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“Oh, my God—ten grand? We aresodoing it. Go rent a tux this instant.”
“I have a tux.”
“You do?” she asked, sounding shocked. “Why?”
I looked down at the grass and ran my shoe over a soft spot. “Sometimes I go out.”
“Whoa,” she said. “Are you a billionaire?”
“Are you high?”
“Accept the job and text me the details. Then I’ll tell you if I’m high or not.”
“Sorry,” I said, looking up as my nephew barreled out the backdoor carrying a Little Tikes driver. Once the course closed for the night, my parents always let Kieffer run around on the golf course greens behind their house. “I’m sitting this one out.”
“No.” She sounded determined. “Let me convince you. Where are you?”
I wasn’t expectingthat.“At my parents’ house.”
“Location, please.”
“Are you serious right now?” I asked, alarm bells ringing just a little. Doing another wedding with her was a terrible idea, in spite of what I’d said that night. She and I were both staunchly anti-relationship, yet we’d almost kissed after the last wedding. Somehow that seemed like a recipe for disaster, and I needed to pump the brakes.
Regardless of how many times my brain kept replaying the near kiss.
“Just drop me the address. I’ll pick you up, drive you around the block until you agree to do what I say, then I’ll push you out of the vehicle so you can return to your familial shenanigans.”
“That sounds a lot like kidnapping.”
“Nut up and go for a drive with me,” she said, and I could hear the smile in her voice. “I only need five minutes of your time.”
I opened my mouth to say,Sorry, but instead said, “Will you take me to Whole Foods and then drop me at my car?”
“Wha—do I have to?”
She sounded like I’d confused her, which was fair because I’d confused myself, as well.What the hell am I doing?But it occurred to me at that moment that it’d be the perfect chance for me to see her one last time and cordially terminate our one-and-done partnership without hurting her feelings.
“I think yes,” I said, watching my parents watch me while pretending to watch their grandson. “You can yammer about things I’m ultimately not going to do, and I can get the cat food and milk I don’t feel like stopping for on my way home.”
“I don’t yammer, and you’ll do it. Now drop the location,” she said, sounding unfazed. “Because I’m on my way.”
—
“You’re getting a cart for two things?”
“I always get a cart.” I yanked one out of the line of carts and turned it toward the produce section as the motion-activated doors closed behind us. “It’s nice having something to lean on.”
Sophie made a noise like she disagreed as she started walking beside me. She was dressed like she’d just left work—nice pants, pumps, blazer—and it seemed on-brand for her somehow, working late.
Something about her just screameddriven.
Of course, that could have to do with the overstuffed work bag I’d had to move off her passenger seat in order to fit in her car.
“The only way I’m going to consider your proposal, by the way,” I said, glancing over at her, “is if you add things to my cart that you think I should eat.”
Eyebrows went up and her mouth quirked just a little. “How many things?”
I thought about it for a solid half second. “Eleven.”
