Page 12 of Even In Our Dreams

As Lauren shakes her head she comically empties the bottle into her glass and then looks at me with the empty bottle in hand and her brow raised.

“What? I have another bottle.” Marlena breaks her silence to laugh at my joke.

“He could be using you for sex,” Gem offers.

“Well hold on now-” I start to defend him but Marlena speaks up. “Is he telling people you’re dating?”

“I don’t think so, but mostly because I asked him not to … you know how this town likes to talk and I didn’t want anyone knowing he was sleeping over.”

Lauren pipes up with a “strike one,” at the same time Marlena asks, “And are you telling people you’re dating?”

I turn my back to stir the pot but first point the wooden spoon at them, “You are my only friends so that would be a yes.”

A quick stir and a check on the pasta proves that dinner is almost done and I’m going to need to kick the three of them out. I know they only came over for a quick update and now they have it so they can take the glasses of wine as party favors.

It’s quiet when I turn back around to face them. “Do I need to make it social media official?”

“I think you’re in lust.” Gemma comments and I take the four steps to the counter, grabbing the edges of it with both of my hands as I lean over to set my friends straight.

They might be protective and I might be rushing things but I’m not getting any younger and I know exactly what I want.

“Can’t I be in lust and in love?”

“Did you just say love?” Lauren questions but not in her motherly tone, there’s a smile that graces her lips. Gemma’s glass of wine stops at her lips and she waits for the answer too.

“Do I want to fuck him?” I ask them rhetorically and as I say, “yes I do,” Marlena attempts to hush me and Lauren waves her hand at me to stop. “No, I need to get this off my chest.” I busy my hands with the apron knot and get out all of the thoughts that have been keeping me up the nights he’s not with me.

“Do I enjoy being around him, I do.”

“Bree-” Lauren tries to backtrack but I don’t let her.

“Do I want to maybe make babies with him? Yeah. He’d make adorable freaking babies and he has the patience of a saint to deal with me.” When I look up, tossing the apron on the counter, Lauren covers her face which is bright red. Gemma mouths, “Shut up,” and Marlena’s focus is directly behind me. “Hey Bennet,” she says in a voice that has Lauren and Gemma cracking up.

“I have been told I am a patient man,” his masculine voice says behind me and I swear I couldn’t shut my mouth if I had both hands on my chin. The amount of embarrassment is unreal.

“We were just going…” Lauren snags her glass and motions for the girls to follow her before mouthing, “Don’t kill me,” on her way out.

“How long have you been standing there?”

“Since your friends tried to get you to ‘hush it’ I think was the exact phrase.”

“Welp, you have to taste that sauce Bennet,” Marlena says, forcing a smile back as she pulls the stool out and then rushes after Lauren and Gemma, both of whom owe me a therapy session.

BENNET

With an elbow on the counter and a fist over my smile, I can’t help the way I feel about Bree. She’s adorable when she’s nervous.

Ever since her friends left, she busied herself with plating dinner.

“Really I can help,” I offer again from where I’m seated on the stool her friend Lauren was in just a moment ago.

“Nope, no, no you just stay put,” she tells me with her back to me and as she shakes her head, her body moves with the movement, and the apron wrapped around her waist shows off her curves. In just black leggings and a loose fitting blouse, her outfit should appear casual, but it doesn’t at all, much like tonight.

I know damn well her cooking dinner is more than just giving me a night off from a long work week.

“It smells delicious,” I tell her and she finally looks back at me with those doe eyes. Her tempting lips pull into a small smile. “It’s my grandmother’s recipe.”

“Really?”

---