Ben had, by now, gotten out of his funk enough to realize that he'd done something to upset her. She couldn't really be telegraphing her disapproval any more clearly than that passive-aggressive scribbling. He couldn't imagine what she was so upset about, though. Did she really care that much about some stupid pseudonyms, or was there something else going on that he was entirely oblivious to?

Well, he didn't want her angry with him, and he certainly didn't want her to keep being noticeably angry with him in the middle of a store. Any scene here would definitely not work out in his favor, he knew.

"Okay, fine," he said under his breath, with a loose shrug. "What did you have in mind?"