My eyes widen at the sound of the person’s voice.
Marcus grins. “Ah! Here’s the last-minute fill-in now. Allow me to introduce you two. Olivia, Bennett just started ZodiaCupid.”
No, no, no.
“And Bennett, meet Olivia. She’s the new owner of Lunar Love,” Marcus says, articulating every word. Before I can stop him, he’s exposed me. There it is. The truth’s out.
“I thought this was supposed to be an all-women panel,” I whisper to Marcus between gritted teeth.
“The ladies we reached out to were unavailable. Bennett generously canceled his afternoon to join us. We’ll have to find another angle to market this episode,” Marcus explains casually, like he hasn’t just blown my cover and set fire to my plans. “I’ll allow you two to get acquainted, but keep your ears out for your name. The audience may get testy if they have to wait too long.” He takes off before either of us say anything.
I slowly spin to see Bennett looking at me with an unreadable look in his eyes. For seconds that feel like hours, we stare at each other, speechless.
“We have to stop meeting like this,” Bennett finally says. “I assume that’s what your cryptic text message was about?”
“I—” I start. “I was going to tell you. I’m now in charge of Lunar Love.”
A deep blush spreads across Bennett’s cheeks. Oh no, he’s mad.
My stomach flips. I should’ve told him last night, especially after how honest he was with me. If he never wanted to see me again, I’d understand. Please say something, Bennett. I’ll take any vowel, verb, or expletive you want to throw my way. I’m ready.
My apology is on the tip of my tongue when Bennett meekly says, “I know.”
“You know…” I trail off confused, waiting for him to finish my sentence. “What do you know?”
Bennett looks at me with careful eyes. “I know who you are.”
I choke down my “sorrys” and “I meant to tell yous.” I was not ready for that. They’re just five simple words, but they hit me like a meteor.
“Wait. What?” I finally say. I feel the blood drain from my face.
Someone from behind the curtain shouts, “Places everyone!” On stage, Marcus gives an opening speech but I can’t process full words in this moment.
“I don’t understand,” I say, my mind running through all the different scenarios. At what point did he find out? Or did he know this entire time? Why wouldn’t he have told me? “Did you know who I was when we met at Lucky Monkey? I knew you were spying on me!”
“What? No! I didn’t know who you were until the end of the baking class,” he calmly explains.
“You knew who I was almost every time we saw each other, and you didn’t tell me? Why? Why did you ask me out last night?” I ask, processing it all. Was he trying to finish off Lunar Love? Is he trying to steal more of our ideas? I let my guard down for one night so this Rat could manipulate me. I know better.
Bennett looks down at the floor. “I was thrown off. I really was testing out the app on our first date. After having just seen you at Lucky Monkey, I don’t know, it was weird. When you started bombarding me with questions, it clicked. I brought up Lunar Love to see if you’d bite, but you didn’t. I caught on to what you were up to when you pretended to want to see my office, and I decided to join in. Knowing who you were made it easier to take a risk and ask you out. I had all the facts. It made me more comfortable.”
I lift my eyebrows in surprise. “You had all the facts on me so you felt in control? That’s why you asked me out?”
“No, that didn’t come out right. I—”
“And what do you mean it clicked? How do you even know who I am?” I ask, my tone edgier.
“Hey, remember that you lied to me, too,” Bennett says. “You’re also complicit in whatever this is. For all I know, you could’ve known who I was before our first date.” He scrunches his forehead in thought. “Wait. Did you?”
“Did I what?” I say obliviously.
“Did you know who I was before our first date?”
Caught again. I bite my lip. “I knew who you were since the Matched with Love conference, okay?” I say, finally conceding. “You were there yammering on about how opposites can attract and handing out beta codes and surprisingly soft eco-fleece like candy.”
Bennett studies my face. “That was you I was debating with?”
I look past his shoulder to avoid making eye contact with him.
“Good for you. You had me fooled. So you, what, saw me at the conference and then purposely used my app to match with me?” he says in a slightly joking tone.
I don’t answer.
His mouth drops open. “No…way. And here I am thinking fate played a role.”
A small snicker tumbles out. We may have coincidentally run into each other at the bakery, but we were brought together because of my matching abilities. Sure, they may have been on his app, but that’s beside the point.
“Fate? Please. I am fate,” I mumble. I regret ever wanting to tell him the truth.
Out of nowhere, Bennett breaks into laughter, his entire body shuddering in amusement.
“You think this is funny?” I ask, looking around at the stares we’re attracting.
“I laugh so I’m not completely freaked out. We both lied so we could see more of each other,” Bennett says.
“I don’t know if that’s true,” I say, though this isn’t entirely accurate. Part of me did want to see him again, and now after this, we’ll probably never see each other again. That’s a discomforting thought.
Bennett presses a hand against his chest. “You’re acting like I’m the bad guy here. You do realize how manipulative what you did was, right?”
I cross my arms, probably looking pouty and petty, but I don’t care. “You’re right. I never should’ve tried to match with you,” I say, exasperated. “Now you know how I know who you are. How do you know who I am?”
“We should talk about this after,” Bennett says, remaining calm. “I’ll explain everything.”
“No. We’re going to talk about this right now. My taking over Lunar Love hasn’t been announced yet publicly. In fact, today is the announcement. You would’ve found out once you heard the podcast. Did Marcus give you a list of panelists with our titles?”
“He didn’t,” Bennett says matter-of-factly.
“Then tell me how you know who I am,” I command, growing in confidence.
Bennett pushes his hands into his dark jean pockets and looks over at the crimson velvet curtain. “I can’t really say,” he mumbles.
I close the distance between us. His musky scent sweeps over me and chips away at my assurance. How dare he unnerve me like that!
“What, did you take a blood oath? Bennett,” I say sternly, “tell me.”
His eyes scrunch as he processes something. “I know about you,” he starts slowly, “because of your Pó Po.”
“Pó Po as in…June Huang?” I ask with a laugh. “No, seriously. That’s not funny.”