He was still frowning. "What's wrong?"
"Nothing." I glanced toward the pastry case. "So, you want a box of bagels with cream cheese and raisins. Is that right?"
He gave me a funny look. "Thatwasthe idea."
"Perfect," I said, grabbing a pastry box from under the counter.
"It can't betooperfect," he said. "You look upset."
"I'm not upset," I said, a little sharper than intended before deliberately dialing it back. "You said a dozen, right?" Okay, yes, Iwasupset – but not totally at him.
But I should be glad for this, right?Already, I'd been letting down my guard.
Again.
But not anymore.
Talk about whiplash.
Under his silent scrutiny, I put on a plastic disposable glove and started grabbing bagels out of the display case. By the time I'd dropped six into the box, the bottom layer was already full.
Terrific.
If I wanted to "slather" them like he wanted, I'd need to slather the first six before stacking the rest. And of course, the cream cheese and raisins were in the back room, which made everything even more complicated.
Screw it.I quickly grabbed six more bagels and tossed them onto the others before turning and pushing my way through the swinging door, leaving Ryder staring after me.
Okay, I couldn't actually see him staring, but I swear, I could feel his eyes burning into my back as the door swung shut behind us.
But then, it was my turn to stare – not at Ryder, but at Skip, who had already fallen back asleep in that stupid recliner.
Hah!As if Ryder could talk to himthatway.
I set the box of bagels onto the prep table before reaching into the fridge for our biggest tub of spreadable cream cheese. With jerky motions, I started slathering away – not being neat about it either.
By the time I dumped a few fistfuls of raisins onto that goopy mess, a lot of my agitation was spent.Mostly, I was just discouraged.
Even though Ryder scrambled my common sense, I couldn't deny that our run-ins had been the highlight of my month.
And yes, I realized it was psychotic. Like a walking contradiction, I refused to be happy either way.
Regardless, I wouldn't figure it out today. So I closed the lid and added just a bit of tape before picking up the box and slapping on a professional smile.
When I pushed through the swinging door, Ryder was still there, standing in the same spot, not frowning exactly, but not looking delighted either.
At his stiff demeanor, my own smile slid off my face. Something in my stomach twisted, and I wasn't even sure why.
As I set the box on the counter, I deliberately lightened my tone. "Youdoknow this is a bad idea, right?"
He just looked at me.No smile. No frown. No reaction whatsoever.
I cleared my throat. "I mean…it's bad enough thatItormented your friend…"
His jaw flexed. "Don't worry. It'll be hilarious."
Right. Hilarious like a train wreck.
Or at least, that was the vibe I was getting.
