She confessed, "I ran into Xavier at the restaurant today, you know, the guy I helped out at night a few months ago."

"Yeah, I remember him. Was there an issue?"

Bennett continued to shell the crab as he spoke, briefly glancing at her before focusing back on his task.

With his eyes and eyelashes lowered, of course, Claudia couldn't see his expression clearly.

Watching his skillful hands at work, Claudia said, "He approached me before lunch. And later, when I tried to settle the bill, it turned out someone had already taken care of it."

Bennett placed the crab meat on a small dish and passed it to her, cleaning his hands with a wet tissue as he remarked casually, "So, he paid your bill?"

With a nod and a troubled expression, Claudia responded, “We barely know each other. It felt odd accepting that lunch.”

Bennett offered a reassuring smile, suggesting, "Then we can reciprocate by inviting him to dinner sometime."

Seeing that he didn't seem to care, she breathed a sigh of relief.

"That's what I was thinking, too."

Worried about giving Bennett the wrong impression, Claudia decided to drop the subject.

"Bennett, have you ever shelled crabs for others before?"

"Yes."

Her question was merely out of curiosity, yet his affirmative reply was unexpected.

"Did you do it for a woman?"

Disposing of the used tissue, Bennett's gaze met hers, a soft smile playing on his lips. "Yeah, it was."

Suddenly, Claudia felt a surge of jealousy, and the crab meat lost its flavor, tasting somewhat bitter.

She chewed it for a few seconds and gulped it down. She only felt that the jealousy became stronger, which made her feel a Little uncomfortable.

"Okay."

She acted as though she wasn't bothered and shifted her gaze to the plate of crab meat in front of her, but her appetite had vanished.

"I'm not in the mood for crabs today."

She slid the plate of crab meat back towards him.

Bennett took his time, simply looking at her before posing a question.

"Claudia, aren't you curious about who it was?"