He beamed proudly as he pulled out my napkin and placed it in my lap for me. He took a seat across from me.
“Bon appétit,” he said as he dug in.
The candles in the centerpiece took up such a large area that I didn’t have a direct line of vision with him. We couldn’t make lovey-dovey faces or googly eyes with each other, but maybe that’s how he wanted it. I could never be sure with him.
It was nice to have a man go to such lengths for me again. It was nice to have someone do something this thoughtful and special for no reason at all. This meant more to me than any text message or flower ever could.
“I’m so full,” I groaned as I took my last bite a little while later.
“I hope you saved room for dessert,” he replied from across the table.
“You made this big, elaborate dinner and you still had time to make dessert?” I laughed. “What are you, some sort of Martha Stewart protégé?”
“Ha,” he laughed. He stood up and took both of our plates to the kitchen. “No. I stopped and picked up a pie on the way home from work.”
“Well, you just had this all planned out, didn’t you?” I called out from my seat. I could hear him scraping the dishes and loading them into his dishwasher. I really wanted to help him clean up, but I knew he’d refuse.
“I got chocolate silk pie,” he called back. “Is that okay? Do you like chocolate?”
“Um, that’s like asking me if I like to breathe,” I replied.
I was tired of shouting from across the apartment, so I stood up and made my way to the kitchen where he was grabbing small plates and a pie cutter.
“Can we maybe go for a walk first?” I said. “Because I really, really want a piece of pie, but there’s literally no room in there right now.”
I patted my belly and pooched it out a bit.
He laughed. “Sure.”
He placed the pie back in the refrigerator and followed me to the front door. Luckily I had decided to wear flats that night, and they were comfortable flats at that. They’d be just fine for a nice, leisurely stroll around the neighborhood. I’d already put my feet through enough torture the past couple weekends.
Already a few days into March, things were really starting to warm up. We didn’t even need jackets. We walked side by side down the street together, discussing our weeks and talking about how good dinner was. Bennett confessed that it was the first time he’d made roast chicken, but his mom had coached him through it over the phone.
“That is the sweetest thing ever,” I said as I batted his arm. “Thanks for doing that. It was a lovely dinner.”
He grinned proudly as his dimples caught my eye once again. God, he had the most amazing dimples.
“I think I’ve got room for that pie now,” I said a half hour into our walk. “Shall we head back?”
We made our way back towards his place and climbed the stairs to the building. The moment we set foot inside, a giggling noise echoed through the wide halls and down the corridor.
We climbed another set of stairs to get to his door, both stopping in our tracks the moment we saw Ayla and Sam getting frisky outside of her apartment door. His hands were traveling up and down every inch of her body as she giggled and kissed his neck and ear.
I glanced over at Bennett who seemed mesmerized, frozen once again in her presence. He didn’t look happy, that much I could tell.
“Ahem,” Bennett said loudly. He was totally trying to make them stop.
Ayla whipped around, her brown hair falling over her shoulders in slow motion, and slowly stepped back from Sam. Sam’s hand still lingered on her hip. He looked annoyed at the interruption.
I couldn’t believe Bennett had done that. I would’ve been fine just ignoring them and hurrying into the refuge of his apartment. They never would’ve even seen us. It would’ve been fine. I thought we were having such a lovely night, too.
Bennett slipped his hands around my waist, pulling me closer to him. It was the first time he’d really touched me all night. Now he was acting like we were a couple or something. Were we? I was so confused.
“Ayla, Sam,” Bennett said as he stood next to me. He slipped his hands all the way around my waist, locking them together.
“We were just on our way,” Ayla said. “Come on, Sam.”
Ayla grabbed Sam by the hand. He didn’t even look at me. Not even once. They left the building in a hurry, practically running down the steps, and within seconds they were out of sight.
Bennett let us into his apartment, but by then I was seething.
“What the hell was that about?” I asked with my hands on my hips. I hoped I wasn’t being too girlfriend-y, but at that point I didn’t care.
“What do you mean?” He played dumb.
“Why’d you interrupt them?” I asked. “And then put your hands all over me. What kind of sick, twisted game are you trying to play?”
He shook his head, acting like he hadn’t the slightest clue what I was talking about, and kicked his shoes off.
“Want some pie?” he asked as he tried to change the subject.
I wondered if I was nothing more than a pawn to him. Maybe he did date Ayla before. Maybe he was in love with her. Maybe he was an obsessed fan. Maybe he was just using me to make her jealous.
I stood in his doorway, not bothering to remove my shoes. I wasn’t sure if I was even going to stay.
“Pie?” he asked as he nodded towards the kitchen.
“I should probably go home,” I said. “I think I have a headache or something.”
He stood dumbfounded as I flung the door open and slammed it behind me.
CHAPTER 16
“What the hell, Claudia?” I said to her over breakfast Saturday morning. I’d gotten up early that morning, unable to think or relax enough to even sleep in. I sat out in the living room and waited for her to get back from Eric’s. The moment she walked in, I pounced on her and made her sit down and talk to me.
“Good morning to you too?” Claudia said, confused.
