Page 69 of Bellini Bound

That seemed to do the trick, and her defiance melted away.

“Fine. Then why don’t you help me pick out a cartload of gifts so we can get out of here faster?”

ThatI could do.

Acting like a contestant on a timed shopping spree show, I reached an arm out to sweep an entire shelf of dolls into the cart before pushing through the crowd to the next aisle and doing it all over again when it came to art supplies.

“You’re hopeless,” Allie complained, shaking her head.

“Think this is enough?” I gestured to the mountain of toys I’d collected, eager to escape this overcrowded store.

Shaking her head, she blew out an exasperated breath. “No, because you didn’t put a single ounce of thought into any of the items in that cart.”

I attempted to throw my arms wide but couldn’t because there were too many fucking people in the aisle. “They’re little kids! They are not going to care if I spent hours agonizing over the perfect gift!”

“But I’ll know,” Allie argued, looking about ten seconds away from stomping her foot like a petulant child.

Well played, Satan. Giving me an early taste of what Hell will feel like.

“We’ve covered almost every inch of this store, Allie. If you haven’t found anything that speaks to you by now, odds are you aren’t going to.”

She huffed. “We can’t just leave empty-handed.”

“Then pick something!” My voice rose, drawing unwelcome attention.

“I’m not ready to throw in the towel just yet. There are still two more aisles.”

This woman. Even though it currently drove me up the wall, I could admit her fierce determination was an admirable quality. When she had a goal in mind, there was nothing that could stand in her way of achieving it.

Trailing behind her, we arrived at the final aisle, which featured a variety of outdoor toys—play structures, battery-powered riding vehicles, sandboxes, and trampolines—none of which could be used during a bitterly cold Chicago winter. And if there was one thing I knew about kids, it was that delayed gratification was not their strong suit, so I immediately ruled out the contents of this aisle as potential gifts. Everyone else occupying the store must’ve felt the same, seeing as this was the first time we’d found breathing room since entering the building.

Allie, however, gasped, rushing to the far end of the aisle, exclaiming, “This is perfect! They’re going to love it!” Bouncing on her toes, she waved me over. “Enzo, come see!”

Not gonna lie, seeing her so excited had something tugging at the center of my chest. For a second, I thought it might be my heartstrings but quickly dismissed the notion. You had to have a heart for those to be pulled upon. It was probably just some type of involuntary muscle spasm.

Striding forward, I saw the item that had caught Allie’s attention.

“A roller coaster?” I couldn’t keep the surprise from my voice.

Sparkling green eyes stared up at me. “Isn’t it great?”

“Sure.” At this point, I would say a piece of rubber dog shit was amazing if it meant the end of this torturous experience.

Her pink lips pursed before pulling to the side. “It won’t fit in the cart.”

The box was sizable, and I was grateful we had decided to take one of the larger SUVs on today’s excursion; otherwise, it wouldn’t have fit in the car either.

“All right. I’ll track down someone who works here. You stay here.” Gripping her chin, making sure I had her full attention, I added for emphasis, “Do not move from this spot.”

“Overbearing,” she muttered.

“Overprotective,” I corrected. “And I’m not interested in hearing an argument as to why that’s a bad thing, because it’s not.”

Though she fought against it, she couldn’t keep a corner of her lips from twitching. Yeah, she liked it, even if she refused to admit it.

“If you say so.”

“I do.” Backing away, I pointed to her feet. “Not a muscle.”