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He grabbed her elbow and whirled her around, his eyes glittering with fury.
“What the hell do you think you’re doing, woman?” he all but roared at her. “Are you just trying to piss Drake off?”
“The more appropriate question is whether he’s trying to piss me off,” she returned sweetly. “I just love how my shopping trip, which wasn’t supposed to include me by the way, was planned and arranged when no one but me knows what I’ll be cooking and what I’ll need, including brands, spices, ingredients, et cetera.”
“That’s what a list is for,” he growled.
Her cell phone rang and she fumbled for it, and then seeing Drake’s name as the incoming caller, she looked accusingly up at Zander.
He shrugged. “You dug your own grave.”
“Hello?” she said warily.
“What the fuck do you think you’re doing?” Drake clipped out.
“I’m going shopping so I can cook dinner, like you instructed,” she said defensively, not liking at all that Zander was standing a mere foot away and could likely hear every word Drake said even with the sounds of traffic all around them.
“Maybe you don’t remember the conversation you and I had where I was very specific in that I was to know where you are at all times and that if you were going out you were to inform me of your plans and that I would not be pleased if you forgot.”
His tone was icy and he was obviously furious. Not just angry. He was, as Zander had said, pissed.
“I wasn’t given that choice,” she said in an icy tone to match his. “I was told to give him a list and I was told he was going and that I was not. I prefer to do my own shopping, especially when it comes to a menu I’ve meticulously planned. He refused and intended for me to remain in the apartment the entire day when it is an absolutely gorgeous day outside and I wanted to shop for my own groceries. Therefore my only choice was to go myself.”
“All you had to do at any time was pick up the phone and call me,” Drake said, anger still vibrating in his voice. “You could have told me what you wanted and then I would have been aware of your whereabouts instead of receiving a call from the man I assigned to protect you telling me that you gave him the slip and were even now God only knew where in the city.”
She went silent, her mouth dropping open. He made it seem so simple, and yet nothing about Drake’s words suggested she had any choice or say in the matter.
“If you make such a mistake in the future, I will not be as forgiving or understanding,” Drake said in a cool, slightly more calm voice. “Now do your shopping and don’t make Zander’s job any harder than it is. His job is your safety, and he can’t do that job if you’re not with him.”
“Okay,” she whispered, embarrassed by the sudden sting of tears at her eyelids.
He ended the call and she stared a long moment down at the now-blank screen, and then she slipped it back into her purse, refusing to meet Zander’s gaze.
He sighed beside her and then reached out a tentative hand to squeeze her shoulder.
“We haven’t started out on the best foot, have we, Evangeline?” he asked ruefully.
“Tattletale,” she muttered.
He chuckled, some of the tension easing. And then his voice became somber once more.
“He’s right about one thing. You shouldn’t be going out alone. It’s dangerous. You could be hurt. Your safety is my job, so let me do it and then both our lives will be a hell of a lot easier.”
Then he let out an exaggerated sigh. “I assume this means we’re walking and you’ll expect me to carry everything back?”
She gave him a small smile that seemed to delight him, and, well, she had been a bitch to him. It wasn’t his fault. He was only following orders.
She sighed back. “I’m sorry for making your job difficult. It isn’t your fault.”
He seemed perplexed and uncomfortable with her apology.
They walked the rest of the way, Zander providing a shield around her so that no one so much as brushed her on their way by.
After spending nearly a frustrating hour perusing the beef counter and even going to a local butcher, Evangeline was beginning to wonder if Wagyu beef even existed outside the restaurant Justice had taken her to. Maybe it was specially imported. Cooking excellent meals with what she made do with was something she was good at. Fine foods, expensive gourmet foods, however, were beyond her realm of knowledge.
“What the hell are you looking for and not finding, Evangeline?” Zander asked in a frustrated tone. “Maybe if I knew, I could help.”
Her eyes lit up and she grumbled to herself for not having thought of it earlier.
