Page 50 of Keel

“I am.”

He could tell that she’d gained a few pounds, not much, but she wasn’t stick thin now. After he let her go, he grabbed another bag of pasta and some sauce and placed them in her cart.

“I’m home now, we should probably buy more.”

“Oh, yeah. I was trying not to spend too much of your money.”

He put his hand on her shoulder. “It’s okay.”

She sighed and nodded. He wasn’t sure what that was about, but they could talk after they arrived home. He grabbed a few frozen meals and two pizzas from the freezer section, along with a few bags of vegetables.

“We need something easy to cook. I should pick up some chicken, too.”

“I wanted to get a rotisserie chicken I can put into a casserole.”

“Sure. We should get two. I’m hungry and need to eat some lunch after I shower.”

Her nose wrinkled, and she laughed. He leaned in, brushing his lips over her cheek. She stared up at him with bright eyes full of emotion. Being home was great. He couldn’t wait to spend the evening with her, even if it was just them watching TV.

He should watch his heart, but he feared it was already too late for that. Frankie could easily wound him, but opening up to her seemed inevitable. Telling her outright that he was falling for her would be premature. He worried he wouldn’t be able to hide it for long, though.

Excitement skittered through Frankie. Keel was home, and he’d kissed her cheek. She wanted to pull him into a full-on kiss, but not here in the store. They needed to get home, and then she would plaster herself against him and explore how nice their kisses were.

“I’m glad you’re home.”

His gaze fell on her, warming her. “I’m very happy to be home. Having you here feels right.”

His words sent tingles through her. Could she trust him? So far, he’d proven to be good. She had made so many mistakes in her past. Maybe it wasn’t right to jump from Forest to Keel. But she’d abandoned her relationship with Forest a long time ago, even if she hadn’t physically left him.

“I like this. Us together,” she said.

“Good.”

Keel pushed the cart to the checkout area and helped her put the items on the belt. When it was time to pay, he took care of the payment and then helped the guy finish bagging the groceries.

It was nice having this kind of help. Spending time with Keel gave her a deep satisfaction she’d never known before. It was like she’d found a missing piece of herself. She didn’t want to screw this up. With Forest there’d been warning signs long before she really got involved with him, with Keel, she didn’t see any of those signs flashing at her. She should slow down to give this time, but she didn’t want to.

They put up the food together, Keel keeping out one rotisserie chicken. He heated some vegetables in the microwave while he stripped the meat off the chicken.

“Do you want any chicken right now?”

Frankie nodded. “I should eat something. Not much, though. Just a little meat on a tortilla.”

“Sure.” Keel grabbed a plate and added some of the chicken. “Is that enough?”

“Yes. That’s more than enough.”

They sat together at the table. He ate much more than she did as they chatted about the weather for this weekend. After she finished her food, she sat back and rubbed her belly.

“I’m full now.”

He smiled and then winked. “I picked up some cookies. Do you want any?”

“Oh, I don’t think I could. I’m still getting used to eating.”

“Maybe later then, while we’re watching a movie or something.”

She nodded, glad that he wanted to do something with her later. He showered while she went through her email. She didn’t have much, just a quick follow-up from the lawyer’s office.