“Told you.” Lindsey grins as she disappears back up front.
“Do you like it?” I ask tentatively, smoothing my shaking hands down the front of my dress.
“Fuck yes, I like it. I like it a lot.” There’s a hunger in his eyes and something else I can’t quite describe.
“She looks absolutely radiant,” April says. “This would be perfect for Saturday’s barbecue. Oh, please tell me you two are coming?”
“Shit, I forgot all about that.” Justin tugs at the back of his neck.
“Would you like to go?” he asks, hopeful. “It’s just a small get-together with a few of my buddies from work and their wives.”
I smile at the thought of making more friends. “I’d love to.”
April beams. “Perfect. Let me bag up all your stuff then you can be on your way.”
“Should I bring anything?” I ask, but April quickly declines.
However, I don’t want to show up to a party empty-handed so I ask Justin to take me by the store so I can pick up ingredients to make an apple pie.
With his hand at my lower back, he guides me into the grocery store. His close proximity has my heart fluttering in my chest. It scares me how strong my feelings are for him already. How much safety and comfort his mere presence alone offers.
Justin retrieves a cart. First, he insists on me picking up some things for myself like shampoo, conditioner, another toothbrush, as well as some deodorant and lotion. Then we walk toward the food department where I get all of my ingredients to bake an apple pie for Saturday as well as a few other things to cook for him and Pop.
Inside the store, he watches everyone like a hawk, his eyes peeled for danger. I like the protective way he hovers over me.
“Have fun today?” he asks as we make our way down the frozen food aisle. I push the cart while he walks next to me, his good hand steady on my lower back.
“I did. I like them both very much.”
“April is a good woman and Lindsey, she’s good people too but crazy as hell sometimes.”
“She makes me laugh. She’s very honest and outspoken.”
“That she is.”
“She said you were, how did she put it, ‘robbing the cradle’ what does that mean?”
Justin chuckles, shaking his head. “Christ almighty that woman.”
“April wouldn’t tell me. Will you?”
He stops walking, turning to face me so I stop walking, too.
“It’s a figure of speech. Because of our ten-year age difference. But age is nothing but a number. It doesn’t define a relationship. If there are two consenting adults, it doesn’t matter what anyone else calls it.”
Hope soars through my heart.
Lifting a hand to my cheek, he drags a rough thumb over my quivering lower lip. “While every part of me aches to claim this sweet little mouth and that tender heart, I know I shouldn’t.”
My hope takes a nosedive, sinking deep into my belly.
“You’ve been through a lot. You’re hurting and confused.”
I lift my hand to cover his. “I’m not confused about what I feel for you, Justin.”
“I’m not confused either,” he says sternly, looking deep into my eyes. “I’m just being cautious—for both of our sakes.”
A man who is cautious with his heart can only mean one thing, he knows what it’s like to have it broken.
