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I’d seen the way Kendra looked at Bennett and felt the way she’d coolly regarded me. I doubted other customers received the same personal service. It was obvious she had a thing for him. It was also obvious that Bennett didn’t realize it.
I returned my attention to the menu. “What’s good here?”
“Everything,” Bennett said with a mouthful of toast, “but I always order the loaded omelet with an extra side of bacon.”
I scanned the menu. “It says there’s already a double helping of bacon in the omelet.”
Lifting the coffee mug, he met my gaze evenly. “And your point…?”
I chuckled. “No point at all.” Who was I to judge his dietary indulgences? The man didn’t have an ounce of fat on him, so he must have been doing something right.
Kendra returned with my coffee and a variety of creamers. “You’re that Markham woman, aren’t you?” Her tone wasn’t friendly, but it wasn’t quite rude, either. I didn’t know what to make of it.
“I’m here representing Markham Corporation, yes.” A pang of guilt hit me because I hadn’t actually been doing much work lately. Bennett was going to call a meeting, and there was no sense working harder when I could work smarter.
Is that really what I’m doing, though?I pushed the uncomfortable thought aside.
Her gaze shifted back and forth between me and Bennett, and she looked like she wanted to say something. My shoulders stiffened, but in the end, she held up her order pad and pen. “What can I get you?”
Bennett gestured for me to order first, seeming oblivious to the tension.
“Veggie omelet,” I said.
“And I’ll have—”
“The loaded omelet, extra bacon on the side, right?” She grinned at him. Whatever her feelings toward me, it appeared she had nothing but love for Bennett.
He returned her expression. “You know it. How are your folks doing? I haven’t seen them in a while.”
“Dad has been down with bronchitis. Mom had it, but she’s finally over it now. I’m pretty sure she got it from the kids.” She cringed. “Oops.”
“I’m sorry to hear it. Give them my best,” Bennett said.
After she left, I tucked the menu back in its place. “You really do know everyone, don’t you?”
“Kendra was a year behind me in school. Or was it two? I can’t remember. Anyway, her family owns Happy’s.”
I wracked my brain, trying to remember if one of the local business commission members I’d spoken to owned the restaurant. I didn’t think so.
Bennett must have realized what I was thinking. “Her mother is on the local business commission. Jackie Landry.”
The name jogged my memory. I’d been unable to get in touch with her, which made sense now that I knew she’d been sick.
“There she is now, actually.” Bennett waved at a woman at the register near the entrance.
She waved back, but her smiled faltered when it landed on me.
Shit. What does that mean?It could simply be that the woman was not pleased that the object of her daughter’s affection was here with another woman. Or maybe she also knew me as “the Markham woman.” I could navigate a New York boardroom with ease, but these small-town politics were throwing me for a loop.
As much as I wished I could forget about business, I couldn’t, because it was the whole reason I was in the Carolina Banks. Bennett hadn’t brought up the meeting he’d promised to put together since he’d first mentioned it. I hadn’t either, not wanting to put a damper on what was going on between us, but I couldn’t keep my head in the clouds anymore.
“Have you thought more about putting together the informal commission meeting?” I asked.
A scowl crossed his face before he schooled his expression. “I’ve thought about it,” he said cagily.
It pissed me off. He was the one who’d offered. I sighed. “Bennett, Phil is paying me to do a job, and I need to continue doing it. The deadline for the vote—”
“I said I’ll do it, and I will,” he said gruffly.
