Page 54 of The Lost Art of Finding Where You Belong

“No, of course,” Perian said, frowning. “Maybe he really is just shy, and you and I are kind ofnot?”

Bennan huffed a laugh. “Well, there is that. But I’ve tried to talk to him at training, on patrol, randomly in the corridor, at dinner. I’ve invited him out for a drink. I’ve invited himinfor a drink if it’s people that are a little much for him, and I don’tthinkit just sounded like a euphemism for all the things I would absolutely have liked to do with him if he wanted to stay in with me.”

Periansnorted.

Bennan’s lips tipped up, but then he sighed. “I make him uncomfortable even if he thinks I’m hot. He’s not actually interested.”

“But you’re actually interested?” Perian asked. “Not just to get him into bed?”

Bennan nodded, expression straying to something Perian would say was closer to “smitten” than anything else. “I overheard him telling one of the staff about his sisters back home and climbing trees with them and teaching them to ride. He sends hair ribbons and little toys back to them.”

Oh, wow. That was not, at all, the sort of detail Perian had expected. This was definitely not someone who just wanted to get into someone else’s trousers.

Like a dam had burst, Bennan told Perianallabout Chamis, things he’d heard and seen, that one run they’d taken where they hadn’t said anything but had been side by side for ages, rare moments where they had actually spoken words to one another. Admiration for the other man’s body weaved through the narrative, too, but this was definitely not just physical.

Bennan ended it, though, without hope.

“But interest isn’t always reciprocated, right? It’s fine.” His smile said it was not fine. “I’ve got plenty of offers, and I enjoy flirting with people.”

“Right,” Perian agreed. “But maybe—”

“I don’t want to scare him off,” Bennan said firmly, looking genuinely concerned.

Perian could see how Bennan didn’t want to make it worse. Perian nodded. It was clear he wasn’t going to get any further here.

Bennan insisted on carrying the blankets from Brannal’s rooms—“You’re injured, remember?”—andthe picnic basket, making Perian feel totally ridiculous coming out to the garden carrying nothing at all, when he’d managed everything when he’d actually been hurt.

Bennan handed off the basket. “See you at dinner tonight?”

“Not sure yet,” Perian responded. “In the next day or two, certainly.”

Perian was hoping that once Brannal was back, he’d get to have private dinner with him every night possible, so it probably did make sense to have dinner with everyone else until then.

Bennan nodded and headed off, and the two Warriors assigned to Renny looked at him with concern.

“Everything all right?” the woman on the left asked, square beads glinting in the sun.

“Totally fine,” Perian reassured with a smile. “Just used my injury as a transparent excuse to get to talk to Bennan.”

The look of concern faded to be replaced with one of amusement.

“Oh, good. I wasn’t looking forward to Summus’s reaction if you were hurt worse.”

The man beside her nodded. Yeah, everyone knew about that, apparently.

“Totally on the mend!” he reassured them. “Can’t wait until he’s back even if I’m not looking forward to explaining what happened. But I’m sure I’ll figure out how to distract him somehow!”

Their laughter followed him as he headed through the bushes.

Renny was there and waiting.

“So Brannal isn’t going to get back and discover you want someone else instead?” she demanded.

Perian groaned. “Oh, is that what the rumor mill is saying now?”

Renny nodded.

“The rumor mill is entirely wrong,” he corrected with a huff as she helped him lay out the blanket and the picnic. “And I refuse to stop flirting just because some people can’t figure out the difference between flirting andaction. Brannal knows who I am.”

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