Page 147 of His White Moonlight
Miranda: Let me know if you want me to come over and help you get ready.
Me: Do you still doubt my makeup skills?
Bennett: Aiden and Karter haven’t heard from you in a while and are worried.Did they do something to upset you?
Me: Yes, tell them they should keep enjoying their best lives and that I hope they mistake a Rottweiler for their mates when they’re drunk.
Bennett: I have breakfast ready if you’re hungry.
Me: I want to go for a run first.Alone.
Bennett: Okay.
Miranda: Yes.
Me: I’ll send a picture before I leave and pack my makeup bag.If you don’t like it, you can crash the party to fix it.
Miranda: Interrupt your evening with Bennett and risk my raise?We’re both smart enough to know how that will end.Still send me a pic!
Shaking my head at her, I got out of bed and changed into something more comfortable for running.
Bennett was waiting for me in the kitchen with a piece of toast slathered with peanut butter.He looked…twitchy.His hair was neatly styled.He wore what he considered leisure clothes—dress pants and a T-shirt.But something about the look in his eyes was off as I accepted the toast and took a bite.
“What are the chances you’ll return hurt again if you run?”he asked as I turned around to leave.
I paused, considering the question as I tried to swallow the peanut butter.
Once I could speak, I glanced back at him.“If?”
“I know you never actually promised not to run alone after Storm tripped you, so I was hoping you’d consider making a deal with me.”
“What kind of deal?”I asked, curious what he thought he could offer me.
“I pay for your school.No other strings attached to this deal.Let me watch over you on every run in exchange for your tuition fully paid.”
“At the school of my choice?”I asked.
“The school of your choice.”
He’d actually found something I might have wanted…if I had any trust in him to keep his word, which I didn’t.
“Counteroffer.You give me my bankbook and deposit fifty dollars each time we run together.”
He looked down at the floor, something he seemed to do when he didn’t like what I said and needed a moment to think instead of react.I saw his distraction as an opportunity.
You own me, Wrenly.
Closing the distance between us, I held my toast to the side with one hand and set my other hand on his chest.He froze, and his gaze flew to mine as I looked up at him with my saddest, most pleading, innocent expression.I’d spent hours practicing expressions and knew it was a good one.But I hadn’t thought I’d ever use it on Bennett or that it would actually work on him.
I watched him crumble.
His hands came up to cup my face as desperation filled his gaze.
“I’ll pay,” he said hoarsely.“Anything you want.”
“The bankbook too?”
His expression shifted, looking more tortured.
