THE BENNETTS' CHRISTMAS (The Bennett Family and the Masters Family #6) - Brenda Jackson Page 0,20

a reason. He’d always been too logical, too analytical to be a dreamer. Yet, surprisingly, he found a part of him still was. There had to be a reason their paths had crossed twice, the way they had. Maybe it was fanciful thinking on his part, but whatever it was, he couldn’t walk away from it. Besides, spending time with her meant not spending time with them—all the other women onboard, who even now were staring at him as if he was a juicy steak.

But no matter who might be looking at him, his attention was solely focused on Monica right now. Neither one of them was saying much, but he figured they really didn’t have to. Their eyes were saying it all.

Finally, she broke eye contact and glanced around. He used that time to breathe in slowly, trying to reclaim his desire for a rather tidy, uncomplicated life. Why did he feel that with Monica, there would be complications he might not be ready to deal with? Might be too old to deal with?

He still couldn’t dismiss the ten-year difference in their ages. But like his sister, Monica acted rather mature for her age. He appreciated that.

Monica returned her gaze to him and said, “The restaurant is not so crowded now.”

He took the time to glance around himself. “I imagine most people are already on their way to the nightclub to try and dance off their meal.”

She chuckled. “You’re probably right.”

Landon accepted that he felt a deep desire for Monica that he could not ignore, but he wasn’t threatened by the thought. Nor was he threatened by the knowledge that she desired him just as much.

Monica intrigued him because for some reason, he honestly thought she wasn’t aware of how desirable she really was, or how passionate she could be. He could see it in her gaze, every time their eyes met. But it seemed a bit wild, untamed. Could it be that she’d never experienced real passion? It was hard to believe, but the more time he spent with her, the more he sensed he was right.

“So, tell me about you, Monica,” he finally said, when she continued to look everywhere but at him.

The waiter came and poured more wine into their glasses. She took a sip, then asked, “Anything in particular you want to know?”

He had a lot of questions but wouldn’t bombard her with them all at once. He’d go one at a time. First up… “Twice now, I’ve offered you my assistance. Some women wouldn’t have wanted me to interfere, and would likely be angry, thinking I was doubting their ability to handle things on their own. Yet, you didn’t seem to have a problem with it.”

She shrugged. “I really appreciated your help. Maybe I’m just used to it—I have two older brothers. Hansen is thirty-two and Pratt is twenty-nine. They take their roles as older brothers seriously. So, I let them.”

“Are you the youngest?”

“I have a younger brother, thanks to my mom and stepfather. I also have two sisters, one who is only two days older than me.” Apparently detecting his confusion, she placed her wineglass aside and said, “Let me explain my family dynamics to you. It’s a bit complicated.”

“Alright.”

“Well, like I said, I have two older brothers, and a sister, Kelly. We all have the same father, but different mothers. If you wanted to be generous, you could say that our father was a rolling stone. But a more apt description would be that he was a notorious liar and a man-whore.”

It was obvious she had no problem saying how she felt. “Was he married to any of your mothers?” he asked.

“Yes, he was with Kelly’s mom for close to twelve years. My brother Pratt was born on their wedding day. But Kelly’s mom hadn’t known a thing about it. Nor had she known he had gotten another woman pregnant three years earlier. That was Hansen’s mom. And Mrs. Perkins definitely hadn’t known my mom was pregnant with me at the same time she was expecting Kelly. Mr. Perkins had led my mom to believe he was single.”

He lifted a brow. “You call your father Mr. Perkins?”

“We all do. Kelly used to call him Dad, since she lived with him, but when she discovered the things he’d done, he became Mr. Perkins to her as well. The man has never done anything that would make any of us call him Dad.”

Landon nodded. “Did Kelly’s mom stay with him when she found out