“What’s wrong?” he asked, the frown between his brows deepening.
I studied him for a moment and shrugged. “Nothing’s wrong. Actually, I think everything’s right because you’re fully clothed for once. Almost had me believe that you do everything naked.”
That got a laugh out of him. Okay, it wasn’t a laugh. It was more of a mocking sound, as if what I said hadn’t been funny.
I thought it was funny.
“Let’s go.”
Okay, you big grump.
We walked inside, and I grabbed a cart instead of a basket because I had a feeling that we’d actually fill the large fridge back home. Whenever I went grocery shopping, I usually only ever got a few things because I didn’t need much. But Callan had taken me here intending to buy enough food for however many days, and he was determined.
He walked beside me, eyes scanning the store like he owned the place, but didn’t care being here at the same time. Honestly, with all the money he had, he probably could have owned it. But no matter how he carried himself here, it was just clear to me that simple things like grocery shopping weren’t normal to him.
“You look tense,” I said, amused.
“I’m not.”
“Then stop glaring at the produce like they personally offended you.”
He let out a huff, then started filling the cart almost immediately with whatever caught his eye. None of what he chose was cheap, and he kept grabbing items with thepremiumlabel on them.
I was baffled, but I decided not to say anything else to avoid worsening his mood, and I started down the produce aisle, carefully examining the tomatoes and apples. I picked up a bag of baby carrots, glanced at the price, and set them back down. The zucchini were on sale, and I grabbed two, feeling proud of myself for being reasonable. I wasn’t trying to be cheap, but I also wasn’t going to take advantage of Callan’s money.
“Why are you putting those back?” he asked, sounding upset by my action. I kept my eyes on the vegetables.
“Too expensive,” I explained.
He let out a low hum and kept pushing his cart, which was soon halfway down the aisle, loaded with packaged meats, imported cheeses, and more bottles of soda.
“Lana, just get what you want,” he said finally.
I blinked at him. “What?”
“Get whatever you want. Don’t worry about the cost.”
I swallowed hard and shook my head. “I can’t. I don’t want to—”
“Lana,” he interrupted, a little firmer this time, “you pick what you want. That’s the point of this. Stop thinking so much about the money. It doesn’t matter.”
He didn’t say it mockingly, and he wasn’t looking at me like he was judging me.
To him, money obviously didn’t matter. To me, it was something I always used wisely.
“I don’t think I can just use you for money, Callan.”
“You’re not using me for shit. You live under my roof, you don’t have a steady job—”
Which he was right about, because occasionally getting shifts at the college café wasn’t a steady job.
“And I have enough of it.”
Money, that was.
I rolled my eyes at him. “That doesn’t make it any better, you know? You make it sound like I’m some kind of charity case you half-heartedly give money to.”
He shook his head, looking fairly annoyed now. “Call it whatever the fuck you want, Lana.”
