He held out the card.
This time, I took it, rang up the two plecos, and taped a sign to the tank marking the two bristlenose as sold.
When I was done, I handed the card back to Kieran, but he refused. “Keep it. You’ll need it for everything else.”
“But I?—”
His lips pecked against mine, and I stared at him, open-eyed, as he kissed me and pulled back.
“Just let me spoil you.”
My ears and face got hot, but I nodded.
Kieran smiled as though I’d made him happy, and his happiness had me jamming the card in the pocket of my jeans. He glanced at the fancy watch on his wrist.
“You have to go already?” I asked, feeling a little pouty.
“I can stay a little longer. Show me what else you need for your new tank.”
I grabbed his hand, ready to take him on a full tour of the shop and fill his arms with stuff, but the bell on the door rang, and I glanced around a row of tanks to see a customer.
“Go in the back,” I said, shooing both Kieran and Ghost toward the break room.
“No.” Kieran denied.
“Excuse me,” a woman carrying a toddler called out from down the row. “My husband asked me to stop by to get some fish food, but I’m not sure which kind to get.”
“I can help you with that,” I answered, then glanced at both men, whispering, “At least try and look more like customers and less scary.”
Ghost seemed amused, but Kieran did not. Big surprise there.
I hurried off to help the woman who had a picture of the food she needed, and I was able to direct her to it quickly. But then her son started yelling about the fish and she looked frazzled, so I offered to show him a few to give her a break.
We looked at the tetras, a tank filled with a school of cherry barbs, and an electric blue acara that the boy really liked because of its bright color.
After the mother and son left, another customer came in who needed to purchase bloodworms and sea monkeys. After that, the phone rang, and the mailman brought in a few boxes of stock items that I carried to the back.
Ghost followed me into the tiny break room. “You got any snacks back here?”
“Mr. Wasashi might have some, but I wouldn’t recommend eating those. He isn’t much of a sharer.”
“Stingy,” Ghost muttered.
“Rett should be here soon with pizza, though,” I told him, grabbing a box cutter to slice through the tape on the boxes, but it was snatched out of my hand almost instantly. “Hey!”
“Don’t even think about it, little hazard. You already have enough stitches,” Kieran intoned. Grabbing the box, he sliced through the top and did the same to the other.
I opened my mouth to tell him I used that thing all the time but then thought better of it. He’d probably insist I quit this place too.
“Something to say?” he asked, eyebrow back in action.
“You can help me put all this away,” I instructed, pulling things out and telling him where they went.
Ghost laughed, so I put him to work too.
Out in the store, the bell chimed again.
“I’m gonna throw that damned thing in the river,” Kieran grumped. I started out, but he caught me by the back of the neck. “What do you think you’re doing?”
