The collision vibrated through the metal, into my hands, and up my arms. “I’m sorry!” I called out, only now seeing the corner of the other shopper’s cart. I swung my buggy wide to clear the fender bender, another apology on my lips.
Eyes the color of ginger met mine. Surprise then amusement crinkled the corners and fanned out of those iridescent orbs. He leaned casually over the handle of his cart, his muscular forearms taking the brunt of his upper body weight.
“Mr. Drew!” Sierra bounced on the balls of her feet.
Drew’s gaze slid from mine to Sierra’s, and he bestowed one of his heart-stopping—yes, I was finally admitting the catch in my chest when he was near maybe wasn’t completely due to annoyance—smiles on my daughter. “Hey, princess. How’s my favorite quarterback?”
The bouncing turned to rocking on her heels. “Good.”
Drew eyed the contents in the belly of our cart. “That’s an interesting assortment you have there.” His gaze rose and snagged mine.
“We’re shopping for the homeless shelter,” Sierra answered.
If possible, his face softened even more. “Why does that not surprise me?”
Sierra shrugged. “I don’t know, but we were just about to get some blankets.”
“Blankets you say?” He straightened. “What a coincidence. I need some blankets as well.”
I shook my head at him. “You do not.”
He turned his cart to face the same direction as mine. “How else am I supposed to stay warm at night?” He winked.
Heat crawled its way up my neck, and I looked away. It had been a long time since I’d kept anyone “warm” at night. Although I knew his innuendo was meant in jest, my core flamed.
In fight or flight situations, I usually chose option one. However, I found my feet beating a steady rhythm on the hard surface of the floor, a preservation instinct within me kicking in, creating distance between myself and Drew.
A part of me wished Drew had remained one dimensional. That in my mind at least, he’d stayed the flirtatious, immature man who liked to get his kicks at my expense and refused to grow up.ThatDrew could easily be filed away and dismissed.
But I’d spent too much time with him lately and seen more sides to him than I ever imagined he had. Now I was left with the question of what to do with this new version of Drew.
Without really paying attention to my actions, I grabbed a rolled-up fleece blanket and transferred it to the cart.
Drew pulled up beside me and picked up a blanket of his own. He tossed it between his hands then hiked it over his shoulder. “Sierra, go long.”
“Don’t even think about it,” I warned them both, although my glare pinned on Drew.
He chuckled and tossed the blanket in his own buggy. “No, of course not.”
Sierra fingered the fuzzy material and picked up a teal blanket.
“The floor is lava,” Drew announced out of nowhere. “Five…four…”
Sierra’s eyes grew wide, and she looked at me as if seeking permission.
“Three…”
My gaze swung to Drew, and he mouthedfun.
Right. Fun.
“Two…”
Oh, botheration. No harm in pretending the floor was lava for a second and picking up my feet so I wouldn’t get fake burned. I put my back to the large metal bin placed in the middle of the wide aisle holding the blankets, set my palms on the top, and hoisted myself to perch on the rim.
Sierra jumped from her spot and landed on the front of the buggy like any other kid her age, while Drew took up the space beside me.
The problem with being a big bottomed girl, though, was that extra mass equaled more gravitational pull, and right then all that mass precariously shifted, my bottom sinking beneath me, folding my legs up to my chest.
