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“You drive a hard bargain.”
Orly smiled. She knew Luke was just trying to protect her, but she really didn’t see the harm in spending a morning doing a few fun things while they had to run to the grocery store anyway. “Thank you,” she said.
Luke chuckled and pulled her in for a kiss. She melted into him, loving the feeling of his mouth on hers, the way his musky taste filled her senses, and his arms wrapped around her.
She pulled away first this time. “Come on, before you change your mind.”
Their first stop was Mocha Madness where they each got a frozen blended mocha. Orly practically squealed at the joy of doing something so normal with her amazing boyfriend. Next they went to the cute brick and mortar shop called The Mystic Cow. Orly found it listed on one of those top ten lists of best shops in Dallas and had been wanting to check it out for weeks now.
The place was stocked with all sorts of books, jewelry, crystals, wind chimes, souvenirs, candles, and so much more. It was a little slice of heaven and Orly never wanted to leave. She ended up choosing a massive wooden wind chime to take home, much to Luke’s dismay.
“That thing is going to keep me awake all night,” he groaned.
Orly smiled as they walked out of the shop. “All night?”
Luke tossed his head back with a laugh, then pulled her in close and pressed a kiss to the top of her head. “You’d like that, wouldn’t you?”
“Duh,” she said, with an eye roll. “I should’ve gotten one of these sooner.”
“I will totally make you regret that,” he teased.
“Not a chance.”
When they got back to his truck, he placed the bag in the backseat then pulled her in for a deep kiss, before releasing her. “Is this my preview?” She asked, wishing they could skip the grocery store.
Luke made a low guttural sound in his throat. “Get in,” he ordered, his eyes ablaze with desire.
Orly’s smile seemed to be a permanent expression as she climbed into the passenger seat. Luke shut her door and came around to the driver’s side. When he met her gaze, he just shook his head and buckled his seat belt. She did the same.
“Grocery store,” he said, pulling away from the curb. “Then home. Then you and I are going to find a way to pass a few hours before heading over to Madigan’s.”
Orly nibbled on her bottom lip, excited and aroused by the threat in his tone. She loved spending the day with Luke, no matter what they were doing. But getting to go out on a day date with him, and then getting tangled in the sheets on a lazy afternoon, was amounting to what she would call an epic day. “I’m game.”
He glanced over at her, a hint of a smile pulling at the corners of his mouth. “We need groceries, Orly,” he said, as if pointing out why they couldn’t just go straight back to his house.
“Yes, we do.”
Luckily, the store was just a few miles away and it didn’t take long to get there.
“We can divide and conquer,” Orly suggested once they parked outside the grocery store.
“I don’t like the idea of splitting up from you,” Luke warned.
“I’m not a baby, Luke. No one’s going to kidnap me from a busy grocery store. It’ll go faster this way and we can get out of here sooner.”
Luke smirked, picking up on her thoughts. “Fine.”
Orly took a cart to one side of the store and Luke took a cart to the other side.
Orly’s half of the store had all the produce, so she chose fresh apples, oranges, some cauliflower, broccoli, and baby carrots. Her side also had the sauces and salad dressings, so she picked a honey barbecue sauce and a bottle of blue cheese dressing. The refrigerated section on her side of the store had the eggs and dairy, so she got two cartons of eggs, a greek vanilla yogurt, and an almond milk creamer for their coffee. When she turned a corner, she spotted the aisle with the chips and cookies, and while Orly wasn’t a fan of junk food, she thought Luke might want to have a bag of chips in the pantry for when he watched ball games on the couch.
She was so engrossed in looking at all the different kinds and flavors, she didn’t see the man come up right behind her. When she took a step back and bumped into him, she scared herself half to death. “Oh my gosh, I’m so sorry,” she squeaked, turning to get a better look at the man who seemed to tower over her. She was completely caught off guard by his stoic and somewhat icy demeanor.
His brown eyes glared down at her and the corners of his mouth seemed to be pulled out to the sides in a pensive and grim expression. He wore a pair of well-worn overalls and a blue plaid collared shirt underneath. The black baseball hat didn’t hide the color of his greasy sandy blonde hair or the way his eyebrows arched when their gaze met. It was almost like he was studying her.
Orly took another step back to put more distance between them and reached for her cart, pushing it alongside herself in an effort to use it as a barrier between them. “Excuse me,” she said. But just as she was about to move forward and away from this man who was yet to say a single word to her, he spoke.
“Don’t I know you from somewhere?” It was meant as a question, but with the monotone way he’d said it, the words came out more as an accusation.
