Page 15 of Every Hidden Truth

He tucked his hands into his coat pockets as his lopsided grin widened. “Hi.”

Mist billowed before my face as I released a shaky breath, my voice weak and pathetic. “Hey.”

“You already said that.” Amusement lapped playfully in his ocean eyes.

I forced my buzzing nerves to calm as the winter chill cooled my warm cheeks. “Oh, yeah. Right.”

The curtain in my peripheral view wiggled, and panic seized me. I grabbed Ben’s arm and dragged him off the porch, ignoring his chuckles as I slipped on the packed snow of my driveway.

“Careful.” He caught me with an arm around my waist, and I grumbled inaudible insults as he snickered. “I’d rather you not die on me quite yet.”

“Oh, but I’m allowed to die on you later? Good to know.” I batted away his grip and yanked the passenger door to his car open.

Circling the nose of his Impala, he straightened the gray beanie on his head as loose curls escaped its confines. “How about no dying at all. Deal?”

“Just get your ass in the car.”

I slumped in my seat as I glared daggers at the covertly parted curtains of the front window. As I subtly hid my face behind my hand, I silently urged Ben to drive away quickly. My dad was as bad as my nice, yet nosy neighbor, Mrs. Kolkowski.

Whether he heard my telepathic encouragement or not, Ben backed out of my driveway. I breathed a sigh of relief as my house disappeared into the distance behind us. He drove slower than usual over the snowy roads, and his usual calm behind the wheel gave way to wary vigilance.

Right, he wasn’t used to driving in this weather. I would offer to drive next time to ease his obvious discomfort.

“So, uh, good morning.” He glanced my way quickly before refocusing on the road. “You look nice.”

My neck heated at the compliment, and I fought the overjoyed smile pulling at my mouth. “Oh, this old thing? Thanks.” We laughed as I waved superfluously over my thin jacket. I leanedforward to peek at his cream sweater under his unzipped coat. “You look nice too.”

“Oh, uh, thanks.”

With pink cheeks, Ben navigated through the light morning traffic. My heart kicked into high gear as his hand snuck across the center console to tease the back of mine with his index finger.

I accepted the unsaid offer, shifting my hand until our fingers twined, and tingles shot up my arm as our palms met.

Damn, I thought this only happened in romance books. Apparently, I was wrong. I settled into my seat as I directed Ben to my favorite breakfast place, our hands entangled between us the whole drive.

5

Cutesy Stuff

When we arrived atThe Golden Egg, the early morning regulars were starting to clear out and the church crowd had yet to arrive, so we didn’t have to wait too long to be seated. A middle-aged woman with tired eyes led us to a two-person table, and I followed after Ben, enjoying the view of his ass in his low-slung jeans.

I hung my coat along the back of my chair before lowering into the seat. Ben copied me, placing his bulky coat on his own chair before adjusting his beanie.

Damn, he looked good in beanies. Granted, he looked good in almost anything, but the beanie was extra hot. I wanted to rip it from his head and eat his face off—in a non-zombie way, of course.

“So, is this place any good?” He pulled me from my fantasy as he inspected the menu.

“Yeah, they have killer breakfast food.”

“Good. I love breakfast food, especially pancakes.”

The waitress arrived with a pot of steaming coffee. “Morning, boys. What can I get you to drink?”

Ben flipped over his mug, and she poured his coffee without him needing to ask. “I’ll take a glass of water as well, please.”

“Sure thing, hon.” She turned to me expectantly.

I pointed flippantly at Ben. “I’ll just have water, too.”

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