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She hooked both hangers on the cart and rolled on to a rack of T-shirts. A glance at the labels told her that the blend of fibers didn’t exactly fit in with her ideals about sustainable fashion. But to protect herself, sheneededto look like any other woman in the country, so she stacked a few shirts in various colors in the basket of her cart.
By the time she reached the end of the women’s department, her cart was pretty full. She hit up the shoes and accessories, selecting a faux leather belt that was a knockoff of one she’d seen on the runway in New York City.
She mentally shook her head. She couldn’t believe that only six months ago, she was traveling in foreign countries. Sure, it was only to get away from her mother. Now she wished she had some of that time with her back, even if they never saw eye-to-eye.
Trinny glanced at the clothing in her cart. Her mother would turn up her nose at every last thread of clothing and extruded plastic shoe in the basket. She’d also give Trinny a lecture on appearances like they were the Kennedys or something when really her grandfather built an empire from the much humbler business of shipping.
When she stopped at a display of car air fresheners, she went a little crazy smelling them all. One looked like a succulent but smelled like a Hawaiian beach vacation. She popped two into her cart. If she had to live on the road, at least she’d do it with style and a hint of aromatherapy.
By the time she reached the checkout, she was much more relaxed. What did it matter if her picture was all over the news and the man she hooked up with for a one-night stand was actually a bodyguard who knew everything about her? She had a cart full of cute stuff and a totally new, totallynormallife ahead of her. She could doanything. She just needed to figure out what that was.
At the checkout, the same lady who greeted her when she came in gave her a wide smile. “I see you found your way.”
“I did.” She offered a grin in return and began unpacking her items the way she saw other shoppers doing.
After Trinny paid for her purchases with cash, she laid down an extra bill on the counter. “And this is to thank you for your help.”
She blinked at the money. “Oh miss, thank you, but I can’t take that.”
“Sure you can. You earned it. Bye!” She pushed her cart to the exit and gathered her packages in her hands. Outside, she threw a look toward where her truck was parked.
Her heart flipped.
A man was leaning against the side.Oh god, please don’t let it be a photographer.
The man lifted a hand and dragged his fingers through his hair before setting a white Stetson back on his head.
“Dammit,” she muttered. It was worse than a photographer.
It was Jaren.
The parking lot felt a mile long and her feet weighted with cement shoes as she slogged across the pavement. He turned his head and looked straight at her. Then he pulled away from her truck he was using for a leaning post and in smooth strides, set off to meet her.
Did he have to look so appealing? Just when she thought he couldn’t get any hotter in his worn jeans and T-shirt, he added a black leather jacket that hugged every chiseled inch of his torso and arms.
“What are you doing here?” she breezed out, hoping she sounded indifferent to his presence even though her stomach was acting like one of the rodeo clowns in between events.
Jaren tracking her down—again—made her insides warm. Too warm.
“Let me take some of these bags.” His fingertips skimmed her forearm.
She twitched away. “I got it.”
One bag slipped from her hand and hit the ground. Some of the contents scattered, including her air fresheners. She bent forward, but Jaren already crouched to pick up the items.
“What’s this?” He held up the succulent air freshener.
“It’s for my truck, to make it smell good.”
He tilted his head back to look at her, one eye squinting against the morning sun, which only reminded her how long her day was already and she still had hours of driving to do and no destination in mind.
He stuffed the items into the bag and straightened to his full height, towering over her.
“We need to talk. There’s a coffee shop at the end of this plaza. We’ll drop your bags in your truck first.”
She didn’t respond to that request because she wasn’t going anywhere with this man.
They walked the rest of the way to her vehicle. She unlocked it and set the bags on the back seat next to her other belongings.
