Page 23

“What are you doing?” She turned, seeing my armful of clothes. “What are all those clothes?”

“The clothes you want.”

“I don’t need those. I’ve got the basics here. I just need things for the office.” She held up her two pairs of pants and monochromatic selection of tops.

“You’ll need casual clothes, too.”

“I don’t need all that,” she argued.

I gave her a hard stare and pinched my lips in disapproval. “Just keep shopping.”

Heaving a sigh, she continued but watched me out of the corner of her eye as we made our way through the racks. Each time I’d pick up a discarded item, she’d give me her own disapproving look, but my stare allowed no arguing.

After I picked up seven more items, she stopped touching things and only picked up a few sparse items. We got to the end of the section and crossed the aisle when she stopped and a huge grin spread across her face. She hunched over to look at the movies lined up in a cardboard stand.

“Oh my God, I loved this book.” She held up Gone Girl.

“Have you ever seen the movie?”

“No. Movies weren’t in the budget. I hung out at the library a lot so I’ve read a ton of the books that were made into movies. But this one was one of my favs. Girl with the Dragon Tattoo is my favorite. I heard the movie wasn’t as good as the book, but if I could have splurged on seeing one movie, that would have been it.”

“I hear most books are better than movies.”

“You hear? Do you not read?”

“Not for leisure. It’s mostly reports and articles.”

“That’s boring.”

“I actually enjoy it.”

She set the movie back down and continued down the aisle. I made sure she wasn’t looking before I grabbed the movie and slid it under the pile of clothes. I didn’t know why I did it. We were there to buy clothes for the office. There was just something about her smile that made me want to see it again. I’d just hidden my contraband when she turned and backed into the underwear and pajama section, a devious smile tilting her lips.

“Want to pick these out for me too?”

I gave her a hard glare without answering.

She picked up two scraps of underwear, one on each finger and held them like scales. “What do you think? Lacy or silk? Boyshorts or thong?” Apparently, we were going to finish this trip with me glaring at her the whole time. “Or maybe granny panties.”

I would much rather imagine her in cotton granny panties than that scrap of teal lace. Not that I should be imagining her in anything.

“You’re hilarious.”

“I’ve been told by my coworkers I make the time go by with my awesome sense of humor.” She dropped the wispy fabric and grabbed a selection of simple cotton. Thank God.

“Were you the class clown?”

“Not really. But having a sense of humor is better than feeling sorry for yourself.”

You can laugh about it or you can cry about it, Erik. Pick your poison, but I’d prefer to laugh.

Sofia’s words when she was dumped right before prom hit me. She’d been the most resilient girl I’d ever known. I couldn’t help but be reminded of her when I looked at Alexandra. They both had the same stubborn will.

Alexandra looked at a pair of silk pajamas, but put them back and grabbed a pair of basic cotton pants. She’d taken two steps and I made my move to grab it.

I’d just wrapped my hand around the hanger when she jerked around.

“No.” She stepped close and did her best glower, her eyes narrowed to slits and her lips pursed.

“If you want them, then just get them.”

I went to lift them off the rack when her hand slapped mine. I dropped the hanger, shocked at the slight sting across the back of my hand.

“I don’t want them. I was just testing you. You failed.”

Her words barely registered. “Did you just slap me?”

She stepped back and clutched at her chest with an exaggerated gasp. “You sound like an 1800s grandma shocked because I just showed some ankle.”

She waggled her eyebrows and tugged her black pants over her ankle.

It was so unexpected, I laughed. It was rusty and unused, but it choked up out of my chest almost like a bark of sound. She stood upright again and her eyes softened.

“You should smile more,” she proclaimed softly.

The same tension from that first night in the kitchen flowed like a bubble around us. My chest warmed and it should have been the warning to take my family up on their suggestion and have Alexandra stay somewhere else.

But that wasn’t the way this would work. I shook my head and looked away, breaking the moment.

She hooked her thumb over her shoulder. “I’ll just grab some pajamas and we can go.”