize that they all think that you're a poor bum who is living off little ole' innocent me, right?"

"The thought did cross my mind," Ben said drolly. "I could tell them the truth."

"No, don't. My brothers like you and my father will too. It will be more fun this way. Plus, if they really think you're living off me, then when we call it quits they won't be too terribly upset."

Ben shook his head. "Were they upset about Chance?"

Lia shrugged. "Who knows, we're not big into sharing how we feel in my family. They never really asked what happened. For them, we were engaged, and then we weren't."

"Then that should make it easier when we're finished." Ben nodded.

Lia didn't say anything to that because she was worried about when they were going to end it, she didn't want to, as far as she was concerned they could go in indefinitely. Ben had become a major part of her life, and she couldn't imagine not talking to him every day or seeing him.

It was going to be devastating and her mind and her heart would miss him, but at least her body wouldn't. It was cold comfort.