“I have to talk to you now,” I said. “It can’t wait. You’re never here anymore, and I don’t have anyone to talk to. You’re my voice of reason, and you’re never home.”
Claudia laughed. “Sorry?”
She took a seat next to me on the couch.
“Okay, calm down,” she said. “I assume this either has to do with Sam or Bennett?”
“Bennett,” I said. “I thought things were going so well, but he’s so hot and cold with me. He says he wants to take things slow, but then he makes all these plans with me and sends me flowers and stays over and makes me dinner.”
“Typical asshole guy. Just doesn’t know what he wants,” she said. “Maybe he’s stringing you along until something better turns up? No offense. Some guys do that, you know.”
Good old Claudia. I could always count on her to tell it like it was.
“Then why put all the effort into it?” I said. “It’s exhausting sometimes.”
“Maybe he likes you but he’s afraid to get hurt?” she proposed. “It could be anything. Why don’t you just ask him?”
“I have!” I practically yelled at her, though my anger was clearly misdirected. “He either plays dumb or he has an explanation for everything.”
Claudia pursed her lips. “Maybe you should just cut your losses and go your own ways. Why waste all this time with him if he’s so hot and cold?”
“Because I like him,” I said. “Aside from all the bullshit, I really like him. He’s a gentleman. He’s thoughtful. He’s smart. And he’s so fucking hot.”
Claudia threw a throw pillow at me. “Then why even ask for my advice?”
“I don’t know,” I mumbled. “I guess I just hoped you’d see it differently, maybe in a better light.”
“You’re asking the wrong girl,” Claudia laughed. “You know I don’t spin things that way.”
“I know,” I sighed, squishing the pillow in
to my lap. “Everything is always going so well between us until Ayla Giovanni is factored in. It’s like we run into her or we talk about her, and that’s when the fights happen. She’s the problem!”
“Yes, yes. Blame everything on Ayla,” Claudia said as she rolled her eyes. “Ayla stole Sam, and now she’s ruining your relationship with Bennett. Of course. It makes perfect sense.”
“No, I’m serious,” I said with big, round eyes. “If I bring her up or if I talk about how he acts all weird around her, we fight. He closes up. He changes the subject. He acts like I’m being ridiculous or something.”
“Ah, I see,” Claudia said. “There’s got to be something going on between them. They must have a history together. People don’t act that way around people they don’t personally know. You’d be naïve to think otherwise.”
“I know,” I said. “That’s what I was afraid of. But I’ve asked him, and he says he won’t talk about his past girlfriends. He won’t confirm or deny ever having been involved with her. How do I find out?”
“Straight from the horse’s mouth,” Claudia replied as she sat up straight. She handed me my phone that was sitting next to her on the coffee table. “Call Ayla. Ask her to coffee. Get the dirt from her. She has no reason to lie about it, right?”
My mouth went dry at the thought of going behind Bennett’s back and contacting Ayla to find out if they ever dated. I was encroaching upon crazy girlfriend style behavior, something I swore I’d never do, but I had to know. I had to find out.
“Would you do this?” I asked Claudia. “If it involved Eric?”
Claudia sat back for a minute and pursed her lips as she thought about it.
“Depends on how much I like the guy,” she said. “I like Eric a lot. I think I’d want to know.”
I reached over and grabbed my phone, fingers a little shaky, and texted Ayla asking if she wanted to meet up for coffee in a little bit. I threw my phone across the bed as soon as the message was sent. As much as I didn’t want to spend time with her, it was going to be the only way I’d find out what the hell was going on.
“What if Bennett finds out about this?” Claudia asked. “I mean, I think you should still do it, but what would you say to him?”
“That’s easy,” I said. “I’d tell him it was casually brought up in conversation.”
“Makes sense,” she replied. “Your phone just went off.”
Ayla had responded almost right away, and I was shocked.
“She wants to meet up in a half hour. She’s got a busy day today,” I said as I read her message.
“Better get ready,” Claudia laughed.
I flew off the bed and began rifling through my closet to find something appropriate to wear. I threw my hair in a top knot, slicked on some tinted moisturizer, mascara and red lipstick, popped on some black, Audrey Hepburn-style sunnies and was out the door.
Ayla was already at the café when I got there, and of course she was already sipping a steaming cup of coffee and flipping through her phone.
“Hi,” I said as I plastered the biggest smile on my face. I had to play extra nice that day if I wanted her to open up to me.
“Hey,” she said with a tepid smile.
I ordered my drink then sat down next to her.
“So what’s this about?” she asked. She clearly wasn’t one to beat around the bush.
“Oh,” I replied, taken off guard. “I was just bored and wanted someone to get coffee with.”
I was a horrible liar, and I knew it.
She glanced down at her watch. “I have to be back at the station in a half hour. Just so you know.”
“I didn’t realize you were on weekends,” I said as my coffee was finally delivered.
“Just this weekend. Filling in for someone.” She raised her mug to her lips, which I then noticed were shellacked with thick, fuchsia lipstick. Her foundation was caked on as well. She had definitely taken time out of her morning to leave the station and meet me here, and she didn’t have to do that.
