Bennett paused mid-chew. “Sorry. I guess that was kind of an awkward pause.”
“Silence can be nice sometimes, too. I’m always a little suspicious of people who have to fill every moment with activity, you know? It’s exhausting trying to keep up with that.”
Katie twirled her pasta around her fork. She’d confessed that pasta was one of her weaknesses. Especially pasta with seafood in it. Another thing he filed in his mental notes about her.
“I’m used to being the quiet one in a crowd of noise,” Bennett said. “Growing up with three younger brothers who never stopped moving taught me to find an oasis in the middle of pandemonium. Plus, my Aunt Maria and her two kids lived with us for a while also when I was really young. My cousins Langston and Laura are like additional siblings. It was a constant party.”
Katie leaned forward. “Was it crazy? You seem like such a solitary person. I can’t imagine you growing up in a big family.”
“It was difficult at times. With so many people around, there’s always someone asking you for something or making noise. Finding time alone was almost impossible. Luckily we have so much land that we were all outside a lot. I’ll have to take you to some of my favorite spots one day.”
“I would love that.” Katie placed her fork by her plate and sat back with a satisfied sigh. “That was so good. I’m sure it’s all going to my hips but that’s okay. It was worth it.”
Bennett took his last bite of his own food. His brother had recommended the restaurant and he’d described it as upscale without being pretentious. Sweeties was known for great food and a romantic atmosphere but of course it all came with an extremely high price tag. However, it was definitely worth the outrageous price. Bennett was feeling languid and satisfied after such a good meal.
The waitress appeared then and set a dessert menu on the table between them. Bennett wondered if she thought they were a real couple. He considered the idea. What did other people see when they looked over at their table? He was so used to being considered strange or an outsider that he found he liked the idea of being a part of a couple with Katie. She made him feel like he belonged, exactly the way he was.
The waitress took their plates. “Dessert? We have a seasonal berry crumble that is absolutely delicious.”
Katie groaned. “Okay, you twisted my arm!” She made a face as the waitress disappeared. “I have no willpower at all.”
Bennett chuckled at her pained look. “So you have a weakness for sweets? I’ll have to remember that if I ever need to bribe you to do something.”
“You wouldn’t need to use pastry to get me to do something,” Katie mumbled under her breath.
Bennett almost choked on the sip of water he’d just taken. He grabbed his napkin and blotted his chin. Had he heard that correctly? But Katie was checking her phone and didn’t look as though she’d just said something inappropriate. His face heated. She might not have even realized she’d said it out loud.
He was trying to think of something to say but kept coming up blank. Should he pretend he hadn’t heard that? Or was she secretly hoping he had and waiting for him to acknowledge it? The secret language of flirting was such a mystery to him and he couldn’t exactly ask Katie to decode her own signals.
Bennett sighed. So much for b
eing himself. Maybe he could excuse himself and call Nick for more advice. But he quickly nixed that idea. His brother had already made assumptions about his relationship with Katie and he definitely didn’t want to embarrass her or reveal anything to people she had to socialize with regularly.
While he was contemplating this, Katie stood and put her napkin aside. “It’s been a while since I’ve been here. Aren’t the bathrooms down that hallway?” When Bennett nodded, she stood. “Great. Excuse me.”
He watched the sway of her hips as she walked away and then jerked his attention back to the table. The last thing he wanted was for her to turn around and see him ogling her. Although, considering what she’d said earlier, maybe she wouldn’t mind?
Nick’s words from earlier came back to him. Show her what’s under the lab coat. He hadn’t meant it in a dirty way but Bennett was starting to think that Katie wouldn’t have a problem with that plan.
?
Katie washed her hands in the sink, wishing she could splash the cool water over her face without ruining her makeup.
What the hell is wrong with you?
She’d been lucky that Bennett hadn’t heard her dirty little comment earlier otherwise he’d probably have already asked for the check. Katie wasn’t sure what had gotten into her lately. She’d never been this unpredictable before but there was something about Bennett that made it easy to let her guard down. She found herself doing and saying things that she would normally filter out.
It was telling that she felt this comfortable around him. Don had always been so critical of everything that she’d tried to morph herself into what he’d wanted. Nothing she did ever seemed like enough so over the years she’d started to assume that everyone felt the way he did. That all her friends were just tolerating her or that they all secretly pitied her.
Living with someone who was emotionally abusive was such an insidious thing. It never seemed all that bad at first. She’d even considered it constructive criticism at first. Don had always made it sound like he just wanted her to improve herself and reach her highest potential. But after seeing other people’s relationships, she’d finally understood that the way he treated her wasn’t normal and it wasn’t healthy. There was nothing wrong with wanting to improve yourself as long as you were doing it for the right reasons.
Not because you had someone else’s voice in your head telling you that you weren’t good enough.
Well no more. She’d finally found the strength to take control of her own life. Yes it was scary and maybe she wasn’t doing so well with her bills but at least she was doing it on her own. Katie was proud of herself for not giving up. She knew that if she really needed help, her siblings and her friends would help. But that wasn’t what she wanted. There was something really satisfying about working to fix her problems herself.
“Okay just go out there and have fun. Don’t take it so seriously.”
The woman at the next sink glanced over at her curiously. “Honey, are you on a date too?”