Chapter 399: Leaving in the Morning

Bennett noticed it first.

Lucas still had not answered her.

She did not repeat the offer. She only watched him over her glass and waited, one eyebrow slightly raised, like she was giving him room and timing him at the same time.

Lucas came back all at once.

"Itary?"

He said it like the word itself had caught him off guard. City drives were normal. Late meetings were normal. Jumping borders because a woman across from him mentioned cars was not.

Bennett saw the look and softened.

"You don’t have to force it," she said. "I forgot how packed your days can get. If tomorrow is too sudden, we can push it. I can handle the first contacts alone and call you after."

"Okay."

She stopped mid-breath.

Lucas nodded once, already decided.

"I’d like that. So which day are we going?"

Bennett stared at him for a second, then recovered.

"Tomorrow."

Lucas looked at her properly.

"Tomorrow?"

"Tomorrow."

No gap. No soft landing. Just the next day.

He leaned back against the couch and let out a short laugh under his breath.

"You don’t waste time."

"You asked for the day," Bennett said. "I gave it to you."

"Alright." He turned the glass slowly in his hand. "When does the flight leave? Tell me so I can arrange my side."

Bennett tilted her head. A small smile pulled at her mouth.

"What time would you like the jet to leave?"

Lucas paused.

"I’m the one choosing the time?"

"I’m using a private jet," she said. "I’m not putting you on a commercial flight to make it look normal. Even first class would be a waste of time."

For a second he did not answer.

Private jet. His choice of departure. Said the same way someone else would ask if he preferred the window open. He had money. He had cars, rooms, and people who answered when he called. And still, this part of the life had somehow stayed untouched.

He kept his face steady.

"Afternoon is fine."

"Afternoon works," Bennett said. "I’ll lock it in."

"How long are we staying if the first viewing goes nowhere?"

"Two days. Three if the seller plays difficult."

"And if he plays difficult?"

"Then I stop being polite."

Lucas smiled.

"That sounds more honest."

They did not leave the room right away.

Bennett shifted forward slightly, elbows on her knees, studying him like the deal was already settled and the person in front of her was the part still open.

"You agreed faster than I expected."

"You made it hard to drag out."

"Most men ask for a week."

"I’m not most men."

She held his gaze for a second longer than necessary, then smiled like she was putting something back in her pocket for later.

They did not leave the room right away.

Bennett shifted forward slightly, elbows on her knees, studying him like the deal was already settled and the person in front of her was the part still open.

"You agreed faster than I expected."

"You made it hard to drag out."

"Most men ask for a week."

"I’m not most men."

She held his gaze for a second longer than necessary, then smiled like she was putting something back in her pocket for later.

Bennett watched him over the rim of her glass.

"You’re really not bothered that the last one got damaged?"

"I’m bothered," Lucas said. "I’m just not useful when I sit around being bothered."

That got a real laugh out of her.

By the time he checked the time again, the ice in both glasses had thinned.

"I should head home."

Bennett rose with him.

"Already?"

"If I stay longer, tomorrow gets messy."

She accepted that, but she still walked him out.

They passed through the private door, back into the heavier sound of the main floor, then out into the cooler air outside. Bennett pulled her jacket closer and stopped beside his car.

She had come for him. With him leaving, there was no point going back inside and pretending the rest of the night mattered.

For a moment the visit felt too short.

The thought landed clean and unwanted. She almost clicked her tongue at herself. Tomorrow there would be more time. That should have been enough to shut it down.

"I’ll message you the exact wheels-up time," she said.

"Do that."

"And Lucas."

He looked back.

"Don’t change your mind in the morning."

"I won’t."

He got in, started the car, and pulled out.

On the drive home, the same fact kept returning with every turn.

He was leaving the country tomorrow.

No long preparation. No stacked meetings. No careful week-long notice. Just a yes in a private room and an afternoon jet.

When he turned into the driveway, the front doors were already open.

Mia. Daisy. Debbie. Richelle. Gracie.

Daisy reached him first. She got to the car before the others finished coming down the steps and caught him the second his foot hit the ground, arms around him hard enough to make it clear she had been waiting with no patience left.

"You took too long," she said into his chest.

"I got held up."

"I figured."

Richelle came in right after and hugged him tight.

"I missed you."

Lucas blinked, half smiling.

"You saw me earlier."

"That doesn’t count."

The hug itself was one thing. How natural she looked in front of his house was another. Business-call Richelle was now standing in his driveway with the rest of them like she had always known the way in.

Mia folded her arms, eyes moving over his face.

"You look like you were negotiating."

"I was talking."

"Same thing with you."

Debbie only reached out and squeezed his hand once as they turned him toward the house. Gracie gave him a small hi. No hug. She still followed when the group pulled him inside.

The table was already set.

Food. Plates. Warm dishes. Too much of it. Someone had cooked like hunger was a group emergency. Everyone talked over each other before he even sat.

"You took forever."

"I told them you were fine."

"She did not. She checked the clock every ten minutes."

"Who burnt the edge of this?"

"That was Debbie."

"It was not."

"It was."

"Lucas, taste this and take my side."

He sat, let them talk, and ate. The house felt loud in a way that made the private room at the bar feel like a different world entirely. Daisy stayed close on one side. Richelle kept refilling his plate like he had come back from a week away instead of a few hours. Mia watched him more than the food. Debbie asked two quiet questions about traffic and then stole fried pieces off his plate when he looked away. Gracie listened, smiled at the right lines, and stayed just half a step outside the center.

After a while the noise thinned enough for him to set his glass down.

"I’m planning on going to Itary tomorrow."

The table did not go silent all at once.

It staggered.

Mia first. Then Debbie. Then Daisy, turning fully toward him. Richelle’s hand stopped halfway to the serving spoon. Gracie only raised her brows.

Daisy was the first to speak.

"Tomorrow?"

"Tomorrow," Lucas said.