I grab the nearest item just so I have something to do. Pie crusts. Whatever. Into the cart they go.
Zach watches me for a beat—soft smile tugging at his mouth.
"I like grocery shopping with you," he says. Simple. Casual. Warm.
And for some reason, that hits different. My chest does this stupid little flutter, and I swear my face heats again.
"Me too," I say quietly.
He starts pushing the cart again, completely unaware that half the women in this aisle are staring at him like he's a Black Friday deal.
I notice every single one of them.
And yeah, maybe I walk a bit closer to him. Maybe I slide my hand onto the cart handle next to his.
Not possessive.
Just... reminding the world—and myself— that he's mine.
And I'm his.
And God, it feels good.
After almost an hour of zig-zagging through aisles, we roll toward the checkout lanes—of course there's a line. A long one. Everyone in Naples apparently remembered Thanksgiving is tomorrow.
Zach glances into the cart, then snaps his fingers. "Shit. I forgot to grab Sam's watermelon Sour Patch."
I laugh. "Shewillmurder you."
"She'll haunt me."
He squeezes my hip. "Be right back."
Then he jogs off toward the candy aisle, and I swear three women track him like he's the last cookie on the tray. I drum my fingers on the cart handle, humming under my breath, pretending I don't notice.
The line inches forward.
Then a voice slices through the noise.
"Well, well,lookwho it is."
My whole body stiffens. I haven't heard that voice in years, but muscle memory is a bitch—my spine recognizes it before my brain does.
I don't want to turn around. I really, really don't.
But my head turns anyway. Stupid reflexes.
And there they are.
Cici—hair chopped into a trendy bob, one hand on her cart, the other on a very obvious baby bump. And beside her is Tyler, chewing gum so aggressively I can practically hear the molars grinding from six feet away. Both of them are wearing the same smug, condescending expressions they perfected in high school.
For half a second, I feel sixteen again—standing by my locker, praying I'd disappear before they noticed me.
Then it passes, and all I feel is... tired.
"See, babe? Told you it was her," Cici says, looping her arm through Tyler's, smiling like she's doing charity work.
Babe? So they're a couple now.
