“I just wanted to talk,” I said. “It feels super quiet at the office today.”
“Oh, really?” she asked in a tone that made me almost see her smirk. “No sexy banter with Carter?”
“We don’t have sexy banter. And he’s out on the site with the other guys.”
“Well, maybe if you’re lucky, he’ll get back first, and you can do some dictation for him. Have you started wearing the little tight miniskirts and high heels to work? Those little sweater sets that barely fit over your boobs? You should look the part.”
Her teasing was really starting to aggravate me, and I was glad I hadn’t opened up to her. I ended the conversation and went back to eating, watching a mindless TV show on my phone to fill the quiet.
21
CARTER
Grocery shopping wasn’t exactly my favorite activity in the world. I disliked it so much that I ended up making things worse on myself by avoiding it and ending up needing to go more often, since I would forget things in my haste to get out of the store and back home. It wasn’t the people, since the grocery store in town was actually kind of quiet and nice. It was just that when they all collected together in frenzies to buy the sale-priced items before they were gone or stock up on milk and bread before a storm hit that bugged me.
I thought about asking Lauren if she wanted to join me but didn’t want to risk it. If we ran into anyone we knew, it would be so hard to explain without just letting the cat out of the bag. Hell, just seeing us together would probably be all the confirmation anyone needed. She didn’t deserve everyone finding out that way. I wanted to let her tell people herself, when we were ready.
Resigning myself to going shopping alone, I headed out and into town. It was getting pretty cool outside, and I figured I might as well drive all the way down to the department store at the edge of town and grab a few of the supplies I might not actually need yet. It would at least mean I didn’t have to worry about doing that later.
Cranking the radio and rolling the windows down, I enjoyed the drive through the winding roads of Ashford. There was a serene beauty to looking up over the horizon and seeing the mountains surrounding the town, especially knowing that one of them had the plot of land that was helping us begin our business. The business that I would be able to grow and provide a life that Lauren might want if things kept going the way they were.
I shook my head and turned the music up louder. I couldn’t think about that just yet. One thing at a time. Right now, we were each other’s exciting little secret. A future life was something we would have to think about later.
Pulling into the department store, I noticed it was pretty empty for the time of day and smiled. Maybe this wouldn’t be so bad after all. Besides, some of the things I was planning on picking up were for Lauren, and the thought of seeing her face when she saw them was making me happy already.
Grabbing a cart from the front, I set about going through the store clockwise. I had read somewhere that most people go counterclockwise through stores, enough that most major chains laid them out that way. Going opposite traffic made it easier to get through them faster.
I had grabbed most of the hardware and supplies I needed and was heading toward the grocery aisles when I came around a corner and stopped cold. Directly across from me, staring at me with what seemed like an equal amount of disdain, was Ashton. I made a move to get around him, but he moved his cart in the way, and we stopped again.
“Got something to say?” he growled.
“Yeah, I do, actually,” I said, anger bubbling up in my chest. I was going to let him pass, but after that? No way.
“What?” he said obnoxiously, stepping away from his cart as if he was going to have a go at me. Secretly, I hoped he would try. It would be so delightful and cathartic to whip his ass.
“Listen to me, because I am only going to say this once,” I said, keeping my voice low and level. His eyes were wide and bounced between mine, and he stepped one foot back a bit in what I assumed was a fighting stance. “You need to stop calling Lauren. I know about the messages. Knock it off.”
“Why?” he said mockingly. “Afraid she’s going to leave you and come back home to a real man?”
There was nothing in the world I wanted to do more than lay him out right there, but a crowd of shoppers was starting to become visible on my periphery. I needed to keep my cool. This was what he wanted.