Page 32 of In Death, Love Survives

“Yes. I just assumed Wolfe would be buying this for you today.”

“And why is that?”

She finally makes eye contact with me.

“Just assumed he’d pay, like always.”

I give her a tight smile and tilt my head.

“Evidently not. Can you ring me up? I need to go home and show my boyfriend how these look on me.”

The woman jerks her head back as her eyes widen in shock.

“Or is that not like always ?”

Yes, that was probably unnecessary, but I knew what she was trying to imply.

She clears her throat and then finishes ringing me up. I can’t show that her dig stings.

I know about Wolfe’s past before me, but at the same time, I highly doubt he was going out of his way to take women on lingerie shopping trips. That part doesn’t add up, and she’s most likely trying to get under my skin.

She hands me back my card and the bag of items.

“Have a good day,” she spits out.

“You too,” I singsong.

That must have been tough for her to stomach.

With my bag in hand, I head out of the store to find Wolfe still on the phone. I gesture for him to follow me down the busy shopping street.

He takes my hand in his as he continues to talk to Caleb.

I spot another clothing store that looks like the opposite of what I’d normally wear.

In the window display are a crop top and a short denim skirt.

I don’t think I’ve ever worn a crop top.

Tying up Wolfe’s shirt last night was the closest I’ve come to it, and I felt like I was slipping into a new skin when I wore that.

It’s amazing the power that being comfortable in your own skin can have on you. With Wolfe, I feel confident in wearing more revealing items. I want to keep that up, even after I go back to my apartment and grab my real wardrobe.

“I’m going to pop in here,” I whisper in front of the store.

“Sorry, I’ll wrap it up,” he mouths.

I grin.

“You haven’t yet,” I tease.

A wide smile stretches across Wolfe’s face as he shakes his head.

“Love you,” I mouth.

“Love you, angel,” he mouths back.

“Yeah, I’m still listening,” he says into the phone.

I head into the store, and it’s the opposite vibe of the lingerie store.

“Hi there! I’m Daisy! Do you need help finding anything?”

I look up to find a petite young woman, maybe early twenties, with deep red hair, smiling in my direction.

“Hi! I’m Nova. No, I think I’m just browsing. Thank you though.” I smile back.

“Well, I’ll be around. If you need anything, just holler.”

“Thanks!”

I head right to the row of crop tops, spotting the white one from the window first. I find my size and start looking through the others. That’s when I spot a blue one with a matching short skirt. I pick both of those up too.

These are exactly what I was looking for.

I move around the store with ease, smiling at Daisy as I continue. Through the windows, I spot Wolfe getting off the phone and then calling someone else.

As much as I’m transitioning, I can’t believe what Wolfe is going through as he acclimates to being home.

“Everything you’re picking up is so cute,” Daisy says.

I look up from a rack, and she’s smiling over at me from behind the register.

“Thanks. It’s such a cute store.”

“I appreciate that!”

“Do you own it?”

“I do! I love it here.”

The front doorbell rings, and I look around to see Wolfe stalking toward me. He’s still on the phone and gives me an apologetic look.

“Take this,” he says while handing me his credit card.

“It’s okay,” I whisper.

“I insist.”

I take it, and he places a small kiss on my cheek before leaving again.

“Oh my god. Is that your boyfriend?” Daisy asks.

“Yeah,” I answer with a giggle.

“Okay, where do I find a rugged hottie who hands over his credit card? Swoon,” she teases.

“You’d be surprised.”

Daisy laughs.

“I think I’m ready to check out.”

I place the pile of clothes on the counter, and Daisy starts ringing me up. She tells me the total and takes the credit card from me.

“Are you from around here?” she asks.

“No, new to the area. But I’m from Montana.”

“Did you move for him?” Her question takes me aback, but something tells me Daisy isn’t one to beat around the bush.

“Yeah, I did.”

“So romantic,” she gushes.

I put the credit card in my purse as Daisy fixes up the bag of clothes.

“I guess it is.”

“Well, if you ever want to meet up, let me know. It’d be nice to have a new friend to show around.”

“Yeah, that’d be great. What’s your number?”

“Here,” she says as she hands me the bag. Daisy then looks around and writes her number down on a piece of paper.

“Standing offer.”

“Thanks, it was great to meet you.”

“You too!”

I slip the number in my purse and head out to find Wolfe. He hangs up as soon as he sees me.

“Sorry about that, baby.” Wolfe wraps me up in a hug that I sink into.

“It’s okay. I understand.”

We break apart, and he takes my latest bags from me. I wrap one of my arms around his as we start walking.

“Where to?”

“Let’s head home,” I say.

“Did you find everything you need?”

“Yeah, I think so. I even picked up some shoes in that last one.”

“I’m really intrigued about what you’ve been getting without me,” he taunts.

Wolfe pulls me back in the direction we came from to head to his truck.

“How did everything go?” I ask.

Wolfe sighs and squeezes my arm against his.

“Caleb got nothing new from Eddie. Toby isn’t talking. My acquaintance has no leads yet. It’s all a dead end. And…”

“And what?”

I look up at him as he glances down at me.

“And there was a robbery. A robbery of our shipments. Fucking great.”

“Oh my, Wolfe. I’m so sorry this is happening.”

“It has to be this new fucking club.”

“Probably.”

I just hope we find answers soon.