Page 49 of Just Another Silly Love Song

And oddly enough, Ben looked kind of upset.

I certainly didn’t hate him.

I didn’t hate anyone, for that matter, not even Zachary.

I was trying to figure out why I had such hostile feelings toward Ben and I couldn’t actually remember why. The only thing I could come up with was that I didn’t like his style on the radio, but was that because I thought it was wrong, or because I thought my way was the only way?

Ben was still looking in my direction, waiting.

“Now look who’s staring,” I said.

It was the only thing I could think of.

Not a great comeback, I admit that.

Ben chuckled. “I wasn’t staring. I was maintaining eye contact with you and waiting for an answer, since I asked you a question. But if you prefer not to answer it . . .”

I sighed. “Okay, okay . . . I don’t hate you.” I tilted my head to the side and waited for his answer, hoping I wasn’t coming off as a snob. “Happy now?”

Ben broke off another piece of garlic bread, dragging it across his plate to soak up some of the sauce from the lasagna. “Very happy.” He popped the bread in his mouth and smiled.

“But—”

He laughed again. “There’s always a but. One T, not two.”

“You can’t make fun of romantic comedies anymore because all those movies you rattled off are rom-coms. And I love them.”

“No, they’re not.”

I put my elbows on the table and leaned in. “Do they have romance?”

He mocked me and copied my elbow move. “Yes.”

“Are they funny? Do they make you laugh?”

“Yes.”

I smirked. “Rom-coms.”

Ben pointed a piece of garlic bread at me. “How did you sleep last night?”

I closed my eyes and shook my head hard like I had water in my ears.

He reached across the table and squeezed my hand. “Are you okay?”

I slowly opened my eyes, glancing down at his hand on top of mine.

He was touching me, and I wasn’t doing anything about it.

I was confused.

It actually appeared that Ben did have a caring bone in his body, by the look on his face and the gesture of his hand on top of mine.

“Lori? Your left eye is twitching. Is this a seizure?”

I finally pulled my hand back and placed it on my lap. “No. I’m fine.” I took the last sip of my beer, thinking about it for a moment, trying to recover. “Okay, there you go. You learned something personal about me. That little twitch is involuntary and happens when I’m confused, surprised, or stressed out.”

Ben nodded. “And which one are you right now?”