What Pixie noticed was that Brogan looked more riveted by the speed-convo than insulted.
“And there’s my guy!” Renee went to Andy and lifted him out for a huge hug.
Andy pointed and said, “Baby.”
Being silly, Renee looked at the floor, the walls, and then the ceiling. “A baby? Where?”
Enjoying the antics, Andy laughed, bounced in her arms, and pointed again. “Baby, baby!”
“Ooooh, I see now.”
Pixie stepped aside to watch, smiling at how quickly Renee and Brogan got to know each other. Renee laughed several times, as did Andy, and Shayna was busy cooing, occasionally twisting to look at Brogan. She’d smile at him often, and once she caught his hand to chew on his knuckle.
Pixie was pulled aside when another customer asked for help, and then another, and soon the flow of shoppers was steady. Being a mom, she still kept her eye on Andy and knew the very moment that Renee returned him to his playpen so shecould ring up an order. Brogan helped to get Andy settled with a few toys, then strolled over to browse the shelves.
When she finished with her customer, Pixie approached him and asked, “Looking for anything specific?”
He lifted one shoulder. “I came into town to get a few things that the smaller shop in Bramble didn’t have. Figured I’d stop in while I was here.” He glanced around. “This isn’t what I was expecting.”
“How so?”
“Your artwork is amazing, for one thing.” He lifted a tote bag. “I couldn’t believe this was yours when I first saw it; then I noticed your signature.”
“I created the original print.” It was a simple design of the sunset over the water, with the name of the lake below it. “Sometimes I do stuff without thinking about merchandise, but then Marlow sees the potential.”
“It’s a busy shop.”
“It is.” Pixie tried to see it through his eyes, but it was tough to do because of all the pride she felt. She’d had a hand in creating it, and her designs were everywhere now. “Marlow had this amazing vision and made it come true.”
“It’s a dream life, right? Living on the lake, owning her own successful shop.”
“Married to a Marine and loving her life.” She grinned. “Yup, it’s a dream come true for her. Not that she expected the Marine. Mostly, she wanted to downsize her life after a year of nasty divorce proceedings, only to have her husband—” Pixie drew to a hasty halt. Good God, she was running her mouth more than Renee did. She had absolutely no reason to tell Brogan any of that.
Instead of leaving her to flounder, he said, “I should get to my own shopping instead of monopolizing your time.”
Relieved that he hadn’t pressed her, she said, “You’re fine.”
He kissed Shayna’s head. “She’ll be ready for a bottle and anap soon, and I’d rather be home for that, so can you make a recommendation on some clothes for the two of us?”
“Sure.” After they picked out two cute outfits for Shayna, Pixie said, “And now something for you.” Just to tease him, she led the way to a sunny yellow polo shirt with a stylized firefly stitched on the front breast pocket. “What do you think?”
Brogan’s enigmatic gaze looked it over. “If you have that in a romper for Sugar, I’ll take it.”
Barely keeping her smile hidden, she asked, “You don’t want one for yourself?”
He eyed her, then the shirt, and shook his head. “Got anything in black? Without a collar?”
The laughter escaped her, drawing the attention of other shoppers and Renee.
He flashed his own quick grin. “It’s pretty, and I’m sure it’d look great on some guys, but it’s not for me.”
“No, it isn’t.” She turned to a shelf of T-shirts in gray, black, navy, and tan. “What do you think?”
“Much better.” None of them were splashy, but on the front they said:Lake Life is the Best, withFirefly Lakein smaller print. He chose black with narrow white lettering.
He surprised her by taking a few more things—the tote he’d admired, to keep Shayna’s things in, he said—and a little sun hat for her. Together, they headed to the register.
Once his purchases were bagged, he turned to Andy. “See you again soon, bud.”
