"About today."
"What about it?" Still annoyed. And maybe hurt, if I was being honest with myself.
"Sam." He paused. "I couldn't do it today."
"Do what?"
"Pretend." He inhaled and exhaled. "After last night, I couldn't sit next to you, hell, even talk to you, and not give away how attracted I am to you."
I leaned back into my pillows. "Oh."
"How could you call me a yahoo on your blog and tell everyone I ignored you?"
"I didn't," I blurted, flustered he read the post.
"You were talking about somebody else?"
"I was speaking in general terms."
"Right. I suppose you were speaking generally that you laugh at inappropriate times, like when someone tries to kiss you, too."
I sank lower in my covers, as if that would hide my embarrassment over the situation. "I told you I was sorry."
"There's no reason for you to be."
"So . . . it wasn't awful for you?" I couldn't believe I was asking him that. It's not something I would have done twenty years ago.
He didn't hide the smile in his voice well. "It was all right."
"Thanks." I rolled my eyes even though he couldn't see me.
"I'd like to do it again, if that means anything to you."
"We shouldn't."
"Why? We're two consenting adults. And you seemed to have a good time last night. I particularly enjoyed the gasp that escaped from you when my lips left your beautiful mouth."
Holy Saint Raphael, my pulse raised along with my body temperature like I had dialed one of those call-for-a-good-time numbers. Did those even exist anymore now that we had the internet? No one had talked to me like that in a long time, maybe ever.
"Um . . ." All I could think about was the feel of his lips and how he tasted.
"Sam, I want to take you out again. I'll even sit next to you at Sunday dinner and do my best to keep my hands and eyes off you so you don't feel ignored. I should have called you before dinner so we could discuss how we would handle things, but I didn't want you to think I was being pushy. And when I saw you tonight, all I could think of was how can I get her alone. I knew sitting next to you wasn't a good idea. But when you left, it took everything I had not to go after you."
As far as apologies went, it was a good one. "I wasn't really sick."
"I had feeling. I'm sorry if you left because of me."
"It was just one of those days."
"From the sounds of your blog, it was a rough one. I didn't mean to add to it. By the way, your kiss made me want more. And I bet you make flannel look good."
I bit my lip as if I wasn't the only one in the room. "You really should quit reading my blog posts."
"No way. It's free, unlimited access into your beautiful head. And your followers are entertaining."
"Yeah, they are."
"Sam," he paused, "you may think you're ordinary, and maybe that's what makes you so likable, but you're anything but. Don't you see how people respond to you? It's anything but typical."
"I'm just me, trying to figure me out."
"Do you want some company on that journey?"
"And what would we do? We can't keep sneaking away to Indiana."
"Don't worry, I have some ideas."
"Like what?"
"For starters, when and where do you grocery shop?"
Chapter Thirty
I had never been on a date to the grocery store. That is, if you could call this a date. We were showing up a few minutes apart, Monday night, in separate vehicles. Reed's objective was for us to run into each other but act as if it was happenstance. How did this become my life? And why did I agree to this? Probably because I liked him, he made me smile, and I really did need groceries. And never had anyone gone to such lengths to see me.
I chose Jewel, my favorite grocery store and the one farthest away from my house in Clearfield, so I hoped we wouldn't see anyone we knew. I was also going later than normal, which made me feel some guilt knowing Cody was home alone, but I knew he enjoyed the freedom. Besides, he was the reason I needed to grocery shop so often.
Grocery store dating also meant wearing something besides yoga pants and a t-shirt. I decided on a dark pair of jeans because they made me look thin, and a form-fitting, burgundy sweater with leather flats. I felt like it fell nicely between I-couldn't-care-less-what-I-look-like and I'm-trying-way-too-hard.
The plan was for me to show up first, which I did, but that didn't stop me from looking around the half-full parking lot to see if he was there. I admit I was looking forward to seeing him.
I started in the produce section with my cart and list. My heart was pounding more than normal in anticipation. It made it hard to focus on getting the perfect Honeycrisp apples Cody and I were both fond of. I must have picked up ten and not looked at one of them. I tried not to look around too much as I wanted to act nonchalant, but I felt like I was failing miserably.
Then it happened. I was placing the perfectly shaped apple in the appropriate green produce bag when Reed walked behind me and, in passing, said, "Fancy meeting you here."
I smiled before I turned to meet him, but he had already passed and was looking at the bananas not too far away. He gave me a sly grin from across the way. I finished picking out my apples and moved on to tomatoes.
"Excuse me, ma'am." Reed had moved on to grapes. He held up two bags. "Green or red grapes?"
I barely paused. "Red."
"Those are my favorite, too." His grin was now more seductive. I should mention it looked like he upped his grocery shopping wardrobe too. He wore some nice jeans and a blue button-up that enhanced his eyes.
I went from tomatoes to pears. One of my favorite snacks was dehydrated pears, and my dehydrator at home was prepped and ready to go.
Reed was getting bolder as we went. He pulled his cart next to mine and waited for the woman next to us to pass by. "Does your preference for red grapes mean you prefer red wine?" His tone was hushed and he didn't look at me.
"Yes." I focused on the pears.
"Good to know." He moved on.
We played that game all through the produce section. It wasn't a bad way to shop.
I moved on to the bakery while he hit the floral section. I got a series of texts. He had taken pictures of several different bouquets.
Which one do you like best?
I scrolled through my phone while I waited for the bakery to slice the multi-grain bread that was a fan favorite at our house. You don't need to buy me flowers.
There you go being selfish again. Think of the bees and florists.
I laughed out loud to the stares of my fellow shoppers and bakery workers. I focused back on my phone. You choose. They were all lovely.
If I must. Meet me in greeting cards in five minutes.
Okay. I found his request to be odd, but I was rolling with it.
I took the five minutes to load up on milk. Cody could easily drink a gallon every two days. I also got eggs and cheese while I was at it, all before making my way to the greeting cards. I thought maybe he needed help picking one out, but I was learning not to underestimate this man. And yes, I saw him as a man.
Reed was standing at the end of the aisle thumbing through a magazine from the rack across from the cards. He was the only shopper there. He glanced up as I neared, but went back to his People magazine. I had to stop myself from laughing at the scene. Or smiling at the beautiful bouquet of red lilies, orange roses, and greenery. It was the one I loved the most out of all the pictures he had sent me.
"You should check out the Thinking of You section." He continued to thumb through the magazine.
I did as directed. I swore I felt his eyes on me. I scanned the section and midway down found a pink envelope with my name on it. I gingerly reached for it, feeling like we were doing something wrong, but excited to see what it said. I opened the unsealed envelope and pulled out the vintage card with a little girl kissing a little boy on the cheek. I peeked a glance at Reed. His eyes were on me, all of me; his head flick said to continue.
My pulse raced as I opened the card and began to read what he wrote.
1. You look gorgeous tonight.
2. I'm going to hit the frozen food section next to cool off.
3. You're going to have to give this card back to me so I can pay for it.
4. I forgot to tell you last night that I don't pee on the toilet seat and I always put the seat down.
5. I only snore when I'm sick. You can't hold that against me.
6. I think your kid is great, but he takes corners way too fast.
7. I want to kiss you again.