Page 66 of Every Hidden Truth

“Are you seriously talking to my hair, right now?”

“Yes, and you killed them!”

He chortled as I grieved the loss of length to his gorgeous waves. “It was way too long. I looked like Medusa.”

“Maybe I think Medusa’s sexy,” I grumbled, inspecting the trimmed sides and slightly longer hair on top, lying in crimpy chaos.

“Do you really hate it?”

I squished his face between my hands and glared. “Of course not, you idiot. You look great. You always look great. It’s kind of unfair.”

A throat cleared, and I yelped, jerking my hands from Ben’s face as I was reminded, once again, of my dad’s presence in our midst. He stood beside the coffee table, arms crossed over his chest as he watched our exchange. Puzzlement and mirth warred for dominance in his dark eyes. He arched one thick brow at me as my neck warmed to surface-of-the-sun levels.

“Right, Dad, you know Ben.”

Ben swiftly offered his hand, and Dad shook it. “Ben, good to see you again.”

“You too, Charlie. Thanks for letting me crash Silas’s birthday.” Ben’s charming smile was firmly in place, and Dad’s shoulders relaxed.

He sent me a mischievous wink, and my stomach spiraled to my toes. “Not a problem. Just keep your shirt on this time.”

“Dad!” I whined, pushing his shoulder. “Oh my God, can you not?”

As my dad chuckled to himself, Ben flushed, rubbing the back of his neck. “Right, of course. I, uh, I’ll be sure to do that.”

“Good choice.”

Glaring at my dad, I lowered my voice to a hiss. “Hey, remember how we talked about younotembarrassing me? You’re doing a really shitty job!”

He rumbled with laughter, ignoring my wrath as he addressed Ben again. “Silas wants Chinese for dinner. What should I order for you?”

“Chicken fried rice and an egg roll is fine. Thanks, Charlie.”

Dad nodded, disappearing into the kitchen without even asking what I wanted. I groaned into my palms as I mashed my face into Ben’s chest. It must have been a part of the Dad-code to always embarrass children in front of prospective love interests.

“I’m sorry. I told him not to be weird!”

Ben rubbed the back of my neck with an amused sigh. “It’s fine, Silas. You look nice, by the way.”

He snuck a kiss to my temple, and I wrapped my arms around his waist with a silly grin. “Thanks. You too.”

I peeked over my shoulder to double-check we were alone before popping onto my toes and kissing him full on the mouth. He smiled against my lips, kissing me back more reserved than I wanted.

“He’s on the phone,” I muttered. “Kiss me.”

“Don’t you want presents?”

Pursing my lips, I contemplated the benefits of making out versus the pros of receiving presents. “Why not both?”

He framed my face with his hands and kissed me deeply before disconnecting us too soon and reaching for the gift bag he’d discarded by the coat rack. He dangled it before my eyes as I wiggled my fingers expectantly. I snatched it from his grasp, shaking it obnoxiously beside my ear.

“I’m gonna guess…” I made a show of smelling it, weighing it in my hands, and even tasting the edge, smacking my tongue against my lips.

Ben’s repressed laughter escaped as a snort.

I ripped the tissue paper out of the top. “It’s a large, cardboard coupon book for sexual favors.”

“My God. How did you know?” he said with the blandest delivery humanly possible.

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