We stay that way until I remember I need to feed Libby. Warner offers to come with me, but I need to shower and I’m ready for a little space. I’m not sure what this has meant, and I’m even more unsure if I should ask.
“Are you busy later? Do you want to do something this afternoon?” Warner asks when I’ve picked up my purse off the ground where I dropped it inside his front door last night.
My mind travels to my fridge. My veryemptyfridge. “I have to run lines with Calvin. And I need groceries. Maybe you can come with me and be my security?” I say it jokingly, but after what happened with my underwear, I guess it’s not much of a joke.
Warner chuckles. He palms the open door, and it makes his bicep ripple, and then it makes my whole body do a melty, ripply thing alongside it.
I pause in the open door. “I must be missing the joke.”
Warner shakes his head. “Do you know how Wyatt got your underwear back?”
“No…” The word is drawn out as I realize I have no clue how he retrieved my unmentionables.
Warner’s eyebrows raise. “Me neither. But my guess is that Wyatt is right and nobody around town is going to give you any more trouble.”
I eye him. “Does that mean you’re not interested in grocery shopping with me?”
“I didn’t say that.”
I give him a challenging look. “What did you say?”
Warner smirks. “I’d be happy to accompany you on your trip to town. I’ll even hold your bags.”
I press a hand to his chest. “You’re quite the gentleman.”
Warner’s expression changes, his eyes knowing and hungry. “Not always.”
* * *
In LA,I rarely did my own grocery shopping. I would have preferred to do it myself, but Tate insisted on ordering groceries or having his assistant go on a run. Unless, of course, he wanted to be seen. Then he had his assistant call the paps and tip them off. It wasn’t a big deal to Tate if he missed a photo op, because he would justcreatethem instead.
But grocery shopping at a small, adorable grocery store like the Sierra Supply? That’s something I can see myself doing regularly. Between this place and the Merc, which I’m told sells Cow Tales candy (a must-try, Warner insists), I think I’d have all I need. Sierra Supply is loaded with fresh produce grown by local farms. It also has an aisle for basic hunting and fishing supplies, but that was added a couple years ago according to Warner. Its addition made steam shoot from the ears of Maia, the owner of the Merc, who also carries basic hunting and fishing supplies. But, Warner added, for those who do more than dabble in hunting and fishing, there’s a real store for that a few miles away. I nodded at all the inside information, then moved on to the next aisle. What I didn’t tell Warner was how much his stories are making me fall deeper in love with the small-town charm of Sierra Grande.
“So,” Warner starts, peering into my cart. “Is this what you eat before a movie begins shooting?”
My gaze doesn’t follow his. I know what’s in there. Carrots, leafy greens, apples and berries. To be fair, we’ve only just begun shopping.
“Sort of,” I answer. “This movie allows for a little wiggle room. It’s not like I’m shooting a beach vacation film.”
Warner scowls. “That top you wore in the photo shoot looked like half of a bikini.”
Playfully I tap the tip of his nose. “Does that upset you?”
He tosses a frozen pizza into the cart. “Not after what happened this morning.” He runs his hand over my lower back, as if remembering what it looks like without the fabric of my shirt to cover it.
My scar. The playful atmosphere evaporates.
Warner’s hand stills. “What’s wrong?”
“You saw my scar.” I couldn’t hide the embarrassment in my voice even if I wanted to.
His eyebrows knit together. “So?” He points a finger at his brow bone. “I have a scar too.”
“That’s nothing like mine.” I picture the long strip of mottled flesh, the color three shades darker than my skin.
Warner’s hand drifts again, then stills over my scar. Quietly, he says, “I fell asleep in the shallows, and I woke up submerged.”
I swallow. It’s the second time today he’s said that. “Is that from something? Lines like that are usually delivered to me from a script.”
