She caught on before he had the chance to explain. “Not American football. Soccer.”
“Yeah. Scott was being pretentious, I guess.”
She shrugged and reached to open her door. “The rest of the world calls it that.”
“But in this country, it’s reasonable to assume he was talking about our football. Scott likes to catch people in that assumption and correct them with a worldly indulgence toward their naiveté.”
“Sounds kind of jerky.”
Amused by her blunt assessment, he nodded. “He can be. But he’s okay, on the whole.”
Jacqui didn’t look mollified. “I don’t like it when people try to make other people look stupid. Your sister and brother-in-law would never do that, and they’re pretty much the smartest people I know.”
He hoped she didn’t think he’d been having fun at her expense. “No, they wouldn’t. And I—”
But she was already out of the car, the door snapping shut behind her. Mitch sighed.
Forty-five minutes later, he tagged behind Jacqui as she wielded a shopping cart through the Saturday-crowded supermarket aisles. She selected her groceries with even more care than he’d used in grabbing supplies at the sporting goods store while she’d browsed the sneakers collection.
She seemed to have no trouble being friendly with other people. Apparently, she knew quite a few employees of the supermarket. Several of them greeted her with obvious recognition and Jacqui responded with friendly smiles.
“How’s the new baby?” she asked a young woman arranging roses in the floral department.
“He’s doing great,” the woman replied, beaming. “You wouldn’t believe how fast he’s growing. He loves the little stuffed bear you knitted for him. It’s so soft and cuddly, and he always smiles when I give it to him.”
“I’m glad he’s enjoying it.”
The florist eyed Mitch surreptitiously as she asked Jacqui, “Need any flowers today? We got some pretty lilies in this morning.”
“No, not today, thanks, Latricia. Maybe next time.”
A portly man behind the deli counter grinned broadly when Jacqui approached a few minutes later. “Well, hello there, sunshine. The little missy isn’t with you today?”
“She had other plans today, Gus.” She glanced at Mitch. “Alice likes to come shopping with me sometimes.”
“That little girl does love her cheese,” Gus commented with a chuckle. “What can I get for you today?”
Mitch stood back and watched as Jacqui placed her order. He was struck by her attention to detail even with simple luncheon meats. She’d been the same way with the other groceries now stacked in the cart, reading ingredients, comparing prices, making each choice with a frown of concentration. He enjoyed watching her at work—and she was very much on the job.
If only she could relax with him as she did with the store employees. Surely she wasn’t intimidated by him? He could think of no reason at all for that to be true.
Maybe she just didn’t like him? His ego twinged at the possibility. Was he really so conceited that he assumed everyone should like him? He believed most people liked him well enough, with a few exceptions he didn’t much like either. But maybe there was something about him that rubbed Jacqui the wrong way.
He’d just have to see if he could manage to rub her the right way.
That errant thought made him shift his weight uncomfortably. He studied her from the corner of his eye as she took a smiling leave of the man in the deli.
He would be on his best behavior for the next few days, he promised himself. Whatever he might have done to annoy her, he would do his best to change her mind. He wouldn’t mind having Jacqui smile at him the way she smiled at her friends here in the supermarket.
If Alice hadn’t gotten enough sleep the night before, it didn’t show during dinner that night. She chattered nonstop to her uncle throughout the meal, continued to talk while she helped Jacqui clean up afterward, then babbled even more when they joined Mitch in the family room a few minutes later. Jacqui settled in a chair in the corner beneath a bright reading lamp and pulled out the knitting bag she always kept nearby while Mitch and Alice surfed the TV channels for something they both enjoyed.
Mitch glanced Jacqui’s way during a momentary lull in Alice’s monologue. “What are you working on?”
Figuring he was trying to be polite and include her in the conversation, she lifted her project to show the ruffle-edged black scarf she was halfway through. “It’s a scarf.”
“Nice. Is this for your friend’s store? Meagan mentioned you sell your knitted stuff at a boutique,” he added.
She nodded. “A friend in Santa Fe sells handmade accessories in her shop. I met her when I lived there a few years back and I’ve been sending her stuff ever since. Mostly scarves, although occasionally she asks for baby blankets or hats or fingerless gloves, which are popular right now.”