Page 44 of His White Moonlight
When I reemerged, freshly showered and changed, everything in my room was back in its place.The bookshelf didn’t even look like I’d tipped it over.Best of all, there was no sign of Bennett.
He remained absent for the remainder of the night, but still made his presence known by leaving dinner on the dining table for me, by the muted sounds of typing coming from his office, and by the echo of his footsteps on the stairs after I went to bed for the night.
His presence was more comforting than disturbing, which I refused to overthink as I drifted off to sleep.
* * *
Goingto bed early meant I woke early the next morning.Rather than lounge around and dwell on the previous day’s mistakes, I got up to make breakfast.
I was cooking eggs for myself when Bennett entered the kitchen.
“Whatever you’re making smells good,” he said.“Can I have some?”
Since he’d made dinner the night before and seemed in a reasonable mood, I agreed.However, that meant he lingered in the kitchen and watched me work.
Everything that happened yesterday repeated itself in my mind: Being startled by him when I came out of the bathroom.Punching him in the nose.My panic attack because he’d hugged me when I’d tried to apologize for it.Then what happened after…
“Did Mom and Dad come home last night?”I asked.
“No.They decided to stay in the city for a while.”
Finally, some good luck for me.
“Good.That’ll give you time to get my door fixed.”
“And the scratches in the floor.”
I wrinkled my nose at the reminder of what I’d done, which outweighed what he’d done, and silently mocked what he’d said while I was turned away from him.
His hand closed around my jaw from behind, and I was suddenly pulled back against his chest.Spatula gripped in one hand, I stared at the stove top with wide eyes until he tilted my face to the side.
“This doesn’t scare you,” he said, his gaze searching mine.
“No.”However, the fact that he was pushing my boundaries again and wouldn’t just let it go was making me mad.
When his gaze dipped to my mouth, my answer changed.Hewasscaring me again.I spun out of his hold and held the spatula out like a weapon.
“Keep your hands to yourself, Bennett.Didn’t you learn that in primary school?
He tucked his hands into his pockets and shrugged.
Something about that move—the careless grace or maybe even the casual disregard—made me even more suspicious of his intent.I quickly glanced at the eggs still frying in the pan and pointed toward the island with my weapon.
“Go sit, or I’m serving you burned eggs.”
Rather than going to the island to sit, he leaned against the counter near the stove.
I gave him a warning glare.
“My hands are to myself,” he said.
Reluctantly, I moved close enough to flip the eggs, one of the few normal cooking skills I’d mastered while away.
“You’ve changed a lot since the last time you were home,” he said as he watched me.“You weren’t afraid back then.”
“I’m not afraid now,” I said.“I just developed a few…quirks, same as you.”
“I have quirks?”
