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“Yes, Jim. I spoke with him a few moments ago,” he paused and seemed to consider his words. “Is he your boyfriend, by chance?”
“Oh, no!” I almost laughed but then stopped myself when I realized Stone was dead serious. I frowned, curious as to why whether or not Jim was my boyfriend should matter. “What made you think he might be?”
“He just seems rather protective of you, that’s all.”
Just great. Not.
“We’re only friends. We’ve known each other for a long time.”
“I see,” was all he said, although he seemed to relax after hearing my explanation. Either way, the atmosphere had become awkward, and I felt the need to explain more.
Maybe I should have said coworker and not a friend. I sort of made it seem like Jim and I were close.
“Well, thanks again for helping me out,” I said, resorting to politeness rather than tack on more unnecessary babble.
“I can assure you it was my pleasure,” he said, emphasizing his last word. A hint of humor glinted in his eyes, causing a blush to creep up my neck and into my cheeks. It was suddenly very, very warm in Wally’s Grocery Store.
Did he really need to say the word “pleasure” like that?
The word rolled off his tongue like ice cream melting from a cone. A vision of Alexander Stone’s tongue, working its way around an ice cream cone, unexpectedly came to mind. Between my overactive imagination and his ridiculously hot gum chewing, I couldn’t stop the wicked ideas from running through my head. The angel on my shoulder appeared with folded arms and shook her head in disapproval at me. I fought the urge to flick her away.
A ghost of a smile turned up the corners of Stone’s mouth, almost as if he knew what I was thinking. I fought to ignore my awareness of him by focusing my energy on our conversation.
Just don’t look at him chewing the gum.
“Your boss told me you’ve worked here for a while,” he casually stated.
Small talk. Good. I can handle that.
“Yes. I started here after I moved to New York, so...” I did a quick calculation. “It’s been about four years. I’m a student, and the flexible retail schedule is convenient.”
I didn’t want to tell him I had received my diploma months ago. It was too long of an explanation, and I was embarrassed to admit I hadn’t found a job yet.
“You’re a student? I didn’t realize,” he said.
I could swear I saw a shadow of disappointment come across his face, but his expression was so impassive, and I couldn’t be sure. He folded his arms and considered me carefully.
“Well, I was a student, I should say. I just recently graduated,” I clarified. “Most of my fellow classmates were able to land jobs at the places where they interned. My place of internship closed up shop, sending me back to square one. Unfortunately, I learned a hard lesson about not putting all my eggs in one basket, if you know what I mean.”
I was talking too fast again, but at least I wasn’t a mute like yesterday.
“Yes, I do,” he murmured. “Do you like your job here, Miss Cole?”
“I, um…” Another question. “Yes, very much so. Mr. Roberts is really good to work for,” I answered evenly. I wished he would just spit out the gum. It was distracting.
“I’m glad to hear that.”
He shifted in place and glanced down at his watch. He looked like he was getting ready to leave. As lovely as the view would surely be, I wasn’t quite ready to see him go. I racked my brain, trying to think of a way to stall him.
“What about you, Mr. Stone? Do you like your job?” I blurted out.
One of his eyebrows tweaked up in surprise at my abruptness. Whether or not he liked his job was none of my business. But if he was insulted by my forwardness, he didn’t show it.
“Of course, I do. I would never indulge in anything I didn’t like,” he replied in a measured tone, mouth moving slowly and deliberately around the piece of gum. A slight smile tugged at the corners of his lips as if he were enjoying his own private joke. “My job allows me to be in control of my own destiny. And I like to be in control, Miss Cole.”
Just don’t watch him chew. Don’t watch him chew.
I repeated the chant over and over in my head.
