Page 16 of Chasing Love: The Owens
“Do you want to talk about it?” he asks.
“No!” I practically screech. “Definitely not with you.”
Bennett lifts his hands in surrender. “I just wanted to offer. I mean, we were friends once.”
“The keyword there is were.”
He sighs, then stares at his hands again. “If it makes you feel better, I haven’t read anything. I didn’t even know you had a daughter until Emmett told me. Apparently, she’s friends with Wren.”
I close my eyes. I really don’t want to start talking about our daughters as if we could somehow have a normal conversation about bedtime routines and how to hide vegetables in their meals.
“Delaney, listen.” He stands and steps around the table, closer to me. “Just keep the job. We could use the help and your knowledge. I handled the situation badly, but I don’t want you turning it down because of me.”
Our eyes lock.
“How often are you here?”
He puts a hand over his heart as if I’ve wounded him. “That hurts.” But then he straightens, understanding why I’m asking. “I’m usually out on projects. Rarely here.”
I nod. The scent of flowers lingers even in here, and it feels like breathing again. Working with flowers is what I went to school for. What I used to love.
A knock sounds on the door. “B, are you trying to steal my BFF again?”
“Come in,” Bennett says, eyes still on mine.
God, how easy it would be to fall into those brown eyes again.
“I’m so sorry. Miss Queen Bee just thinks she owns the hive. Well, okay, she does, but…” Poppy pauses when she sees our proximity. Bennett’s arm is inches from mine. “BFF time. See ya, B.”
She loops her arm through mine and leads me out of the room.
“Sorry about that. I don’t know why he’s here. He’s supposed to be out working on a bid. That’s why I asked you to meet me here.” She glances over her shoulder. “Am I missing something?”
It’s like déjà vu all over again.
Chapter Eight
Sean,
* * *
Leia asked me tonight what love feels like.
Sadly, I don’t have a perfect answer for how you know you love someone. Sometimes it’s something that builds, sometimes it’s fast and explosive. Falling in love with Bennett was slow and sweet. Sure, he did nice things for me. He tutored me through my ACTs, bribing me with Hershey’s Kisses every time I got a question right. He rarely showed up at my doorstep for a date without flowers. He complimented me all the time. I’m sure any girl would’ve fallen for him. But when I think about my time with Bennett, there’s one night that stands out from the rest.
It was my seventeenth birthday, and my grandma had fallen. She broke her hip and was rushed to a hospital in Missouri. My parents had no choice but to go and get her settled. They promised we’d celebrate when they returned, and I said I was fine. Levi was at a rodeo, Poppy had to work, and Bennett had plans to see U2 with Emmett and a group of their friends.
So, I was alone on my birthday.
I made myself a bowl of popcorn and decided to wallow a little, bingeing on rom-coms for the night. I’d just set the popcorn and drink on the table when the doorbell rang.
When I opened it, there he was.
Bennett.
“What are you doing here?” I asked him.
He was in his favorite jeans, cowboy boots, and his backward baseball cap. His hands were tucked in his pockets, and he looked almost nervous. “Come on a ride with me?”
