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Chapter9
HARPER
Harper spun around and found herself eye to eye with the heartthrob.
Looking as gorgeous and as dreamy as ever, L. Bartholomew Paige whipped off his aviators. “Hey.”
Hey? That’s it? Those are his first words to her in a week?
“Hey?” she echoed, hitting a high note that would impress an Italian opera singer.
Landon pulled a one-hundred-dollar bill from his wallet and handed it to the cashier. “This is for my…”
“Wife?” she supplied, hitting a high note like she was Maria Callas in a performance ofMadame Butterfly.
Her ear-piercing shriek had stunned everyone in the store.
And when the hell had Landon slipped in?
She glanced between the gawking old lady and the suddenly-quite-alert cashier. “Sorry, I don’t usually bust out arias in convenience stores.”
“What did you say?” Landon uttered, his stupidly perfect lips parting as his jaw dropped.
“Arias, like in operas.”
“I know what an aria is,” he threw back with a distinct edge.
He had no right to get all touchy with her.
Okay, so…this had gotten weird.
Well, more bizarre than it was ten seconds ago when she was yelling at an old lady and about to steal eight pennies.
“I don’t usually sing arias in public…or ever,” she added, flashing the cashier what she hoped wasn’t a sociopathic expression. Still, the fear in the dude’s eyes told her, quite explicitly, that she could never frequent this establishment again.
“Get your stuff, Harper,” Landon barked. “We should get going.” He turned to the old tongue-clucking plant-pilferer. “Ma’am, I’m happy to pay for your beverage.”
The cashier held up the bill. “You want some change, man? Your girl only owes eight cents, and a drink is a buck ten.”
“I’m not his girl,” she snapped.
“Keep it for…” Landon huffed, then glanced at her. “For your trouble.”
Trouble!
Who did this man think he was?
“I’ll leave when I’m good and ready to leave,” she shot back, pocketing the erasers and clutching the plant. She strolled past a display of key chains and studied one with the wordsHang in therewritten in loopy lettering.
You hang in there, you dumb key chain.
She took a step back, studied a rack of beef jerky, then glanced at the cashier.
There was no reason to remain in the store, especially with the guy starting to twitch.
Landon looked her up and down. “Are yougood and readyto leave?”
Dammit! She was.
