Bennett - Milly Taiden Page 0,3

his first degree at the age of sixteen in astrophysics. He had then completely changed track and acquired a Masters in physiology before starting all over again to obtain a Ph.D. in Biochemistry. He could have gotten a job years ago, but he was too fond of taking classes and learning new things. He preferred writing papers for scientific journals while working in the university’s labs.

Bennett was thirsty for one thing. Knowledge.

He wanted to know all the secrets of the universe. It was an impossible goal to have, and he knew that. But that wouldn’t stop him from trying his level best.

The only things that Bennett indeed lacked were social skills and dating skills.

He’d been on a few dates over the years, but being a sixteen-year-old prodigy on campuses where dudes named Chad with rippling muscles were more of the preferred flavor hadn’t made things easy.

Bennett parked his car and walked around it to get his luggage from the trunk. He had a bunch of equipment all packed up, even if Gray had warned him that his lab would have everything he could possibly need. He slung the bag over his shoulder, nearly toppling over from the weight of it. He had to push his glasses back up against his nose as he made his way up the few steps that led to the front door.

With a slightly nervous hand, he rang the bell. He could only hope that Gray answered, and not his fiancée. Bennett was clinically shy when it came to the opposite sex.

“Whoa,” Bennett whacked out when the door swung open.

Standing before him was an excellent lookalike for all of the Chads he had hated in college. There was no way this man was the renowned and respected Dr. Gray Hart.

“Hey, Ben. Long time, no see. Come on in.”

Bennett blinked at him, his gangly limbs refusing to move. “Gray?” he asked, his voice cracking as if he were a teen again. How embarrassing.

“Yeah, of course,” Gray answered. He looked down at himself. “Sorry, I should have warned you. I’ve changed a bit.”

“I’ll say,” Bennett mumbled.

Did that mean that Gray had it all? Brains and brawn? How colossally unfair was that?

“Is that your friend?” A hot blonde strode toward them as the two men made it into the living room.

Bennett knew who the woman was. She was a model. A diamond ring shimmered on her left hand, and Bennett just about swallowed his tongue. That had to be Gray’s future wife.

He had to work very hard not to hate his old friend.

Bennett hated to feel jealous. It was typically only an emotion he felt toward his colleagues based on their scientific discoveries. This was an unwelcomed petty reaction, and he wasn’t a fan. He had to believe that he would find the right woman for him one day. That had never seemed so far away as it did now that he was standing in Gray’s mansion with his model fiancée.

Oh, and Bennett couldn’t forget the state-of-the-art laboratory that Gray had in his basement.

“Hi,” Bennett finally managed to say, though it came out like a high-pitched squeak. He cleared his throat and tried again. “Hello.” That time, the word was louder and much less something that would have come out of a cartoon mouse’s mouth.

She gave him a smirk. “I’m Blake. But you already knew that, I’m sure.” She winked at Gray. “I’ll let you two go down to the lab. That’s always the first thing people want to see. Never mind that I’ve revamped this house into a classy place. The science is all that matters.”

“Thanks, love,” Gray said, leaning down to give Blake a quick peck.

Gray motioned for him to follow. The long staircase led them into a basement lab that looked more like something in a science fiction movie than a home office. Bennett had worked in some of the best labs in the country, but Gray’s lab surpassed them all.

“Sweet fuck, this is impressive.” He didn’t even try to mask the wonder from his voice.

His friend nodded with a knowing grin. “I know. This set me back, but I love it. I also love the commute. Blake only has to peek her head in at the end of her workday, and I can just go up the stairs to hang out with her.”

“You’ve got quite the life,” Bennett said as he ran his fingers down the length of one of the stainless-steel countertops.

“If you only knew, bud. Things have happened that you wouldn’t even believe