“She is. I’m glad you could meet her.” He should have pulled his hand back, but he
didn’t. Instead he squeezed her hand tight and let the warmth that was uniquely Sofie go right to his core. Agreeing to be her bodyguard was a huge mistake. Right then and there, when their eyes locked and held, Ian knew he’d never be objective where she was concerned.
Sofie wandered the aisles of the market pushing the basket that Ian was filling with food.
He’d picked up steaks they would grill for dinner, as well as the things all good pantries should have. Sofie was overwhelmed at the selection because she never did shop for food, but she was also taken aback by how little of the food was fresh. What did he say about the Twinkies she so loved? They could last on a shelf for over thirty years? That was a tad frightening, but she had no intention of giving up her new favorite thing, which she spotted on the shelf at that very moment.
She picked two boxes and put them into the cart while he was scanning the different loaves of bread. It made Sofie think of the bakeries that dotted every street in the market district at home. There were cheese shops, sweet shops, and butchers all bunched together, with each one offering not only fresh food, but an experience. It was something these large markets lacked, in her country and here.
Every once in a while, someone would stop Ian to say hello and ask after his mom or one of his uncles, aunts, or cousins. Ian’s younger sister, Faith, was in the Navy, a newly commissioned medical officer she’d just been assigned to a ship, and was asked for often. The Stuarts were a well-liked and respected part of the community, and Sofie fell for him a little bit more every minute.
He was a good man. The very best and she loved him more now than she did eight years ago. In just two days she learned about the man he’d become--the public servant, the son, the nephew, the neighbor. But love wasn’t part of this equation. They were no closer to being together, in fact, with her position; they were farther apart than ever before. And Sofie had to get the fantasy that they had a chance out of her head.
“Sofie? Two boxes?” Looking up she saw Ian holding one box of Twinkies in each of
his large, beautiful hands.
“Don’t you dare put those back.”
“I won’t I may add another box. It looks like we might be stuck at the house for a couple of days. There’s a bad storm heading our way. I just got an alert from the Bureau.”
“A storm? What kind of storm?”
Glancing at his smartphone, he grimaced. “It’s a hurricane right now, sitting just off the Georgia coast, but the water is still too cold up here to sustain those winds. The way it looks we’re going to get a pretty good tropical storm. Lots of rain.”
“We won’t have a problem?”
“No. We’ll just stock up on essentials, some bottled water, batteries. We’ll get some comfort food.”
She nodded, a little nervous, because she’d never gone through something like a tropical storm before. They had blizzards in Aubonne, but the country was landlocked, and mountainous.
“Come on,” he said. “We better get our provisions before the crowd gets here.”
Ian took the cart from her and she followed, picking up things that wouldn’t spoil should they be stranded or without power.
Just as he predicted as word of the storm hit the island, the people were out in force. By the time she and Ian had paid for the items, the store was very busy. It amazed Sofie how quickly people could mobilize when they heard about foul weather, it actually had her a little worried.
“Why did you only just hear about the storm?” Weren’t they able to forecast the weather more than two days in advance?
“The best I can tell you is that it was originally supposed to go out to sea. It didn’t. It changed course and is heading in our direction.” He glanced over as he took a gentle curve through one of the most picturesque parts of the island. “There’s nothing to worry about. I’ve been through storms much worse than this one.”
“Okay. I’ll try to think of it as an adventure. It’s new for me, though. I’ve never been through anything like this.”
“There’s a first time for everything.”
Right.
When they arrived home, Ian saw his uncle on a ladder taping a large second floor
window. He tended to over prepare for storms of any kind, but Sofie didn’t know that and her eyes went wide. “It’s just a precaution,” Ian reassured her.
“Why does he do that?”
“It’s so glass doesn’t shatter. He’ll only do it with the big windows and doors.”
“Oh.”