The Wallflower Mate

10

Daniela moved to sit the bowl of salad down on the table before pointing her fingers to the two seats to opposite from her.

"Please sit," she urged both Benjamin and Mary.

On a normal evening, Mary would sit to Marcus's left and Daniela would sit to Marcus's right while the boys would sit next to their mother. However, tonight was different. They had a guest.

Mary was about to pull out her chair, but Benjamin beat her to it. He pulled out her chair. She didn't think about any of it. She sat down in her seat.

While dinner was being passed around the table, she noticed Daniela and Marcus looking at her.

"Mary, remember that one day during your freshman year we went to Austin for spring break. We traveled for a few hours and got stuck on a country road—" Daniela began.

Mary's mind flew back to the old days. She remembered that day. They had wanted to do some sightseeing but ended up stuck on the country road. She also remembered being rescued by a bunch of boys. It was one of memory that she wasn't very fond of because when the boys helped them; they paid extra attention to Daniela but not her.

When they handed them water bottles, Daniela received two to three while she had to ask for water bottles. It was embarrassing. She also remembered a particular blue eye male wolf in the group she thought she had a good connection with but was horribly wrong when the boy set her straight.

She connected the dots, and her gaze flew to Benjamin.

He was that boy.

"Hey," Benjamin smiled in her direction, flashing straight white teeth.

Immediately, she turned her gaze back to her sister-in-law and Marcus. They had a great time in Austin, Texas, but all Mary wanted to do was run back home and hid under her sheets. She remembered an awkward night of kissing Benjamin and Benjamin pushing her away.

She couldn't blame her brother- and sister-in-law, though. They didn't know that this had happened during the trip. She kept it all to herself.

"I don't recall," Mary lied through her teeth.

Daniela and Marcus looked slightly disheartened, but they said nothing. Benjamin looked slightly relieved. Mary was glad though when they didn't press her to further remember. Dinner continued with a little talk about the past.

Mary gulped down her dish. She needed to get out of there fast, but she had too much hope. Benjamin started a conversation with her.

"So, what have you been up to, Mary?" Benjamin asked. "You look... amazing. Different from when you were fifteen."

"Nothing much," Mary answered with a shrug.

"She's a chef at one of our local restaurants," Daniela said with a gentle smile.

Mary stared at her half-eaten plate. She knew Daniela meant well. Her brother, too. They both loved her so much. They wanted to see her happy. They also knew how much Mary wanted to start her life, but Benjamin? This couldn't be happening.

"A chef? Wow. You can cook?" Benjamin said in interest. "That's amazing. Maybe you can teach me—"

She slammed her eating utensils a little too hard onto the table. Mary pushed her chair back.

"I'm sorry, I have to use the restroom," she lied and stood up.

She didn't wait. Mary made a run for the hallway. She needed to escape. Now, she knew what the twins meant. This was her brother's surprise.

"Mary," her brother said from behind her.

She stopped to look at him. They were safely out of earshot.