“Before I moved to Hudson Island, I used to live here on Whidbey, but up in Oak Harbor.” She gestured ahead of them. “Coupeville has the best parades.”
From the rows of occupied camping chairs lining the streets and the number of people milling about, it must be a fantastic parade. As a resident of Hudson Island for nearly the past decade, he had to admit that the Pacific Northwest’s small-town Americana indeed had its charm. “The toy store’s down on FrontStreet. Want to see if we can catch some of the action from there?”
She squeezed his hand. “Lead the way.”
Xander led her through the crowds, crossing the streets in between floats and decked-out pickup trucks. As they neared Front Street, the hairs on the back of his neck rose. Under the guise of waving at a group of kids in a passing float, he pulled them to a stop on the sidewalk. He glanced around, grateful he was wearing sunglasses, and scanned the crowd.
Nothing. No one seemed out of the ordinary.
But he knew that didn’t mean a damn thing. He couldn’t see who it was, but someone had eyes on him. He’d learned long ago to trust his gut. Hell, it had saved him and his teammates numerous times.
Letting go of Freya’s hand, he wrapped his arm over her slim shoulders and tucked her close. “Let’s watch the parade for a little bit,” he said, studying everyone around them.
“Oh, look how cute they are.” She waved at a passing float with about a dozen little kids dressed as rubber ducks. Following the float was a group of square-dancing seniors swinging their partners down the street. Then came a slew of classic cars with people tossing candy to the children lining the sidewalk.
Xander continued to discreetly scan the crowd, but he didn’t see anything amiss. However, the hinky feeling remained. Something was off, and he needed to get them moving. Retaking her hand, he gently pulled her in the direction of the toy store. “Let’s pick up Daisy’s gift before it gets too crowded.”
He bit back a wince. As far as excuses went, it was pretty weak, but thankfully, Freya didn’t seem to notice and followed him to the nearby toy store.
A soft bell chimed as he pushed open the store’s front door. Once they were inside, that feeling of being watched disappeared. He frowned.
“Oh, this place is so cute,” Freya said, grinning up at him. “I’m going to pick up a little something for Daisy too.”
Before she could release his hand, he pressed a kiss to the top of her head. So what if he also took another peek outside the store’s front window. Again, nothing was obviously amiss. And again, that meant jack shit. “I’m going to pick up my order at the register. Do me a favor and don’t leave the store without me.”
She met his gaze, curiosity evident on her face. “Everything okay?”
He nodded. “It’s crowded. I don’t want to lose you out there.” Not a lie. Not at all. Especially with that sixth sense screaming at him that something wasn’t right. He gave her his most charming smile. “Humor me?”
He relaxed the tiniest bit when she returned his smile. “Of course. You’re sweet, you know that, Xander Bonetti?”
Sweet? With Freya, perhaps.
He knew with certainty that he wanted her safe. Until he could determine what had triggered that feeling of being watched, he was planning on keeping the woman close. Not that it was a hardship. Not at all.
Freya did a full loop of the store before she returned to the small clothes section. The store was adorable. She’d passed by it numerous times when she’d visited the cute little town before, but she’d never gone in. The gifts she’d gotten for her twin nieces tended to come from the big box stores, but she was quickly rethinking that.
After hemming and hawing over a few different designs, Freya finally settled on an adorable pajama set for Daisy’s birthday and a pair of sleep dresses for her nieces forThanksgiving. She made sure she had the correct sizes and went to look for Xander and found him with a store employee who was showing him how to operate the elaborate playhouse tent.
As she approached them, Freya’s jaw dropped.Tentwas an understatement. While technically the walls were made of a tent-like material, and one entire side was rolled up, the interior was as far from tent-like as it could get. Fairy lights twinkled along the ceiling panels, which looked to be high enough for her to stand upright in. Granted, she wasn’t the tallest person, but still. On top of that, the interior was decked out with a fully functioning inflatable mini living room set—a couch, two end tables, a recliner, and coffee table.
Yeah. It wasfancyfancy.
“Wow,” Freya chuckled. “That is quite the ‘indoor playhouse tent’ thing.”
The saleswoman waved at the inflatable mini couch, which would be the perfect size for Daisy and two friends. “Believe it or not, the couch can hold up to two hundred pounds.”
Freya grinned at Xander and shook her head. “What? No dining room set?”
“I already got her one over the summer.” A soft flush colored his cheeks as he gestured to the opposite end of the tent. “It should fit between the two windows.”
Freya laughed. “Of course you did.”
He cleared his throat and turned to the saleswoman. “Great, I’ll take all of it. I’ll get those small unicorn decorative pillows you showed me too.” He caught Freya’s gaze and shrugged. “Daisy likes pillows.”
Good freaking God, the man was cute.
“Excellent,” the saleswoman said with a smile. “I’ll run to the back and grab you some new ones. Give me a few minutes, and I’ll meet you at the register.”
