Then I wandered into the lamp aisle and saw a familiar face turn just by me, heading out of the pet aisle. My face immediately went red when his eyes locked on mine and a sexy, enticing grin curled up one side of his mouth. An audible sound came from my mouth that I most certainly didn’t authorize. It was a lot like a very soft moan.
“Fancy seeing you here,” he said, chuckling. “I figured since I was on this side of town, I’d go pick up some dog food.”
The cart he was pushing indeed had a giant bag of dog chow in it. It was one of those bags that looked like a body could fit in them. Other than dog food, there was nothing else in his cart.
“So, where’s Lily?” I asked.
“I dropped her off up at the office with Lauren,” he said. “Can’t bring a mastiff mutt into a store, and she needed food, so Lauren offered to hang out with her.”
“That’s nice,” I said. “So that means you have a bit of time on your hands?”
What was I saying? My mouth kept moving but none of the words were ones I actively thought of and then said. It was like someone else was controlling them. I briefly wondered if Rebecca, with a speak and spell connected to a keyboard and a Ouija board, was somewhere in the store, watching me and manipulating my interaction with Everett.
“Yeah, actually,” he said. “Why?”
“I was just thinking we should go out to eat—if you wanted to, of course,” I said.
Time froze as I awaited his response. What in the hell had gotten into me? Not only was I being nice to this man, but I was asking him out to lunch? Who was I and what had I done with the real me?
“That would be great,” he said. “There’s a sandwich shop right around the corner. Want to go there?”
“Perfect,” I said. “I could go for a sammy.”
I groaned internally. I could go for a sammy? Had those words actually come out of my mouth? No wonder I was still single.
He looked puzzled and chuckled. “Alright then,” he said. “Why don’t you toss your stuff in my cart and I can help you finish shopping?”
As if in a dream, I did. I grabbed some new bedding and a lamp, both things I needed, but it wasn’t like I was processing what any of it looked like. It could have been a zebra print lampshade and I would have just thought it was great. Anything was great. Everything was great.
Everett was great.
We went to the sandwich shop next door, and I listened to him as he told me a brief history about himself and his friendship with Carter and Deacon. How they were all almost killed overseas. How he grew up wealthy and left that life to go to the military, earning the wrath of his parents. How his uncle believed in him and spotted him the money to start the company.
It was all so interesting. He was interesting. Everett was so much more than just a mountain man. But I didn’t have time to regret how I’d treated him before.
In all too short a time, he had to go, getting a text that Lauren was getting ready to leave and he needed to pick up Lily. As I drove home, I realized I had picked up more than just the few things I’d planned on that day, namely a major league crush on Everett Westin.
15
EVERETT
Running into and having lunch with Helen was unexpected but it was a mighty fine surprise. She was gorgeous and I found myself intensely attracted to her. Even though our lunch was mostly a friendly affair, I felt like there were sparks there. Just like there had been at the bonfire. And when she ran into me walking Lily.
Something was there. It just needed a spark. I wondered when I would see her next. Running into her out in the wild like that was super coincidental, and I couldn’t count on it. What I could count on, however, were more bonfires. I had already texted Carter and Deacon to see when the next one would be. There was a pretty decent chance Helen would be attending that.
I headed out of my house the day after our lunch, still thinking about the time I spent with Helen and how it made me feel to talk to her. I hadn’t really divulged much information in our talk. Mostly, I gave her the overview of who I was.
My family was wealthy and well known, but I wasn’t really a part of it. My uncle was more my family than anyone else and was the only one who seemed to understand me. He was a brilliant investor. He had invested in me and the company I started.