Husband With Benefits-Chapter 905: Dinner

"Did you ever have dinner with my daddy?" Innocensa asked slowly, as she stared at Grant and the plate before him.

Grant looked up, startled by the sudden and seemingly random question. His brow furrowed as he set his fork down, taking a moment to process her words. They’d been eating in silence, when she decided to speak up. And it was such an odd question to ask out of the blue.

"Yes," Grant answered cautiously, nodding slowly. "When Mr. Frost was considering our project for investment, he invited me and Dave to dinner. Why do you ask?"

Innocensa smiled, a playful glint in her eyes, and shook her head lightly. "No wonder he likes you so much."

Grant’s frown deepened. He leaned forward slightly, curious now. "What do you mean by that?"

Placing her fork down on the table with deliberate care, Innocensa leaned back in her chair, her expression shifting to something conspiratorial as she grinned. "Okay, promise me you won’t take offence, all right? This is just a family joke."

Grant raised an eyebrow but nodded, gesturing for her to continue. As for whether he woul dbe offended or now... would depend on the things she did say.

"Among the family," she said, her voice lowering as if she were about to share some big secret, "there’s this running joke that Daddy could eat a horse and still be hungry. He has the biggest appetite you’ve ever seen. And..." She paused, her gaze sliding toward his plate, as a teasing smile spread across her face. "From the looks of it... you do too. And he likes people who are not pretentious and eat well."

Grant blinked, momentarily stunned, and then followed her gaze to his plate. It was still almost full, but she wasn’t wrong—he wasn’t a big eater most of the time, but when he did eat, he tended to eat well. A small smile tugged at the corners of his mouth as he wondered whether to feel flattered or mildly offended.

Before Grant could respond, Innocensa’s smile softened, taking on an almost nostalgic quality as she sighed, her eyes drifting toward the table. "You know," she began, her voice quieter now, "when I first heard that phrase as a child, I was terrified. I didn’t talk to Daddy for weeks after that."

Grant blinked, caught off guard by the confession. "Really? Why?" he asked, his curiosity piqued. It was hard to imagine someone like her being so shaken by a simple family joke. From everything he’d heard, Sebastian Frost was not just a brilliant businessman but an amazing father. It didn’t make sense.

Innocensa glanced up at him, a sheepish smile tugging at the corners of her lips. "Because," she said, drawing out the word, "I thought Daddy was going to eat my horse."

Grant froze mid-motion, his fork hovering over his plate. He stared at her. "Eat your horse?" he repeated, his voice disbelieving.

She nodded solemnly, though her cheeks flushed with the slightest hint of embarrassment. "Yes. I was seven, and Daddy had just given me a horse for my birthday. I loved that horse more than anything. He was my pride and joy. He was a foal actually and Daddy told me that I should feed it well and make it big soon. I thought he planned to eat it when it was older."

Grant couldn’t hold it in any longer. He laughed. Or rather guffawed. He had not been expecting that. He tried to stifle it by covering his mouth with his hand, but the image of a young Innocensa maybe holding onto her horse in terror was too much. "Oh, no," he managed between laughs, "you didn’t really think that, did you?"

"I did!" Innocensa exclaimed, throwing her hands up in mock indignation. "I refused to go near him for weeks. Every time he tried to talk to me, I’d run away. He was at a total loss about what he had done."

Grant leaned back in his chair, wiping at his eyes as his laughter finally began to subside. "Did you ever tell him why?" he asked, still grinning.

Innocensa made a face, rolling her eyes playfully. "Of course I did. And his reaction was exactly like yours—he laughed and laughed. I thought he’d never stop." She paused, shaking her head with a small smile. "But after he got over the hilarity of it all, he promised me something. He said Todd would stay with me for as long as Todd lived. And since horses live a long time, he assured me that meant Todd would be with me well into my twenties."

Her smile turned wistful, her gaze dropping to the table. "At the time, that felt like an eternity. I was so satisfied, so sure that we’d have all the time in the world together. But now..." Her voice softened, and her expression grew somber. "Now that Todd is gone, all those years we had feel so short. Time moves so differently when you’re looking back."

With a shake of his head, he returned to eating his food when she continued," Todd was the best partner ever. Do you know we won so many championships together. And we even qualified for Olympics when I was only sixteen. He was eighteen then and almost past his prime but still we won. It was the best time..." As Innocensa’s eyes turned misty again, Grant stilled.

Slowly, he set his fork down, and leaned back in his chair as her words replayed in his head. Todd... Wasn’t that the name of the man who was the love of her life. The one who had recently passed away? The one she’d spoken of with such emotion... "Wait a minute," he said slowly, piecing it all together. "Todd. The love of your life—the one you said you just lost—is... your horse?"

Innocensa nodded, "Hmm. He fell sick a couple of years ago. And his health had been downgrading despite us doing everything to save him. He loved to eat sugar cubes and apples you know. Whenever I neared him, he would start sniffing my pockets for his treats."