The man next to him blushed and stuttered under Olivia’s praise. “I’m not the youngest to achieve tenure at the university. Second youngest, but not bad, I suppose.”
Bennett tuned out the rest of the conversation, wishing they could leave. He’d already received his award and mercifully, hadn’t been asked to make a speech. Now he really just wanted to go but he wouldn’t do that to Olivia. She’d been so excited to see him when he’d arrived at her apartment earlier that day.
They'd decided against going out to eat first, choosing to suffer through whatever chicken surprise was offered as dinner during the award ceremony. Olivia had barely touched her chicken and asparagus so they’d probably be going for burgers afterward.
Honestly, maybe if he suggested it now, they could leave early. He hated to do that when she’d gone out of her way to accompany him to the event but knowing Liv, she’d be more excited about the burgers than anything going on here.
He turned to ask her and that’s when he noticed it. Her hand was on his arm. She's touching me voluntarily.
He grinned, imagining Katie's reaction. If she were here, she'd be pointing and saying, "That's the signal. She likes you!"
Then he remembered that Katie wouldn’t be grinning at him at all. She thought he was a weirdo. Bennett’s heart clenched at the thought even after days of turning that hurtful phrase over and over in his mind. He’d left her a message telling her that he was going out of town and that she didn’t need to come to work that week so he’d have time to figure out what he wanted to do. It would be difficult to see her every day now that he knew what she really thought of him. She was probably thrilled that he’d been out of town all week so she could spend time with her ex-husband. The guy she’d married.
The one who treated her like garbage.
“Yikes, this chicken is even worse than it looks,” Liv whispered. “Maybe we can pick up some pizza on the way home.”
“Excellent idea. Let’s do that.” He stood and placed his napkin on the seat.
A startled Olivia followed suit. She made their excuses and then followed him through the crowd. The director of the Mentor Science program stopped him to congratulate him on his award and Bennett mustered all his patience not to blow the guy off. Apparently there was someone there he wanted Bennett to meet. He should have known that making a quick getaway was not in the cards.
Once the director walked away, he turned and noticed Olivia staring at him. If he hadn’t been so caught up in his own problems he would have noticed how tired and drawn she looked earlier. All at once, he was ashamed. Olivia had been dealing with relationship problems also and he hadn’t even thought to ask how things were going. Some friend he was.
“Are you okay, Boo?”
For once she didn’t protest at the nickname. “I’m going to be fine. Tell me about what’s new with your family. I haven’t seen everyone since Nick’s wedding.”
Over the next hour, he showed her pictures of Jackson’s two boys, Chris and Jase, and a picture of Nick’s daughter, Jada. Olivia cooed over the baby and promised to come visit soon so she could see them all in person. Somehow, he even found himself on the dance floor. Seeing Olivia laugh at his attempt to emulate the newest dance craze made the discomfort worth it.
Maybe everyone else thought he was weird but with Olivia he’d always fit in.
After the song ended, Olivia motioned toward the French doors on the other side of the ballroom. “Let’s take a walk. It’s nice outside this evening.”
Bennett looked around but didn’t see any sign of the program director. He didn’t want to be rude and leave without meeting whoever it was the director had mentioned, so they might as well enjoy themselves in the meantime. He accepted the hand Olivia held out.
“
Sure. The director mentioned that the gardens in this hotel are exceptional. I’d love to see what kind of plants they used.”
He’d heard all night that the gardens were a must see. So he followed Olivia through the crowd until they reached the French doors he’d seen people coming and going from all night. As soon as they stepped outside, Bennett was glad they’d come.
Even Olivia appreciated the artistry because her eyes sparkled in delight as she looked at the life-sized maze of hedges. He could have done without the artificial lights woven through the foliage but she seemed to love it.
“This is beautiful.”
Bennett walked up to the hedges. “Interesting. I was expecting Boxwoods but it appears they’ve gone with American Arborvitae.”
Normally he would have wanted a closer look but tonight, it felt like he was just going through the motions. If Katie were here, she would love the romanticism of walking through a garden at night. The thought made him sad that he’d never get to show her this. That he’d never get to show her anything ever again.
He turned from his study of the hedges when Olivia grabbed his hand.
“Bennett. I wanted to say thank you for bringing me with you tonight. This has been a lot of fun. I’ve missed just hanging out with you.”
“I’ve missed hanging out with you, too.”
It was true. He’d always loved spending time with her. Olivia was his oldest and dearest friend. Bennett was incredibly glad that he hadn’t canceled on her. He would have done it if he’d thought it would make Katie happy. That was the most pathetic part. He would have done anything and meanwhile she was laughing at him with her ex-husband.
Olivia didn’t laugh at him. Olivia was currently perfectly happy to allow him to examine the greenery and marvel over the soil conditions even though she probably couldn’t care less about those things. Olivia liked him.