“Agreed."

Bennett casually pulled at his collar. His shirt was already unbuttoned at the top, revealing more of his collarbone.

As Claudia watched his smooth, pale fingers dance across his collarbone, she found herself gulping.

His allure was intoxicating.

Shaken by her thoughts, Claudia's cheeks heated up. Breathing in the subtle woody scent of the man, she abruptly stood, catching her shin in the process. The sharp pain caused her to stagger back.

A firm arm enveloped her waist just as she started to lose balance, preventing her from further injuring her leg.

“Did you hurt yourself?"

Her gasp of pain was promptly followed by his deep, resonant inquiry.

Claudia instinctively lifted her head and found herself locked in a gaze with the man, his dark eyes closely meeting hers.

In order to be closer to her, Bennett leaned over, his body tilting more than halfway. They were now mere inches apart, and Claudia was enveloped in the scent of fresh wood emanating from him,

The warm breath he exhaled onto her face only further reddened her cheeks.

Feeling flustered, she averted her gaze and murmured, “Thank you, Bennett."

“You just referred to me as ‘honey’ during the call, didn't you?"

His comment caught Claudia off guard. She gave him a sideways glance, and seeing the subtle hint of a smile in his eyes, she realized he was pulling her leg. only used that term to get under Anthony's skin."

"I know."

He released his hold around her waist and stood upright. "Let's go to have some midnight snack."

Claudia hesitated momentarily before accepting Bennett's extended hand.

“Thank you."

Bennett wasn't as aloof as people made him out to be.

Claudia's wheelchair was still downstairs. As she prepared to slowly descend the staircase, Bennett moved swiftly past her, scooping her up into his arms. "Allow me."

He was a tower of a man, making her appear all the more petite cradled in his arms.

There was a certain comfort in his embrace.