He opened the door and the light flicked on automatically. He glanced at Shane’s confused expression right before he shut the door in his face.
Ben looked at himself in the mirror over the sink. His face looked flushed, and he was hunching again, making himself smaller without realizing it. An old habit from school—he was the biggest kid in class always, and conscientious about it. His size scared the girls and made the boys dare each other to punch him.
“Thought I was past all that,” he told his reflection, watching himself stand up straight and square his shoulders. The military had taught him to be proud of his strength and size, and now most days he was. Just every now and then, the young kid inside forgot.
Ben turned on the faucet and one by one washed each pen and pencil carefully. He realized there weren’t just colored pens, but colored pencils meant for drawing. The corner of his mouth turned up as his heart sped up. A new piece of the puzzle that was Charlie King clicked into place.
A gob of webbing was stuck to a blue-green pen, and inside it, the shadow of a molted skin.She wouldn’t have liked to find that. Ben’s smile grew as he washed it off and watched it circle the drain. He checked the inside of the caddy for more webs and found the husk of a fly. He flicked it out into the sink and it joined the web down the drain. He carefully dried off each penand pencil and placed them all back into the caddy. He chuckled again, remembering the sight of Charlie on the office chair. He wasn’t laughing at her fear, but at his wonder at seeing her afraid of anything.
Warrior Princess.
He grimaced as he opened the bathroom door. He’d really flubbed it with that one. Imagine calling someone as strong as Charle a princess. No wonder she’d looked at him funny.
Shane was nowhere in sight. Ben’s phone buzzed with a text. He checked it and found a message from Shane telling him to let him know when he was ready to go and he’d meet him out front.
Ben reached Charlie’s cube. She was so engrossed in a book, she didn’t notice him at first. The salad on her desk looked untouched. He cleared his throat and her head snapped up. Her desk drawer flew open and the book disappeared inside, but not before Ben noticed the multicolored highlighted lines on the pages and the telltale worn cover of a well-loved paperback.
The other thing he noticed was the title of the thick book. Shane had not lied when he told Ben the secret, and Ben had not been mistaken when he heard Charlie last night.
You’re safe with me. I swear it to you upon my honor.
“Ben. I wasn’t expecting you back until after lunch.” Charlie stood and leaned her hip against the drawer as if to guard it.
Don’t ask her what she’s reading. Don’t ask?—
“What are you reading?” he asked, wanting to slap himself at the same time.
FOUR
Oh crap.Busted.
Charlie felt her stomach twist. Of all people, not only was Ben Massey the one to see her afraid of a tiny spider, but he had to be the one to catch her reading one of her favorite books in the entire world, a book that he’d probably think was stupid, and that she was nerdy for loving it.
Or soft.
She hated how her stomach now fluttered at the idea of Ben thinking of her as soft. Feminine. Of course he didn’t though. He’d called her a warrior ten minutes ago.
No, a warriorprincess.
And there went the flutters again.
“What am I reading?” she asked, dodging her answer. She looked around the office as if one of her co-workers would suddenly pop up like a Whac-a-Mole, laughing at her about her choice of books.
Ben nodded. His gorgeous eyes actually twinkled. Was he getting ready to make fun of her? No, that wasn’t Ben’s style. One of the many reasons she found him so attractive—Ben was quiet and thoughtful. Yes, he had a sense of humor, but it wasn’t the mean kind. It was never at the expense of a friend.Ben was considerate, kind. Sweet, even, from what little direct interaction they’d had. She relaxed just a teensy bit.
“Oh, you meanthatbook?” She glanced down at the desk drawer she was blocking like it was a client under fire. “Just some, uh, research. For a client.” Just to make sure he wouldn’t follow up with another question, she added, “I can’t really say who.”
“Client confidentiality. I understand,” Ben said, nodding. “S-so…are you…enjoying it?”
Hide what you love.
The old words flashed through her mind like a reflex. Charlie’s cheeks felt hot with embarrassment as she bit her bottom lip. Her gaze darted to the caddy filled with her colored pens and pencils in Ben’s hand. “Thank you so much for taking care of that for me,” she said quietly, dodging the question.
“You’re welcome. It’s clean now. I washed everything, even the pens.”
“Did you find it? The spider?” She shivered at the mere thought of the eight-legged horror.
He nodded again. “He’s spending the rest of his days in a tree outside.”
