Her chin lifts.“So what if I was?”
“Aren’t you a little old for that?”
“You’re only as old as you feel, Sir Butthead.”
Oh, I’m a knight now.Isn’t that great?
She whips her cart around, but we end up in the spice lane together, walking side by side.Her cart is perfectly straight and quiet, while mine wobbles and squeaks like hell.
Her gaze drops to my cart, and she laughs.“Three boxes of Lucky Charms?Aren’t you a little old for that?”
Walked straight into that one, didn’t I?“Someone told me you’re only as old as you feel.”
She takes my poor attempt at humor as an invitation to reach right into my cart and snatch out the jar of instant coffee I threw in.
“Oooh…” Chloe spins the jar around in her hand, pretending to read the label.“This looks delicious.You’ll have to let me know how it is.”
I snatch it back, setting it carefully next to the frozen wings so the glass doesn’t shatter.Although maybe broken glass would make it taste better.“I figure anything’s better than the lukewarm slop you’re selling.”I don’t know why I say it.There’s something about this woman that makes me want to rile her up.Probably her false air of constant joy.
She laughs, but it’s as tight as her smile.“A man who thinks he knows everything about everything.How refreshing.”Chloe pushes her cart a little faster, her golden ponytail swinging back and forth ahead of me.
I hang back for some peace, and when I reach the personal items, I stop at the deodorant section, hunting for the brand I like.Chloe stops just behind me, lingering at a shelf of products very much not meant for me.She starts humming a tune—not quietly—and I turn my back.Good grief.Life isn’t a musical.
When I finally find the deodorant I want and toss it into my cart, I realize it’s a lot fuller than it should be.An oversized bag of sugar?I definitely didn’t put that in there.Sunflower seeds for birds?An absurdly big jar of sauerkraut, and—lube?
Chloe snickers just behind me.
I twist to face the culprit.“This is what you do for fun?”
Her grin grows wider.“Just the PG version.”
PG version, huh?I lift up the lube.“And what am I supposed to do with this?”
“It might come in handy when you get into a tight spot.”She presses her lips together like she’s biting back a laugh.Truth be told, I have to do the same.
She brushes past me with a lightning-fast wink, pushing her cart towards the register.The store is getting busy with evening shoppers, so I quickly dump out the crap Chloe added to my cart and line up behind her.
As she’s loading her juice onto the checkout belt, a guy strolling past lets out a low whistle.
“Hey there, sweetie,” he calls.He grins beneath his douchey wraparound sunglasses, which are pointed right at Chloe’s tanned legs peeking from beneath her light-blue dress.
She glances over her shoulder with a tight laugh as she hands the cashier her card.
“Keep walking, genius,” I growl under my breath, loud enough for him to give me a double-take.
Chloe finishes paying and leaves without a goodbye.
Which is fine by me.It’s not as if throwing shit in my cart makes us friends.
I start dumping my items on the conveyor belt, spotting one last addition she left behind: a pack of “slim-fit” condoms.The cashier reaches for them, and I push them back across the belt.
“Not mine,” I mutter.Next time I’m in here at the same time as this cashier, I’m buying a pack in my size just to save face.
CHAPTERSIX
CHLOE
Conversation buzzes through Mugs,most of it revolving around our new range of T-shirts.Willow had this great idea to create a few “masculine” shirts with fishing puns on them, and boy, was she right.The barnacles each bought one and are currently wearing them over their own shirts.Our stock is already down to three larges, and now she wants to design a matching travel mug to add to our yellow one.Hopefully, we’ll have them ready for the start of the season.With the way shipping is on this island, only time will tell.
