the public, but in a different way.” I focused on him instead of the prickling sensation and the rising anger that made my skin tingle.
“I have a proposition.” He cleared his throat.
He had a proposition? For me? With a sigh, I said, “Let’s hear it.”
“You should come work with me.” His gaze slipped away, then came back to meet mine.
Stunned, I opened my mouth to respond, but no words came out. I smiled, trying to think of something to say—anything. “At the Sentinel? I’m not a writer.” Why would he think I could do the job?
As if I hadn’t said a word, he leaned in and lowered his voice. “I have it on good authority that you take beautiful pictures, and you’re a career model—both of which are helpful to the paper.” He sat back with a pleased look on his face.
Something skittered up my spine like a snake climbing a tree. “Why are you so worried about me and where I work?” There was something weird going on here. Why was he suddenly so concerned about things he shouldn’t even care about?
“Because we’re friends, and I worry about you.” His eyes slid from me, and he thanked Dottie for the coffee as she filled his mug. He added half and half and a generous amount of sugar before stirring. The whole time, I stared at him, unsure what to make of the awkward situation.
“We were friends over a decade ago in high school—and only kind of.” I crossed my arms and sat back, determined to get to the bottom of his recent interest in my life. “We were more acquaintances, the kind who said hi to each other in the halls; that hardly counted as friends.”
He shifted in his seat and peered at something beyond me. “We also took swimming lessons together.”
“Benji,” I cleared my throat so the words would have a straight path out. “We didn’t even run in the same circles.” In truth, we weren’t that good of friends. I was kind to him because people didn’t seem to like him. I wasn’t going to be cruel to him or anyone else, but I couldn’t help but wonder if he’d taken my kindness to mean something more. “We didn’t even hang out.”
He let out a rude snort. “Well, how could we? You always had Noah around.”
He was right, Noah and I had been inseparable since we’d fallen for one another, but that wasn’t why he and I weren’t close. “Noah isn’t the reason we weren’t friends.” I said the words slowly, trying to justify my answer.
“Then, why?” Benji asked.
“Why weren’t you and I close?” The feeling that I needed to be very careful how I answered washed over me. I thought about guys like him—like Anthony—who I had to tiptoe around to make sure they didn’t make my life difficult. Suddenly, I didn’t want to spare his feelings anymore.
“If you mean close close, as in why we weren’t involved, then it’s because you’re not my type. You weren’t then, and you aren’t now. You seem like a nice guy, but there will never be anything between us. We don’t have chemistry.” Saying those words was the most freeing feeling I’d ever experienced. Had I ever told a man how I really felt, or had I always been polite to a fault out of fear that he would take it personally and get mad?
“It’s not like that,” he said quickly. “I’m just worried about your safety and well-being.”
The words didn’t ring true, and the feral look in his eyes made me doubt him even more.
“I appreciate that, but I’m safe, and I’m cautious. I’m not stupid or overconfident.” I wouldn’t risk anything when there was another life at stake other than mine.
“Here you go.” Dottie placed a massive plate of pancakes in front of Benji and gave him a blank smile before turning to me. “Do you need anything? Coffee? More water? Something stronger?”
“You don’t serve alcohol here,” I said with a laugh.
She winked. “I’m sure I could find something if you need it. Just don’t tell my boss.”
I giggled because she owned the place, so she was the boss, but it was cute.
Obviously, Benji and I were putting out weird vibes, and she picked up on it. There was no doubt the whole town would know that we’d had an awkward lunch. “Thanks, Dottie, I’d love more water.”
She reached for my glass, and I pulled it back an inch. “Just water. I was teasing about the other.”
She