29
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Okay, to be honest, I’ve never been to a cookout, so when we walk into the grocery store—which I know my way around after owning a large chain of them for a very long time—I realize I have no idea what I’m supposed to bring.
I hang back, hoping someone else will take the reins, and it looks like we’re all feeling the same indecision.
Avery leans over to Lila and says, “Does it say what kind of cookout it is on that sheet? Like, are we doing shrimp and lobster, or is this a burgers and hot dogs shindig? Because I feel like that makes a huge difference.”
One cashier must have overheard us because she says, “This is usually for the entire community, and the town oversees the budget, so chances are high it’ll just be hamburgers and hot dogs.”
Avery gives the woman a thumbs-up. “Thank you.”
We walk down the aisle. Aiden and I already grabbed a cart, and we trail behind the women while trying to figure out what we need.
“Chips would be good,” Talia says.
Aiden immediately starts grabbing every kind she points out and adds them to the cart.
“What about drinks?” Avery asks. “I’m sure we’ll need something, right? Maybe they’ll just do a big bucket of water, but what if we get a few sodas just in case? I’m sure there’ll be people who want something besides water.”
Lila raises her hand, and Ashley does too, both grinning.
I laugh. “Let’s grab, like, twenty bottles of soda.”
Their eyes go wide.
“Really?” Avery asks.
I shrug. “Why not? This could be a good contribution to the community, and I have to buy their affection somehow since I’m an outsider, right?”
I wink, and Talia groans as if that’s the worst answer I could’ve given.
“Okay, so what about salad and stuff?” I ask. “I might not be an expert on cookouts, but I can put together a good spread if I don’t have to make it myself.”
“I think we’re good with chips and drinks, don’t you?” Talia says. “This might already be more than the four of us need to bring.” She glances at the cart stacked with fizzy drinks.
“Well, the way we look at it is we’re helping, right, Aiden?” I say.
I catch Aiden staring at Talia again when she’s studying some candy on the shelves and flick his arm to get him to focus.
“Oh, yeah. For sure. Let’s go pay for this and get going,” he adds.
“What about dessert?” Lila asks, trying to pass off her most innocent of smiles.
“We just had an ice cream cone.”
“But it’s the weekend,” Lila counters. “A time to relax and enjoy after a long week.”
Avery closes her eyes for a moment, and I can’t stopwatching her. Every expression, her playfulness. Her beauty. I’m falling and hard.
Doubt swirls, then. Will she abandon me once she finds out who I am?
Or do I leave this place with her thinking I’m an employee and not the boss?
The thoughts tug at my heart. I don’t want to leave here. Sure, this town has more quirks than I’ve ever seen, but it also has a charm that’s hard to replicate.
“What if we brought ice cream, and people could make root beer floats or Coke floats or whatever?” Aiden suggests.
