“I don’t get it.”
Benton coughed gently, giving the waitress a little wave, and she practically bolted in the other direction.
“There’s a man at the bar who sent it over,” Benton explained when I still didn’t pick up on the clue.
“That’s impossible.” I leaned over, trying to get a look, but I couldn’t see anything. “I don’t know any men except my brother-in-law, and he wouldn’t send me a bitch drink.” I wasn’t joking in the slightest, but Benton started laughing his ass off at my statement.
“You’re a funny woman, Parker.”
I watched as he leaned forward and plucked the celery from my drink, then waved it in the air toward whoever was at the bar.
I found myself apologizing a few moments later, when things grew awkward. “I’m sorry someone did that. I have no clue who it would be.”
Benton waved it off with another laugh. “Please.” He snorted. “You’re gorgeous. If I’d been in that guy’s position, who’s to say I wouldn’t have done the same thing?”
Fuck if I didn’t blush from the roots of my hair to the tips of my toes with that compliment.
“For real, though.” Benton went on when we’d finished dinner and were waiting on the check. “Why are you single? Rose said you’ve got a five-year-old, and she proceeded to show me a hundred pictures of him. But I don’t think that’s it. There’s a reason, though, and I’m curious about it. Do you want to stay single or did you have a rough breakup?”
I opened my mouth to ask him why it was any of his business and why I needed to answer his question, but then shut it again. Going on the defensive had been my default for so long that I didn’t know how to tell if he was being genuine or just plain nosy.
“I only ask, because I don’t want to assume you want a relationship if you don’t.” Benton crossed his hands on the table in front of him but didn’t twitch or fiddle his fingers at all. “I’m both a lawyer and a law professor, after all, so part of my job is to overthink everything.”
With a small cough to clear my throat, I mustered every bit of strength possible and shared my darkness. “My husband died five years ago, overseas.”
Every muscle in Benton’s face froze. If I didn’t see his chest move slightly, I’d think that he stopped breathing. His eyes took on a hard glint, and I found myself pretty sure that he’d get up from the table and walk away without saying another word.
Instead, he did something that completely shocked me to my core.
He stood up, picked up his chair, and moved to my side of the table so that we were sitting right next to each other. My limbs, which were frozen only a second before in fear, were now shaking in trepidation. My shoulders were tight while I tried to control the movement, but I failed miserably. Biting the inside of my cheek didn’t seem to help either, and I counted the seconds before Benton said anything.
Finally, he did. “I lost friends overseas. Hell, I almost lost myself over there.” His low voice rolled over my skin and should have offered comfort. Instead, I was left with all of the emptiness that had occupied and consumed my soul for the last five years, stripped of all the emotions I should be feeling.
“Well, don’t you two look cozy.”
That fucking voice.
Red film descended over my eyes and went so far down my throat that I could taste it. Disgusting and acrid, even the thought of raising my eyes to meet his made me want to vomit. Still, in the silence left by Remy’s statement and that Benton either didn’t know what to say or even if he wanted to say anything, I wasn’t left with much of a choice. I damn sure took my time, though. Starting at his thighs, clad in a pair of dark-washed blue jeans, and working my way up to his dark-blue dress shirt. The bottom button was undone, too, and for some reason that made my mouth water.
His arms were crossed over his chest, and the tattoos lining his bicep moved as the muscle flexed. My eyes got stuck, however, on the familiar blue bracelet on his wrist. The one I gave him when we swore to be friends forever… Before life got in the way. Before everything changed. The one I sent him in one of my letters overseas after I found it sitting on my nightstand after they’d left.
That fucking asshole.
When I finally made my way to his face, my breath practically caught in my throat, and my traitorous heart started to race in a stuttering assault that embarrassed the fuck out of me.
“My eyes are up here, Parker Jane.” The cocksure smile on his face made me snarl.
Rage, the likes of which I couldn’t remember ever feeling before, moved through my body and settled into the back of my throat.
“Go away, Remington,” I hissed, making sure to use the nickname he hated. “You’re not welcome here.”
I clenched my hands together under the table and tried not to scream at him.
“I just wanted to stop by and say hello to an old friend.” His voice, the picture of innocence, set my teeth on edge. “That’s all. You two kids have a good night.”
I snorted, and the mirthless laugh that left my chest had Benton moving into action. Pushing his chair back, he stood so quickly I wouldn’t have expected it. He reached toward him, his hand outstretched.
“Nice to meet you, I’m Benton Mays. Any friend of Parker’s is a friend of mine.” He slipped into a persona, so different than what I expected. One that made it seem like we’d been together for a lot longer than a night. Right then I could kiss him for it, just because of the expression on Remy’s face.
It almost looked like he’d swallowed a lemon and been forced to keep it down. But Remy was a gentleman, and his mother would beat his ass if she found out that he acted disrespectfully to anyone. The idea of seeing it happen had me almost wishing she was here right now. So, when he stuck his hand out and shook Benton’s, I could feel the tension coming off him in waves.
The next ten seconds could top the most uncomfortable times that I’d ever been in my life, including when I’d had Danny’s mother in the room with me while I delivered Nox.
Neither Benton nor Remy let go of the other’s hand, and I had the sudden vision of the two of them getting into a boxing match in front of me. Finally, the testosterone got to be too much. I reached up, pretending that I’d done it a thousand times before, and grasped Benton’s arm, smiling when he looked down into my eyes.
“Remy served with my husband before he died.”
That little sentence cut through the tension around us. Hell, it cut through the entire evening’s levity for me, and suddenly all I wanted was a hot cup of tea and my bed.
I just couldn’t do it. Not anymore.
“It was nice seeing you, Remy.” Not even bothering to conceal the lie with anything other than sarcasm and annoyance, I cut him out of the conversation. “Benton, I think I’m going to head home.”
Benton’s eyebrows lowered, his lips pulling into a frown, and his eyebrow twitched. “No problem, Parker. Let’s get out of here.”
The perfect gentleman, I wasn’t surprised when he held out a hand and pulled my chair back as I stood up. I couldn’t block out the quiet snort that came from Remy’s direction, and I stopped in my tracks.
Benton almost slammed into my back, or at least I thought he would. Instead, when I looked over my shoulder, I saw him standing a few feet back with a curious expression on his face. “I’ll meet you outside.” I nodded over his shoulder to where Remy still stood, hoping he’d understand.