Lunar Love (19)

There he goes saying those two words again. His mention of Lunar Love and his total disregard for us is maddening.

“Uh-huh,” I mumble, running my fingers along the design of the mooncake mold.

“Do you typically grill all your dates?” Bennett asks, turning to face me. His shoulders are more relaxed, his tone more casual than before. I look at him straight on, and from this angle, I see that his smile is slightly crooked, the left side of his bottom lip tilting higher over his teeth. It’s infuriatingly adorable.

“Just the ones I’m particularly skeptical, er, intrigued about,” I say, catching myself. “So it seems like you just let all the animals loose, free to mingle and date who they want. No foundation of compatibility to help guide people.”

Bennett laughs and pauses before he speaks again. “ZodiaCupid takes the animal sign traits into consideration, but it mostly matches users by what they write in their profiles. It opens users up to more potential matches,” he explains. “I know it’s different than the traditional and limited way of matching compatible signs exclusively. Some people won’t like that but I hope they’ll still give us a try.”

I breathe out heavily. Keyword: try. But when people are ready for something serious, they’ll settle down with us.

Bennett gives me a funny smile. “Sorry to break it to you,” he adds, “but Horses and Rats aren’t typically compatible. But we’re getting along!”

I grumble noncommittally. “So your app isn’t actually making compatible matches.” I narrow my eyes at him. “Sounds to me like false advertising.”

“Depends on your definition of compatible.” Bennett lifts a filling-coated spatula out in front of me as he speaks with his hands. “If you have a problem with our animal signs matching, then why did you ask me out on a date?” he asks curiously.

I reach out to lower the spatula just as lotus puree splats onto the ground. My hand unintentionally touches his, and I quickly pull back as though he were a hot stove. He glances down to where our skin touched and then back up at me.

“As a user of your app, I guess I trusted that you know best,” I respond, almost choking on the words.

Bennett smirks and places his palm on the table, bending closer toward me. “You have pretty eyes,” he says. “There’s a fire behind them.”

I look up at his face, my eyes roaming over his smooth, light skin. I place my hand on the table, mirroring his stance. “If you think you’re successfully distracting me with compliments, think again.”

The corners of Bennett’s mouth tilt up as he refocuses on the lotus seed filling. “If you’re not happy with this date, you get your money back, no questions asked,” he jokes. A bigger grin appears, and I feel my guard start to slowly dissipate. That’s not supposed to happen.

The door to the classroom opens, and two latecomers walk in.

“Sorry we’re late. We got caught in rush hour traffic,” the woman says to the instructor, her voice sounding eerily familiar. “Can we still participate?”

I sneak a look at the two people joining the class, recognizing one of them. My body tenses up. Colette? When did she get back in town? My old best friend and her date are guided by the instructor across the room to a clean workbench.

“What is that? What are you doing with your head?” Bennett asks, twisting his body to get a better look at me.

“Shhh!” I tilt my head lower, trying not to attract any attention to myself. “Don’t make any more noises or sudden movements,” I whisper.

“Uh, okay.” Bennett holds his breath and freezes for a few seconds before bursting into laughter. “Seriously, what are you doing?”

Think, Olivia!

“My ex-boyfriend just walked in,” I blurt out. It’s the only thing that would make sense. Nothing can save me now. “It ended badly. I do not want to see him right now.”

Because then I’ll be exposed without getting the information I came here for. And I’d have to confront my past. I am not prepared for either of those things.

Bennett subtly looks up at the couple. “That’s awkward. And it looks like he’s here with his new girlfriend.”

Unexpectedly, a voice calls out across the room. “Olivia?”

I don’t need to see who said my name to know whose voice it is. I hunch down under Bennett’s bowl and slither toward the back sinks pretending to look for something on the racks.

I peek through the back shelves into the room, trying to figure out my next move. Suddenly, there’s a loud clatter of trays. I see Bennett on the ground, surrounded by lotus seed filling and towels. There are gasps all around as the students surround Bennett to help him up.

Perfect. Now Colette will definitely see me.

Or not.

I almost don’t notice Bennett looking up at me and nodding toward the exit. I clumsily remove my apron and tiptoe to the door.

Outside, I debate leaving but decide to stay. A few minutes later, Bennett walks out of the building with light orange filling crusted on the parts of his sweater that the apron didn’t cover.

“I wasn’t sure if you’d still be here. You forgot your bag,” he says, offering me my tote and flowers.

“Thank you. For this and that,” I reply. “Are you okay?”

“I’ll be sore for a couple of days but I’m fine. I moonlight as a stunt double for Keanu Reeves so my body’s used to it,” he deadpans. “Are you okay?”