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For Avril, he’d had an idea since around this time yesterday. In fact, they’d passed the store where he could get Avril her gifts just a few minutes ago. Upon spotting it, he’d waited until they’d left it behind so as not to create suspicion and then bought himself some alone time with a fake restroom visit. There, he’d begun to send Anna a rather unusual text, which bordered on creepy. Realizing that at the final second, he’d added a bit more context.
Hey, do you happen to know what size shirts Avril wears? I want to get her a shirt and a hat.
He’d felt his phone buzz in his pocket while standing in line atPlush Planeta few minutes ago, but he hadn’t yet found a chance to look at it.
“I already know you’re getting, yes,” he said. “Will you let me buy that one, at least, or are you going to buy your own Christmas gift?”
“Again, it’s not my money,” she pointed out. “When you want to sneak off, which I can tell you want to do, and get it, just let me know.” She patted the part of her jacket where her clutch, and the Centurion within it, waited. “You can borrow her when you go.”
“If I do that, you can check your account on your phone and see from what store I got your present—and the price.”
“So, you don’t trust me not to look?” Avril asked, affecting an innocent tone and batting her eyelashes.
“Not in the slightest.”
She dropped the veneer of innocence by grinning. “Fine, fine. You can getmygift with your own money. It’ll be our secret.” A lascivious look gleamed in her verdant eyes. “One of a few.”
Again, the butterflies danced.
Their search for a gift he could get for Victoria led them to a store specializing in home gardening. Upon seeing it, Avril gasped and pounded the bottom of her fist on her palm.
“Right, Victoria loves gardening. Come on, here’s the best place to get her something.”
Her gift was a home bonsai kit. Avril assured him she would love it.
“She might actually smile once for you when she opens it.”
Somehow, he doubted that. He also worried that she might, in fact,hatehome gardening, and Avril was leading him toward calamity for her own amusement. Only the fact that he’d recently learned that Victoria was an ecology professor somewhat soothed those worries. Somewhat. He’d finally realized that “somewhats” and “sort ofs” were the only variety of repose he possible around Avril. Even things that seemed like utter certainties left a kernel of doubt in him when she was involved.
“All that’s left is for you to run off and get your secret gift for me,” Avril said. “And then we can get out of here.”
His arms, which had long since lost their enjoyment at hoisting around a dozen bags filled to the brim with recklessly purchased gifts, celebrated. Nodding, he left behind most of the bags with Avril, though he brought a few so he could hide what he planned to get her in one of them. Retracing his steps, he dug his phone out of his pocket.
He had two messages waiting for him, not one, which had arrived just a minute apart.
The first was from Anna, who supplied that Avril typically required a medium size shirt. Which made sense to him. No matter how ridiculously fit she was, he could think of two prominent reasons why she’d find small and extra small t-shirts somewhat challenging to slip into.
The second message was from Tess.
The plows are finally starting to get to our neighborhood! That should mean no one needs to walk it out to get here.
Great news,he fired back in a quick text while still walking to his destination. He paused, glanced over his shoulder, and confirmed that a troublesome redhead wasn’t trailing him.I’ll let Avril know. We’re about to finish up.
Seconds later, before he could even put his phone back into his pocket, it vibrated again.
Did she get anything too crazy?
No, but she sure got a lot of gifts for you all.
Oh, no. I should have mentioned that and tried to get you to rein her in on quantity, too.
Stowing his phone away, he arrived at a store rife with sports paraphernalia and headed inside. Less than five minutes later, with a women’s Bandits jersey—the name of the team’s star closer on the back—and a ballcap hidden away at the bottom of one of the bags he’d brought along with him, he began making his way back to where he’d left Avril.
He wasn’t fond of the scene awaiting him when he did.
Avril, sitting on a bench near the home gardening store, all the bags he’d left behind gathered around her feet like a huddle of baby penguins, was also surrounded by a group of three men.
It wasn’t like he—or she, obviously—hadn’t noticed the attention she drew throughout their time in the mall. Everywhere they went, attention flocked to her. She was the brightest flame wherever she went, and there were moths everywhere.
