Grant grinned. “You would have punched me if your arm wasn’t all fucked up.” When Bennett still didn’t concede, he continued. “So, it wouldn’t bother you if I asked her out? Since you two aren’t anything serious?”
Bennett gritted his teeth. “Stay away from her. She’s not your type. She’s too smart for your bullshit.”
Grant smiled knowingly. “Okay. I’ll leave it alone for now. But I hope you’re at least going to use this turn of events productively.”
He wasn’t going to ask. He was not going to ask his man whore cousin for advice.
“What do you mean productively?” his lips asked against his will.
Grant waggled his eyebrows and then sauntered into the kitchen to wash his hands. Bennett had to wait not so patiently for him to finish. When he came back, Grant picked up his bag of supplies and patted Bennett on the shoulder.
“Milk this injury for all its worth, my man. If you play your cards right, your pretty girlfriend will come back and take care of you.”
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
?
When Katie first got home, she didn’t notice anything unusual. She dropped her bag on the floor in the entryway and then put her keys on the small hook next to the coat rack. It was almost time for the kids to get home and she was relieved she’d managed to get there before the bus. She didn’t like cutting it this close but it had been so hard to leave without knowing if Bennett was okay.
She snorted thinking of Bennett and his cousin Grant. He might be a bit of a jerk but Grant had at least seemed to know what he was doing. Katie shuddered thinking of how calm Grant had been while looking at the cut on Bennett’s arm. Actually, they’d both been freakishly calm about it. Clearly this wasn’t the first time something like this had happened.
Well, at least she’d been confident that Grant had things under control. Bennett didn’t joke around with just anyone so it was obvious the two were fond of each other, in the slightly antagonistic way that a lot of men were.
As she slipped her shoes off, there was a loud clanking sound from the kitchen. Katie’s head shot up at the unexpected sound in what should have been an empty house. A soft rustling a moment later was followed by the sound of … voices? Her mouth fell open. There was someone in her house!
Holy shit, had someone broken in while she was at work?
She backed up slowly. It was strange that they hadn’t heard her come in, she hadn’t exactly been quiet, but whatever the case she wasn’t going to wait around for them to discover her. She grabbed her keys again. She’d drive down the street and then call the police from a safe distance.
Before she could get to the front door, there was a sound right behind her and a dark shadow moved at the corner of her eye. Instinctively she grabbed the small bowl off the front table and held it out like a weapon.
“Whoa, calm down! It’s just me.”
Once her heart left her throat, she realized it was Don. He glanced worriedly at the bowl in her hand so she lowered it. Slightly. Then raised it again when she noticed that he was standing in the hallway wearing nothing but his underwear.
“What are you doing here?”
The danger past, Don shrugged and then walked back toward the kitchen. Annoyed, Katie had no choice but to follow. Then she was annoyed all over again when he went back to the island and the sandwich he’d been making.
He was eating her food?
She pressed her fingers to her temples. “What are you doing here?”
“I came to see the kids. It’s my weekend.” He took a bite of his sandwich, like it was completely normal that he was standing in her kitchen, eating her food, while wearing nothing more than a pair of raggedy boxers.
“I know it’s your weekend. That still doesn’t explain why you're standing in my kitchen in your underwear."
He looked at her like she was stupid. "I spilled mustard on my clothes at lunch. I put my clothes in the washing machine earlier." His eyes narrowed and then focused on her.
When they’d been married, he’d gotten used to seeing her in nothing but jeans and T-shirts, casual clothing appropriate for wiping noses and playing outside. Now that she worked for Bennett, she tried to step it up a little. Not that he’d asked her to do that but she wanted to. It was nice to feel professional and in control.
“Where were you?”
Katie rolled her eyes. “Out. Not that it concerns you.”
His face darkened. "Let me guess, over at Ridley’s house. You’re still chummy with them, I see."
"They've been very good to me. But no, that’s not where I was."