I stretch my legs out in front of me. “I am in love. With my work.”
Nina leans her head back against the treehouse wall and laughs.
“And I am happy,” I continue. I reach for the moon and horse pendants around my neck. “I have Lunar Love and my clients and my family and my health and Pinot and you. And cake. There’s never a shortage of cake. Honestly, what more do I need?”
Chapter 12
I wake to the sound of buzzing against my wooden nightstand. Sensing movement, Pinot climbs over my body to meow in my face for attention. Half-awake, I feel around for my phone.
A cryptic text from Bennett appears on my screen. Date details coming later today, just need you to make sure your profile is up-to-date.
I flop back against the pillow, checking the time on my alarm clock. 6:15 a.m. I hold my phone up in the air with extended arms, my eyes adjusting to the bright glow of my screen in the dark.
I check ZodiaCupid, remembering Bennett’s text on Saturday about the product launch. Where’s this app update you keep alluding to? I respond.
Bennett messages back immediately. Happy Monday to you, too! It’s launching this afternoon.
Before I can respond, another message appears.
Breakfast on me? I can give you a sneak preview.
Obviously, I need this sneak preview. I check my phone calendar for any client sessions—nonexistent—and meetings before agreeing to his offer. Except for a few checkins with Alisha, my schedule is worryingly open.
After a couple hours of anticipation, I meet Bennett outside of Urth Caffé in downtown LA. I almost don’t recognize him in his white T-shirt, workout shorts, and running shoes. We take our place in line, which luckily isn’t as long today as it is most days.
“Looks great,” Bennett says, looking around at the quiet morning crowd. “I looked up this place on a buddy of mine’s newly launched dish-rating app and found a few items with four stars that we could try.”
I make a face. “It’s Urth. Most everything is good.”
“Two hundred and eighty-nine people rated the egg sandwich four point three stars. Let’s make sure we get it.”
“Two hundred and eighty-nine people? Wow. Well, it must be good then,” I tease. “You order what you want. I already know what I’m getting.” I look him up and down. “Important meetings after this?”
“I just came from a hike, actually. I texted you on the way up and didn’t have time to go home and shower.” Bennett tugs at his neckline a few times to air his shirt out. It’s still slightly damp from his workout, the fabric clinging to the curves of his chest.
I imagine he would be firm to the touch. Like he works out and takes care of himself, but not obsessively. The tips of my fingers pulse with the desire to reach out, just to see if I’m right.
“Mmhmm,” I mumble absentmindedly.
“I run to Griffith Observatory three times a week, then meet my Shoot for the Stars group up there every Monday. Why? Does this outfit bother you?” he asks, his questioning eyes sliding down my face. I flush, becoming hyperaware of what expression I’m making.
“It’s fine. Don’t feel like you have to get dressed up for me,” I say, watching him fan himself. Despite having just run up a mountain, he looks surprisingly great. His skin glows, and his musky smell is earthier than usual. In a good way. Is it possible he looks even more handsome?
“Noted. You, on the other hand, didn’t need to dress up so much,” Bennett says in a joking tone.
I glance down at my black jeans, front-tucked pink sweater, and plaid blazer. “I may not be seeing any clients today, but I’m a professional,” I say. I immediately wish I could take back the tidbit about the lack of client meetings.
“I’m only teasing. You look great,” he says. His gaze lingers on me and heat blossoms from my toes up to my chest.
“What’s Shoot for the Stars?” I ask, changing the subject.
“It’s a program to try to get young kids interested in STEM. What better place than the Griffith Observatory to do it?”
“It’s perfect,” I agree. “Griffith’s actually my favorite place to hike in LA.”
We shuffle forward in the line.
Bennett nods. “It’s incredible being able to escape into nature in the middle of a city. I’ll never take it for granted.”
“Exactly!” I say excitedly. I catch myself and tone down the energy. “And you bring the T in STEM, I assume?”
Bennett smiles. “I do. I try to make data analytics, computer programming, and machine learning sound fun. Which, it is, but some kids don’t always see the appeal at first.”
“I’m sure you leave quite the impression,” I say with slight sarcasm in my voice. “Do you make the kids run up the mountain, too?”
“It’s the first thing they do. I like to make them earn their knowledge,” Bennett says with a laugh.
He sets his menu down on the register counter as we approach. We place our orders, and he pays, as promised. We take our number to a metal table outside, settling into a spot next to the building’s painted brick wall.
“Let’s see this new feature,” I say, refocusing on the purpose for being here.
Bennett taps his screen a few times. “Here,” he says, placing his phone on the table between us. He moves his chair to the other side so he’s sitting next to me. His knee bumps into mine under the table but I don’t move my seat back. “I’ll walk you through how this feature works.”
I notice that the updated dashboard emphasizes the designed animal icons. A light pink swipe-through instruction panel pops up with illustrated peonies in the background, introducing me to the latest additions. I’m caught off guard by the use of peonies. Did Bennett think I’d like this feature because it uses my favorite flower?
I swipe through the mini-tutorial and learn that people receive a peony flower petal when they message with all twelve animal signs.
“When users message other users or go on dates, they earn more petals,” he explains. “When they fill out feedback about the date to help the algorithm improve, a petal is added. Ultimately, the petals add up and form a blossomed flower.”
“What do you get when you have a blossomed flower?” I ask, still focused on the screen.
“They all get added up into a bouquet. Besides the public acknowledgment of being active on the app, we’re playing around with the idea of sending users actual deliveries of flowers when they reach a certain number of bouquets.”
A waiter brings our food to the table. Bennett, surprise surprise, ordered the tried-and-true egg sandwich and green juice. I pour maple syrup over the top of my Belgian buttermilk waffles after taking a sip of my Earl Grey iced tea.