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“Then you know that there are a lot of people in the world who seem cool when you first meet, but once you get to know them, they aren’t people you want in your life, right?”
“You’re afraid I’m a weirdo?” I asked as I stood on my tiptoes but still couldn’t quite reach the Amy’s chili mac on the top shelf.
“You should be afraidI’ma weirdo.” His voice hadn’t changed, but it was closer. Above and behind me as his hand reached for the entrée I hadn’t been able to grasp.
In an instant, everything in my brain went silent as I became aware of the fact that I was trapped between the freezing cold of the frozen foods case and the warmth of Max’s big, hard body behind me. I watched as his hand grabbed the box I’d been reaching for, and for some reason I couldn’t explain, I turned around.
My body was mere inches away from his as he looked down at me with dark, questioning eyes. Butterflies went wild in my stomach as the moment lingered.
Paused.
The cold air at my back did nothing to cool whatever was firing between us.
I blinked, looked at his Adam’s apple as he swallowed, and then I grabbed the frozen chili mac from his hand.
As if I hadn’t noticed the inexplicable electrical moment, I said, “Oh, my God, Max, I want to object with you, not become a permanent part of your life.”
He watched me for a second, like he was processing information, before moving back to the cart and saying, “It just seems like a terrible idea to inject a stranger straight into your life, don’t you think? The stuff of thrillers, especially when there’s money involved. I could have a rap sheet a mile long, and you could, like, enjoy puppeteering as a hobby.”
“So you’re afraid of what—that I’m going to rob you? Kill you?”Fall for you?“Also, puppeteering is a deal-breaker?”
“Absolutely it is.”
“Agreed, actually.” God, I just needed to go to the wedding with him and have photos for my boss; why was he making this so difficult? “Well, what if we get to know each other better? I’m sure if we hang out, you’ll see I’m incredibly normal. You’llwantto do the wedding just to spend time with me.”
The narrowing of his eyes told me he was about to say no, so I blurted, “Tonight. Now. As soon as we finish grocery shopping, let’s go over to the wine bar on the other side of the store and we can twenty-question the shit out of each other.”
His smirk returned. “Why wait? Let’s wine and twenty while we shop.”
sixteen
Max
I was goingto do the wedding.
I had no interest in stopping the twenty questions game early because I was having fun, but shopping with Sophie had reminded me of how level-headed she was. We might’ve nearly kissed, but this woman was fully capable of being my partner without things getting weird.
“So I’m sure it sounds like a lie,” she said, nearly glowing with contentment, “but I am genuinely—truly—so damn happy to be single. The freedom to do whatever I want, to go wherever I want, to do things only for whatIget out of them—I’m obsessed with it. I’m not sure I’ll ever be willing to lose this kind of independence again.”
“Does that mean moving on from Stuart is getting easier?” I asked, hopeful because I fucking hated how sad she sounded when I’d dropped her off after the wedding.
“Not always, but my melancholy over my foolishness doesn’t negate how spectacular my independence is.”
“Makes sense,” I said, grabbing my cup from the front of the cart and taking a gulp of my brandy Manhattan.
“Now. Question number nineteen.” Sophie took a sip of her wine, grabbed a bag of frozen french fries, and then said, “If you could go on a date with a celebrity tomorrow and have anactualchance because of cosmic magic, who would it be?”
We’d already covered careers, colleges, families, pets, and love, so it made sense we were finishing the game with magical dates. “That’s a tough one.”
“Right?” She tossed in the fries and said, “By the way, that pile is mine.”
“Our groceries are comingling? Gross.”
“Answer the question,” she insisted.
“Um, maybe... Zoey Deutch?”
“Ooh, good choice,” she said, nodding. “Why her? You like redheads?”
