CHAPTER TWENTY THREE

I’m still giddy from James’ kiss and the success of our date when I open the door to the house half an hour later.

When I walk into the living room, I breathe a sigh of relief because there’s no evidence Ben is home. Most of the lights are off, as is the TV, and I can’t even smell him.

But when I walk up the stairs to go to my room, Ben pops out from behind the wall at the top of the stairs, and I scream.

“Ben! What the hell!” I say, a hand on my chest to steady my heart, which feels like it’s going to jump right out of my ribcage. “Why were you hiding? Were you trying to scare me to death on purpose?”

I’m expecting him to laugh and say yes, because he used to pull pranks like this all the time when we were kids. He’d sneak up on me when I wasn’t looking and laugh his head off when I shouted in surprise.

He’s not laughing now. He’s glaring at me, looking more intimidating than I’ve ever seen him.

“Ben? Are you going to answer me?”

“Are you going to tell me where you actually