Just One Thing (The Alexanders 6)

Bennett: I’m okay.

Nothing else. Katie sighed. Bennett wasn’t great at volunteering information. That just wasn’t how his mind worked. If she wanted to know more, then it would be because she was brave enough to put herself out there first.

Katie: I wish I was there.

Bennett: I wish you were here, too.

She smiled. Bennett wasn’t one to volunteer information but when asked directly, he always told the truth. Just that easily, she knew what she needed to do.

Thirty minutes later, she parked behind Bennett’s pickup truck and grabbed her overnight bag off the passenger seat. The door to the laboratory wasn’t locked, so she let herself in, making sure to lock it behind her so she wouldn’t have to come back down.

If he lets you stay.

Katie ignored the negative voice ringing in the back of her mind that reminded her that she was taking a very big chance. It was entirely possible that Bennett liked their relationship or arrangement or whatever you wanted to call it, the way it was. Maybe he liked having hot sex during the day without the chore of having to make conversation at night.

But there was a bigger part of her that remembered the way he’d looked at her that afternoon. He didn’t seem as though he found spending time with her a chore. Maybe, just maybe, he cherished their time together the same way she did.

“Bennett? Are you here?”

All at once it hit her how silly it was that she’d come over without warning him first. What if he wasn’t even here? Maybe he’d gone to stay with his parents so Julia could take care of him. He had a great family that lived on the same property, so that was hardly out of the question. Just when she was about to turn and leave, Bennett appeared at the railing that separated the loft.

“Katie? You came back.”

She shuffled her feet. “Yeah, I thought you might need some help tonight. And also, I just … missed you.”

He stared at her for a long moment and then he smiled. And just like that Katie Mason lost what was left of her heart.

?

Bennett thought he was hallucinating when he first heard Katie’s voice. He’d just gotten back into bed after taking a shower. The effort of trying to wash while holding his bandaged arm out of the water had exhausted him but once in bed, he’d just stared at the ceiling dispiritedly.

He was used to being alone. Save holidays and other family functions, he spent the majority of his time on his own. So why did the loft suddenly seem so quiet? Just when he’d been contemplating turning on the television, something he rarely did, he heard the voice he’d been longing for floating up from the lab below.

Now he stood at the railing watching as Katie ascended the stairs. They’d made good use of the fact that his bed was up here over the past few weeks but it was entirely different having her here at night.

“Hi.” Katie set her bag down on the floor at the foot of the bed and shrugged out of her jacket. She folded it over her arm awkwardly. Her eyes roamed over his bare chest and the loose pair of plaid pajama pants he wore. “Didn’t think you’d be a pajama pants only kind of guy.”

The observation amused Bennett. “I’m not. But having your mom walk in on you when you’re buck naked will convince almost anyone of the merits of wearing pants to bed.”

She covered her mouth with her hand but it couldn’t hide her smile. “Traumatized for life, huh?”

“Pretty much.”

She twisted the edge of her shirt in her hands. “So, I probably should have called first.”

Bennett sat on the edge of the bed, the burst of energy he’d gotten when he first heard her voice now lagging. Katie took one look at his face and then rushed to his side.

“You’re not okay, are you?” She clucked softly under her breath and then gently pushed him to recline.

He allowed her to fuss over him, enjoying the scolding more than he would have thought possible. Mainly he enjoyed watching her, the curve of her lips as she smiled down at him, the exasperated look on her face when she saw the bottom of his bandage was wet. Just her. He wished he could bottle this moment because despite being exhausted and in pain, he never wanted to forget what it felt like to be the one Katie took care of.

“Why are you looking at me like that?” she asked, tucking the sheets around his body.

“Like what?” He could hear that his voice was slurring slightly and wished he hadn’t given in and taken one of the pain pills Grant had left with him.

He usually never took any kind of pain medication because he hated how groggy they made him feel, but Grant had insisted on leaving a few samples in case he changed his mind. He’d given in to the temptation after the torture of holding his arm out of the shower.

“You’re staring,” Katie clarified, before tucking a stray curl behind her ear.