Page 4 of Bennett (HC Heroes #15)

Bennett was far too composed and way too good-looking.

The kind of strong, broody, quiet that made a woman forget all common sense. She’d been down that road before—and crashed. Spectacularly.

She didn’t need another tall, mysterious distraction in her life. Especially not one who looked like he was built for trouble and carried it so damn well.

But then he had to go and be smart too.

She hadn’t expected that.

The guys had been easy to fall into banter with. Cooper was naturally ridiculous, Matthew had a sharp, amused edge, and even Mac, who was clearly the no-nonsense leader type, had an air of tolerance about him, similar to the sheriff. But Bennett?

He’d watched her. Measured. Waited.

And then he’d answered two out of three trivia questions correctly, like he was reading her mind.

Unacceptable.

Laurel inwardly huffed as she grabbed a fresh pot of coffee, her reflection staring back at her in the stainless-steel warmer.

Bennett was supposed to be aloof and unreadable, not the kind of man who casually rattled off trivia like it was just another skill in his arsenal.

Worse, he’d done it with calm, effortless confidence, like he wasn’t even trying.

She scowled at the coffee pot in the kitchen. There was an identical one out behind the counter in the dining room. “Don’t look at me like that. I wasn’t impressed.”

The pot, naturally, had no response.

Before Laurel could properly glare at the coffee pot for its silent judgment, the kitchen door swung open, and Aunt Annie strolled in, casting her a knowing look.

“I know that face,” Annie said, reaching for a mug with her good hand. “That’s the I just got bested and don’t like it one bit face.”

Laurel scoffed, pouring her aunt some coffee. “Please. I wasn’t bested. And besides, I’m completely unbothered.”

Annie snorted. “Uh-huh. And I make low-fat biscuits.”

Fat chance.

Laurel sighed, setting the coffee pot back down. “I’m here to help you, not get distracted by a human Wikipedia page with biceps.”

“Mmhmm.” Annie smirked, taking a sip of her coffee. “And how’s that going so far?”

“Helping you or avoiding distractions?”

Annie winked, her blue eyes twinkling. “Both.”

“Pleading the Fifth.” She smiled. “Let’s talk about something important, like how are you feeling today?”

A dramatic sigh left her aunt’s lips as she waved her bandaged hand in the air. “Oh, you know. Practically on my deathbed. Helpless. Frail. Forced to suffer in silence.”

Laurel snorted. “Right. Because nothing says ‘frail’ like running around a diner, one-handed, refusing to let me do my job.”

“But you are,” Annie said. “You’re doing great, sweetheart. Best decision I made was calling you.”

She crossed her arms and leaned against the counter. “Yeah, well, you didn’t exactly give me a choice. You called me after you scheduled your surgery, told me you needed me here, then conveniently hung up before I could protest.”

As if she would’ve.

Annie grinned. “I learned from the best. Your daddy’s the same way. Always made up your mind for you before you even realized it.”

Something Laurel knew all too well.

She snorted. “He gets that from you, you know.”

Annie sipped her coffee. “I am the older sibling. It’s my job to be bossy.”

Laurel gave her a pointed look. “You didn’t tell me at first that this was just Round One. You made it sound like one surgery and you’d be good as new.”

“Technically true,” Annie said, waving her bandaged hand. “One at a time. This one heals, and then I get the other wrist done.”

An intentional oversight, for sure.

“Which means I’m stuck here longer than I thought,” she said with a straight face, trying to act like it was a bad thing, which it wasn’t. Laurel always loved her visits here, and her aunt was fully aware.

Annie smirked. “Bless your heart.”

Laughing, she snatched up a dish towel and threw it at her. “That’s not how you use that phrase, and you know it.”

Annie just laughed, catching the towel with her good hand and tossing it onto the counter. “You’ll survive, sweetheart. It’s just Harland. Not like it’s a punishment.”

“True. And you know I was kidding, right?” She grinned. “Harland is nice.”

Maybe a little too welcoming, a little too easy to settle into. And that? That was dangerous. Laurel’s entire life was supposed to be in Austin, even if she didn’t love it. Even if catering wasn’t her dream.

Now books? Yeah, they held her heart.

“Absolutely.” Her aunt winked. “I’m glad you’re here. Thanks for helping me.”

“Of course,” she said. “I’m here for as long as you need me, so don’t worry.”

Annie patted her arm. “Thanks. And who knows? You might just find a reason to stay even longer.”

The sudden gleam in her aunt’s eyes had Laurel narrowing her own. “That better not be a reference to a certain broody trivia champ sitting at one of my tables right now.”

Annie took another sip of coffee, her expression far too innocent. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

Bullshit.

Laurel groaned. “I should’ve stayed in Austin and let you struggle to butter your own toast.”

Not that she would have even entertained the idea.

Annie just laughed again, setting her mug down and heading back toward the front. “Thanks for sticking around, sugar. Now go on, before your hot and clueless customer starts wondering where you went.”

Great, she’d heard their conversation.

Laurel grabbed the coffee pot, shaking her head as she followed.

Trouble. All of this was trouble.

And if there was one thing she had learned the hard way, it was that men like Bennett were the biggest kind.

