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“That’s what I’m here for. If you ever need anything, call me.” She flicks her hand in the air dismissively. “Although, you must already have a hookup with corporate.”
“Not yet.” Serena winks at her.
“Well, I send all my customers to check out your tutorials. They’re the best.”
“Thank you.”
“Oh my God, and you’re just as pretty in person.” She leans over the counter toward Serena and whispers, “A lot of people aren’t, you know.”
Serena shifts uncomfortably and sends me another anxious glance. This one seems to be less about my comfort and more about her unease at being recognized by such an enthusiastic fan.
“Oh!” Alice shouts, picking up the jar of ice cream-looking stuff. “The Unicorn Magic for Pregnant Bellies Butter Whip is great for shaving too!” Her smile falters and her eyes ping-pong between Serena and me. “Uh…ah…you know, and stretch marks.” She shoves the jar in a bag and rings up the next item.
“Here I thought it was a dessert or something,” I say to Serena.
Serena shakes her head. “No.”
“You’re uh…not going to shift the focus of your channel, are you?” Alice asks. “A lot of my favorites started doing baby stuff when they had kids, you know? Ugh. So boring.”
Serena’s pink cheeks darken to red. “No, I, uh, I’m committed to the makeup stuff.”
“Good, good!”
Finally, Alice recites a total. A trip to the jewelry story would’ve been cheaper. I hand over my card without comment.
“That was so weird,” Serena whispers once we’re outside. As if Alice might have supersonic hearing and Serena doesn’t want to hurt her feelings.
“Rooster said you had something like half a million followers?” I remind her. “You’re bound to run into one sometime, right?”
“I guess.”
I stop at the truck and open her door. “I feel like I should be driving you around in something much fancier now, Ms. Sparkles.”
“Stop.” She playfully swats my chest. “I’m so embarrassed I ran into someone when I’m not wearing any makeup.”
“Why? She didn’t seem to notice. I think you made her day.” A sign in the store next to the one we just left catches my eye. Maternity clothes. “Do you need any clothes?”
“See, if you’d helped me pack today, you’d know how silly that question is,” she teases.
“I’m serious.”
She follows my gaze. “Ohh, you mean maternity clothes.” She pats her stomach. “As much as you’re dying to see me fatten up, I don’t think I’ll need to worry about that for a little while.”
I roll my eyes skyward. “You say fatten up. I say, provide a nice cushion-y home for our baby.”
“Cushion-y.” She shudders but can’t hide her laughter.
“Get in the truck, smart-ass.”
“Hey.” She loops her arms around my neck and stares up at me. “Thank you for being so patient. I know that must have bored you silly.”
Damn, I could stare at her beautiful face all day long. “I’m never bored when I’m with you.”
She kisses my cheek, then darts away, hopping into the truck.
“Seat belt,” I remind her.
She shoots an exasperated glare my way. “Have you ever seen me not wear a seat belt?”
“Can’t help it.” I shut the door and jog around to the other side.
The parking lot is a pain in the ass to navigate through. “What happened to shopping malls? You could park in one place and not have traffic coming at you from every direction,” I grumble.
“They’re dying a long, slow death.” Serena points to the left. “Turn here, it’ll be easier to get onto the highway.”
“Thanks,” I mutter, flipping on the blinker.
Once I’m on the highway headed toward my apartment, Serena lets out a long yawn.
“You all right?” I ask.
“Just sleepy.”
“Go ahead and close your eyes. I know where to go from here.”
She reaches over and rests her hand on my leg. “I’d like to go back to your place.”
My heart stutters. That’s exactly what I wanted to hear. “Sure. You can take a nap there.”
“I’d like that.” She yawns again. “So, are you planning to be overbearing and overprotective until I give birth?”
I snort with laughter. “We’ve met, right? Buttercup, I plan to protect you until they put me in a box six feet under.”
Chapter Fifteen
Serena
Slightly disoriented, I wake from my nap in Gray’s bedroom. It’s shadowy but some daylight still peeks around the edges of the blinds. At least I wasn’t out for too long.
Low murmurs from the living room draw my attention. I toss the covers away, stand and stretch. The T-shirt I borrowed from Gray brushes against my thighs. I search the bedroom for my clothes, then decide I don’t feel like putting my jeans on. Maybe I should’ve taken Gray up on his offer and bought a few stretchy pants or something.
The TV is on in the living room. Gray’s on the couch reading and glances up. “Hey, how was your nap, buttercup?”
“Good. Give me a second.” I hurry to the bathroom.
