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Chapter 22
“Are you sure you feel up to this? I can go grocery shopping alone if you’d prefer to just rest.” Oliver said, his keys hanging from his fingers as a worried frown curled his lips.
I waved him off, smiling genuinely. “I’ll be fine, and the fresh air will be nice too. I’ve only been outside lately when I’m going to work, and that’s not me.”
It’d been a week since Harvey struck, and I’d mostly relaxed. He had no way of finding Oliver’s house, which meant I was as close to being safe as possible. I’d still avoided going out alone into town, but with Oliver there, I knew things would be fine.
He didn’t seem sold on it, but after a beat, he nodded. “Okay, but let me know if you want to head back.”
I took his hand and squeezed. I adored that he worried, but I would be okay with this. The drive to the grocery store was quiet, but when we walked into the market itself it more than made up for it.
Noise came from every direction, all but bouncing off the building’s walls to echo back to me. Kids raced around, occasionally bumping into each other or shelves, and a line of carts was on the left when we entered.
Oliver hesitated, seeming to remember something. “You said you don’t do well with a lot of sound or lights. Is this alright?”
I nodded, looking around curiously. “It may seem weird, but most grocery stores are like this, so I’m kind of adjusted to it. The arcade was something new that I was trying to take in all at once. Grocery stores don’t have the same effect on me.”
So saying, I wound my arm with his and followed as we worked down the list we’d made before heading out. We were almost done when a kid slammed full force into me from behind, and I stumbled. Only Oliver’s quick reflexes stopped me from toppling over.
“Oliver!” A small voice called, and we turned to see a little girl. She had dark hair pulled into a braid, and her eyes were sparkling with happiness. He must have recognized her, too, because a matching grin curled his lips.
“Hey, if it isn’t one of my favorite munchkins!”
He knelt, pulling her into a hug as who I assumed was the mother came from around the corner. When she saw us, she waved. “Sorry if she tackle-hugged you, we’ve been working on that with little progress.”
She had equally dark hair as her daughter, and the man behind her watched the scene while rolling his eyes. “I blame Oliver for that. We almost had it where she wasn’t doing it anymore, but then he encouraged it.”
He seemed to realize belatedly that I was there because he nodded my way. “You must be Jennifer; Oliver talks about you a lot.”
Heat crawled over my cheeks as the woman offered a hand and I took it.
“I’m at a disadvantage,” I said, and she smiled.
“I’m Thalia, the little one is Jasmine, and this,” she tugged on the man teasingly, “is my boyfriend Ludwig.”
He wrinkled his nose. “I hate how juvenile that sounds.”
Oliver straightened; that teasing glint back in his eyes as he spoke. “If you hate it that much, then make her your fiance.”
Thalia’s cheeks colored and she looked away, but it was only when Ludwig glared death at Oliver that I realized that hewasplanning on proposing, and we needed to drop this topic now.
When Oliver looked ready to keep going, I took his hand and gently cut him off. “You mentioned that Ludwig runs a company? That’s impressive.”
Oliver raised a brow, clearly catching the subject change but not understanding why I’d done it. I’d explain later, but Ludwig shot me a grateful look and cleared his throat.
“I do and it’s a lot of work, but it’s worth it.”
Jasmine piped up then, bounding back to his side and clinging onto the hand that wasn’t taken by her mother.
“Mom and I help him by bringing food to the office!”
He nodded, smiling down at her. “That you do, and it’s worlds better than eating whatever I could get delivered, and I’ll always appreciate the company while I eat.”
Then he glanced at his watch and grimaced. “We should head out soon, though. Jasmine, your soccer game should start in an hour, and we need to get the drinks for it.”
She went serious, saluting like a soldier before darting off to get the drinks. Thalia followed after a final wave in my direction, and Ludwig shook his head with a sigh. “We’ve told her dozens of times not to run in the grocery store…”
Oliver clapped him on the shoulder nearly hard enough to send the other man toppling forward. “Come on, Ludwig, it's normal,” Ludwig grumbled, and seeing that he wasn’t winning that argument, Oliver switched topics.