She’d been down that road before and crashed hard.

No way would she make that mistake again.

Laurel took her time topping off coffee cups at her other tables, but her ears were attuned to the sound of the ESI guys’ easy banter. Her lips twitched.

She shouldn’t find it appealing.

She shouldn’t find him appealing.

But there was something about a man who could hold his own in a battle of wits. Something about the way Bennett had stayed calm, unreadable—except for that tiny glint of amusement in his otherwise unreadable expression.

She sighed.

Nope. Nope, nope. Not happening.

She had zero plans to make eyes at a brooding ex-military type, no matter how obnoxiously attractive he was.

She had a job to do.

And maybe, if she were really lucky, Bennett would find another restaurant to brood in before she had to remind herself again why men like him were a terrible idea.

The ding of a bell, followed by Pete calling out, “Order up,” had her returning the pot back to the kitchen so she could grab their orders.

Balancing the plates on a large tray with practiced ease, she made her way back to the big table where the walking recruitment poster for testosterone sat waiting.

“Here you go,” she said, sliding Cooper’s ridiculous stack of pancakes in front of him first, then Matthew’s omelet, Mac’s eggs, bacon, and toast, followed by their biscuits and gravy.

Just as she reached for Bennett’s plate, his low, steady voice cut through the conversation.

“Outta Here: A Practical Guide to Escaping Awkward Situations, Bad Dates, and Possibly Prison?”

Laurel froze for half a second before following his gaze to her apron pocket, where the book’s cover peeked out.

Cooper made a choking sound that might have been a laugh.

Matthew smirked. “Should we be concerned?”

Laurel didn’t miss a beat. She set Bennett’s plate down with a little more force than necessary, flashing him a sweet, innocent smile. “Not unless one of you plans on taking me on a bad date.”

Dang it. Why the heck did she say that?

Cooper leaned back, grinning. “Damn. Vaughn, you better be careful. She’s got an escape plan ready.”

Bennett, completely unfazed, picked up his fork. “I’ll take my chances.”

Laurel’s brow quirked at that, but she kept her expression neutral. Instead of replying, she turned and walked away, already hearing the low rumble of laughter behind her.

Cooper, predictably, was the first to start running his mouth.

“Well, damn. Now I wanna know what her strategy is.”

Matthew chuckled. “Probably involves scaling a wall and commandeering a getaway vehicle.”

“Hope not, or I’ll have to arrest her,” the sheriff mumbled.

“Idiots,” Mac muttered. “I wanted to ask her to bring more coffee.”

She was already on it, pouring fresh coffee into a new carafe and hiding a grin behind the steam. That had been fun—maybe a little too fun.

Mr. Double Surnames wasn’t supposed to be intriguing. He was supposed to be another customer. Instead, he was calm under fire, completely unreadable, and apparently sharper than she’d given him credit for.

Not that it mattered.

Men like him were exactly the type she had learned to avoid. Silent, sexy…the kind that made a woman lean in just to hear what they were thinking, only to realize too late that figuring them out was damn near impossible.

And they said women were bad.

Snorting, she grabbed the carafe, squared her shoulders, and headed back to the testosterone table. As she approached, she caught Cooper watching her with an exaggerated squint, like he was solving the world’s most important mystery.

“Here’s more coffee,” she said, setting the carafe down.

“Thanks,” Mac, Gabe, and Matthew said in unison.

She turned to Cooper. “What’s with the face? You look like you’re trying to develop telepathic powers.”

“No.” He pointed at her. “You never answered the question.”

She blinked. “I’ve answered a lot of questions. Be more specific.”

Mac sighed, shaking his head. “The muscle. The one that never tires.”

“Oh.” She tapped her chin, playing it up. “You’re still thinking about that?”

Cooper shrugged. “I need closure.”

Laurel sighed dramatically, as if the weight of their curiosity was too much to bear. “Fine. It’s the heart.”

Silence.

Then Cooper groaned. “You have got to be kidding me.”

“Wow.” Matthew exhaled through his nose. “That was painfully obvious.”

Mac just grunted. “Huh.”

The stoic sheriff took a sip of his coffee and gave her a flat look. “You’re as bad as my wife. You enjoy watching grown men embarrass themselves.”

“Only a lot.” Laurel grinned, crossing her arms. “And it’s a free show.”

Bennett, who had been silent through the whole exchange, finally spoke in a low, steady, voice laced with dry amusement. “You enjoy this too much.”

She snapped her gaze to him, finding his eyes already on her. She tilted her head, and slowly curved her lips. “What gave me away?”

The handsome man held her stare, and for the briefest moment, something flickered there. Something quiet, unreadable, causing her pulse to quicken.

Before she could examine it too closely, Cooper threw up his hands. “Great. Now I feel dumb.”

“Doesn’t take much, Coop,” Matthew said, and the others laughed.

Laurel chuckled, shaking her head as she grabbed the empty carafes. “I’ll be back. Try not to strain yourselves thinking too hard.”

As she turned to walk away, she caught one last glance from Bennett—measured, amused, like he was trying to figure her out.

Good luck with that, buddy.

She could handle Bennett Vaughn.

She just had to make sure she didn’t start enjoying it.