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“Chorizo it is.” Abel waves me away and turns to head inside. “It’s way better than the vegan stuff.”
“Abel!” I call after him, but he ignores me.
I wish I could say I wasn’t smiling like an idiot when I sit at a table, but I am. I tuck my twenty back into my bag and let the dogs wander as far as their leashes go.
Abel emerges from the deli a few minutes later. Two foil wrapped burritos in one hand and a tray of iced coffees in the other.
It hits me that I haven’t procured or paid for any meal I’ve had with Abel since pretending to marry him. A girl could get used to this kind of treatment.
If Abel did date, he’d make a really great boyfriend. He’s thoughtful. Generous.
Most likely a superstar in bed.
“You sure you’re not gonna take this?” Abel holds up the burritos.
“I’m going to find a way to pay for something at some point.”
“Eat.”
I inhale my burrito. “I took the girls to the beach again yesterday afternoon. Practiced my frisbee skills.”
“And?”
“No progress to report, I’m afraid.” I wipe my hand on a napkin. “But who knew sucking so bad at frisbee made me so hungry?”
“I did. I knew. It’s hard work being that terrible at something.”
Nodding at his coffee, I ask, “How much coffee do you drink?” I’m a little disappointed that I don’t know this about Abel.
“Few cups a day. Sometimes more, especially on the weekends when I can take my time. What about you?”
“Usually stick to one cup. But I love iced coffee, so today I’ll make an exception.”
He smirks. “Look at you, living life on the edge.”
I ball up my napkin and toss it at him. “Shut up. Entering your villain era doesn’t happen all at once. Baby steps.”
“How ’bout another baby step? Let’s take the long way home. Whatever you were gonna do when we got back?—”
“How do you know I was going to do something?”
“Because you’re you. Lemme guess. Read a book that’s good for your head? Exercise?”
“Sometimes I hate how well you know me.”
“C’mon. Let’s do a little real-estalking.”
I practically jump out of my chair. “I love real-estalking.”
“Who doesn’t?” Abel gathers our trash and tosses it into a nearby bin. “Let’s go.”
Instead of taking a left out of the parking lot that wouldlead us back home, Abel goes right. We trundle through an uninterrupted stretch of forest for the first few minutes, the road dappled with light. The girls sit on the cart’s front bench between us, noses in the air, eyes closed. Ears flapping.
Glancing at them, Abel shakes his head and smiles. “They really do like it here.”
“Of course they like it here.” I gently tug on Tai’s ear. “You spoil them rotten.”
The breeze, the lack of humidity, the abundant sunshine and the iced coffee in my hand—not to mention the gorgeous man beside me.
