They took another hour walking around the grocery store picking up this or that. He ended up getting a bunch of produce and string cheese.
“I’ll cook,” she told him. She stockpiled twelve lemons into a bag.
Nash was confused. “How long do you plan on being at my house?”
She looked bothered. “I like lemon in my water. It pulls out the toxins.”
He grunted again. He hadn’t known what this older version of Amanda would be like, but technically, he should probably start thinking of her as Sadie. That was her witness protection name. It was fine.
As they approached the checkout lane, a young man with a store name tag glanced up and did a double take. “Professor Blair?” he said, smiling. “I didn’t know you shopped here.”
Nash watched Sadie’s face carefully. A flicker of tension crossed her features before she smiled at the young man. “Hi, Jason. How are you?”
“Good! Working on that paper for your summer class. Just need to finish the section on the territorial capital.”
“Sounds great. Email me if you have questions.”
“Will do. Oh, and Dr. Martinez was looking for you today. Something about the Porter Rockwell research?”
Nash saw Sadie stiffen slightly. “Thanks for letting me know. I’ll check in with him.”
The young man nodded and moved on. Nash studied her face, noting her discomfort. She hadn’t mentioned teaching. And who was Dr. Martinez? More importantly, why did this random grocery store encounter make her so uncomfortable?
“You teach at the university?” Nash asked softly as they moved toward the checkout.
“Part time,” she mumbled. “History department. It’s just to supplement my income while I finish my thesis.”
“You didn’t mention that yesterday.”
She glanced around nervously. “There’s a lot I didn’t mention yesterday.”
At the end, she tried to pay, but he just swiped his card.
“Nash, I didn’t want you to pay. What is your Venmo?”
Nash put up a hand. “If you Venmo me, I’ll hate you. So don’t do that.”
She snorted out a laugh. “You’ll hate me? I mean, you don’t hate me for never getting in contact with you or for trying to not let you in my house or running away from you yesterday, but you’re going to hate me for paying you back for groceries?”
Nash couldn’t help but roll his eyes and grin as he carried the bags to the car. “Yep.”
Once in the car, he couldn’t help noticing how Sadie kept checking the rearview mirror. “Are you looking for something?” he asked.
She jumped slightly. “What? No. Just … habit.”
Nash had spent enough time around Chance to recognize the vigilance of someone who felt they were being watched. Rather than push her on it, he decided to keep his own eyes open for anyone who might be following them.
They drove back to his place.
She was quiet now, not as talkative as she’d been before the encounter with her student. Nash decided not to push it until they were back at his place.
“So how long have you lived in Salt Lake?” she asked.
“A year and a half. I got done with law school and came here. It’s a nice place.”
She smiled, though it seemed forced. “Isn’t it crazy that we both ended up here in Utah?”
“It is crazy.”
