Romance: Love Left Behind - A Mystery Romance: (Romance, Mystery, Mystery Romance, Romantic Suspense) by Paige Powers Page A
Authors: Paige Powers
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spoke about lost love and failed relationships. Neither Ben nor Starla liked country music but neither of them bothered to change it. They just needed something to fill the silence and to distract them from everything that had just happened.
It blew Ben’s mind that, in a city of ten million people, he would see the one person he wanted to avoid that day. He couldn’t believe that Mina just happened to be walking past the very spot where him and Starla had been eating a hotdog and discussing their love lives. It could have been divine intervention. But if so, that meant that the relationship between Starla and him wasn’t meant to be. He didn’t really want that to be the case.
The drive back into Bellen was the longest one hour and fifteen minutes that either Starla or Ben had ever experienced. Once in town, Ben figured they needed to talk it out, figure out where they stood. He turned down the volume of the music and asked Starla what her opinion was.
“I can’t wait for you anymore, Ben. I can’t be your chick on the side or whatever. Maybe us reuniting and getting physical and all of that was just stupid. We’ve been ignoring the facts. You have a girlfriend and I have a boyfriend. And you’re going to move back to New York City. That’s the way it is. It was stupid for either of us to think that this would end well.”
“But we could do a long-distance relationship,” Ben countered. “And it’s not even really that long. I’d only be a train ride away.”
“You have a girlfriend. I saw her today. Did that not embarrass you the way it embarrassed me? Oh my God.”
“I told you I’d break up with her for you.”
“But you didn’t,” Starla responded despondently.
Ben pulled the car into a parking spot by the park. They sat there for a few moments listening to the idling of the car engine.
“Maybe you’re right then. Maybe we should just be friends,” Ben said, staring out into space. “Maybe this was all just a big mistake.” He turned towards her and, rather than hugging her, stuck out his hand for a handshake. “Friends?”
With just a grunt of displeasure, Starla unbuttoned her seatbelt, threw open the car door, and stalked down the street. Ben had to unbutton his own seatbelt so that he could lean over and shut the car door. As he watched Starla returning to her boyfriend, Ben sighed.
Women were just so complicated. He didn’t understand them at all.
Chapter Nine:
2014 – Ben
He knew there was something wrong as soon as he opened the door to the apartment. Something just felt off. He couldn’t put his finger on exactly what it was, but the feeling in the apartment was…too still, maybe? When he dropped his bag to the floor, where it landed with a resounding clunk, there was some movement in the bedroom. A flurry of muted whispers, some soft footsteps. The door to the bedroom opened and Mina strolled out. She was wrapped in the red silk robe that Ben had bought her last Valentine’s Day. Strangely enough, her hair was done in a messy bun on the top of her head.
“Baby!” she exclaimed, walking forward and embracing Ben. “I didn’t think you’d be home for another few days. Is everything okay?”
There was a false cheeriness to her voice, an uncomfortable sparkle in her eyes. Ben replied, “Everything is fine. I was just tired of being home. Spending all that time in Bellen reminded me of why I left. So I came back here to you. Where I belong. That’s what you reminded me when you saw me before, right?”
“Of course, baby. I’m –” Before Mina could finish her sentence, there was a loud crash from the bedroom.
Rather than go see what it was, Mina tried to get a tighter hold on Ben. Her arms squeezed around him, attempting to keep him in one place. “Don’t worry, Ben. I left the window open, something probably just fell. Don’t –”
Alarm bells were
It blew Ben’s mind that, in a city of ten million people, he would see the one person he wanted to avoid that day. He couldn’t believe that Mina just happened to be walking past the very spot where him and Starla had been eating a hotdog and discussing their love lives. It could have been divine intervention. But if so, that meant that the relationship between Starla and him wasn’t meant to be. He didn’t really want that to be the case.
The drive back into Bellen was the longest one hour and fifteen minutes that either Starla or Ben had ever experienced. Once in town, Ben figured they needed to talk it out, figure out where they stood. He turned down the volume of the music and asked Starla what her opinion was.
“I can’t wait for you anymore, Ben. I can’t be your chick on the side or whatever. Maybe us reuniting and getting physical and all of that was just stupid. We’ve been ignoring the facts. You have a girlfriend and I have a boyfriend. And you’re going to move back to New York City. That’s the way it is. It was stupid for either of us to think that this would end well.”
“But we could do a long-distance relationship,” Ben countered. “And it’s not even really that long. I’d only be a train ride away.”
“You have a girlfriend. I saw her today. Did that not embarrass you the way it embarrassed me? Oh my God.”
“I told you I’d break up with her for you.”
“But you didn’t,” Starla responded despondently.
Ben pulled the car into a parking spot by the park. They sat there for a few moments listening to the idling of the car engine.
“Maybe you’re right then. Maybe we should just be friends,” Ben said, staring out into space. “Maybe this was all just a big mistake.” He turned towards her and, rather than hugging her, stuck out his hand for a handshake. “Friends?”
With just a grunt of displeasure, Starla unbuttoned her seatbelt, threw open the car door, and stalked down the street. Ben had to unbutton his own seatbelt so that he could lean over and shut the car door. As he watched Starla returning to her boyfriend, Ben sighed.
Women were just so complicated. He didn’t understand them at all.
Chapter Nine:
2014 – Ben
He knew there was something wrong as soon as he opened the door to the apartment. Something just felt off. He couldn’t put his finger on exactly what it was, but the feeling in the apartment was…too still, maybe? When he dropped his bag to the floor, where it landed with a resounding clunk, there was some movement in the bedroom. A flurry of muted whispers, some soft footsteps. The door to the bedroom opened and Mina strolled out. She was wrapped in the red silk robe that Ben had bought her last Valentine’s Day. Strangely enough, her hair was done in a messy bun on the top of her head.
“Baby!” she exclaimed, walking forward and embracing Ben. “I didn’t think you’d be home for another few days. Is everything okay?”
There was a false cheeriness to her voice, an uncomfortable sparkle in her eyes. Ben replied, “Everything is fine. I was just tired of being home. Spending all that time in Bellen reminded me of why I left. So I came back here to you. Where I belong. That’s what you reminded me when you saw me before, right?”
“Of course, baby. I’m –” Before Mina could finish her sentence, there was a loud crash from the bedroom.
Rather than go see what it was, Mina tried to get a tighter hold on Ben. Her arms squeezed around him, attempting to keep him in one place. “Don’t worry, Ben. I left the window open, something probably just fell. Don’t –”
Alarm bells were
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