“I love your dress,” I said as my eyes were mesmerized by the swirls of bright colors that seemed to play off her tan skin just perfectly.
“Thanks,” she said as she stared off. “Vintage Pucci. It was my mother’s.”
“Nice,” I said. I could only imagine the closet she’d have inherited from a supermodel mom.
“So,” I said, sipping steamy liquid from my cup. “I have a random thing to ask you about.”
Her body turned towards me, and she was engaged for once. “Nothing’s random.”
“This is going to seem really weird,” I said as a sheepish smile formed across my lips. “Do you and Bennett know each other?”
Her face suddenly went from bland and unexpressive to twisted and curious.
“Yeah,” she said as her eyes squinted a bit. “Did he not mention that to you?”
“No,” I replied. I could feel my face getting red and my insides starting to burn hot. “He didn’t.”
Ayla tossed her shiny, brown hair over her shoulder and cocked her head back, cracking a sinister smile.
“We dated,” she said. She licked her lips before adding, “He was sort of obsessed with me after I dumped him.”
I felt like I’d been sucker punched right in the gut. I had suspected that to be the case, but I never thought about how I’d feel if I found out it was really true.
“How long did you two date?” I asked.
“Not long at all,” she said. “Maybe three or four months. He just wasn’t my type.”
I wondered how Bennett could not be someone’s type. He was gorgeous. He was smart. He was a freaking detective. It didn’t get much hotter than that. Just thinking about those lips and those broad shoulders and that lush head of hair kept me up all night some nights. And he had manners to boot. He was the total package.
“He was fine at first, but then he just sort of creeped me out,” she said. “Like he knew things about me that I’d never told him.”
“Yeah, but don’t you think this day and age that’s pretty common?” I replied, sticking up for him. I refused to believe Bennett was any sort of creep. “You can find out anything about anyone on the internet.”
“I’m not talking about addresses and phone numbers,” she replied. “I’m talking about what I’d had for breakfast or who I’d had lunch with that day. It just got to be too much.”
I felt sick as the coffee sloshed around in my unsettled stomach. This was not good.
“How long ago did you date?” I asked.
“I dumped him right before I met Sam, so maybe a little over a year ago?” she said as she stared up at the ceiling. “Yeah, that should be right.”
“So you only dated for a few months, and a year later he’s still not over you. Are you sure?” I asked.
“Think what you want about him,” she said as she shrugged. “I guess I just find it odd that he moved into my apartment building six months ago and just so happened to get the apartment right across from mine.”
I stared down at the table. Out of all the apartment buildings in the city, it did seem rather odd that he’d just happen to pick hers.
“He tries to act all casual around me,” she said. “But I can still see it in his eyes. That crazy side of him. That look he gave me when I dumped him. Gives me chills to this day.”
“So why did you agree to go out with us that night after the banquet?” I asked. “If he’s this psychotic stalker that gives you the creeps?”
She took a defensive stance and sat up straight. “I did it for Julianne. I’d do anything for her. Plus it was such an awkward conversation to have right then and there. What could I do?”
She had a point.
“Look,” she said. “I don’t mean to burst your bubble. I’m sure you think he’s great and all, but all I know is Sam and I are moving out the minute my lease is up. Bennett needs to move on.”
She looked down at her watch.
“I have to get going,” she said as she took a final sip of her coffee.
“Okay,” I said. “Thanks for meeting up with me.”
She smiled briefly and fled the coffee shop. The meeting was over just as soon as it’d started, but I’d heard all I needed to know.
CHAPTER 17
“I knew it,” I seethed as I flung the door open to our apartment and threw my purse down on the chair.
“What?” Claudia asked, looking up from the T.V. “How’d it go?”
“Bennett for sure dated Ayla,” I said. “And he pretty much stalked her. He moved into her apartment building to be closer to her, for crying out loud. Who the hell does that?”
“Huh,” Claudia replied as she raised one eyebrow. “That is pretty disturbing, but everything sort of makes sense now.”
“They only dated a few months,” I said. “Over a year ago. And he’s still hung up on her.”
“Let’s be honest,” she replied. “A lot of guys seem to have a hard time getting over her. She’s gorgeous.”
“You’re not helping,” I said as I plopped down.
“Even Eric brings her up from time to time,” she replied.
“And it doesn’t bother you?”
“No,” she said. “It did at first, but I know he doesn’t have an ice cube’s chance in Hell at ever getting back with her. And he knows that. And it’s not like he talks about her all the time. He talks about her like you’d talk about an old friend.”
“Wow,” I said. “Good for you for being cool about it.”
“He doesn’t get weird about her like Bennett does, though,” Claudia added. “If he got all weird about her, then that would raise a flag to me.”
I let out an exasperated sigh and covered my face with my hands.
“What do I do now?” I asked. “I really, really like him, Claud.”
“I know you do,” she said in the most pitiful voice I’d ever heard. “Your phone just went off.”
“You and your superhero hearing abilities,” I said as I fished around in my purse for my phone. “It’s a text. From Bennett.”
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