He clears his throat. “No. I can handle that just fine. But since I’m a man of honesty, then I will admit that seeing that and you in the same vision is a little…” He tips his head gingerly to the side.
My eyes widen as I patiently wait for the end of his thought. I even smile flirtatiously. “What?” I say, goading him.
“I’m a gentleman today, so I shall not answer.”
I nibble on my bottom lip and almost blush. Luckily, I can get a grip of situations. “Manners get you far. With the holidays coming up, you’d better be nice.” I wiggle a finger at him.
“We still have Halloween before I need to worry about Santa’s naughty list,” he deadpans.
“Exactly. Only nice boys get candy when trick-or-treating.”
He drags his strong hand across his tight jawline. “I’m going to pretend you meant nothing by that. I ensure people avoid the penalty box on a daily basis. I would consider that a point for the nice list.”
My hand lands on my tipped-out hip. “Depends. Did you smile at the dry cleaner?” I fake seriousness.
“Yes. Any more questions? I sense this conversation is taking an odd turn.”
Shrugging, I blow out a breath. “It seems so. That is why I’m going to head along.” I cluck my tongue.
He steps to the side. “Sure. Anyway, have a good day.”
“You too.” I smile politely in passing.
Even walking away, I feel a heavy set of eyes watching me. I can’t help wondering what he is thinking.
Le sigh, we both have things to do today.
Throwinga few bags of bite-size chocolate bars into my cart, my best friend Lainey follows suit.
“You’re more than welcome to join us for Halloween,” she reminds me before blowing her sun-kissed lock of hair away from her eyes. Lainey is a single mom to her son, Enzo, which means trick-or-treating in the damn cold. Her brother used to live here but moved to play hockey for another team.
“I’m good. I’m just going to hand out candy, turn the light off early, and relax on my couch. Maybe I’ll work on some designs.”
Halloween isn’t for a few days, but I already have my relaxing plan in place.
“I’m envious,” Lainey comments.
We continue our stroll down the aisle at the superstore near the highway. “No, you are not. You love Enzo to the moon and back.”
The type of smile only reserved for her son breaks out. “I do. One day maybe you will experience the same type of love.”
I lift a shoulder, as I’ve only thought about having kids once or twice. Right now, I’ve been focused on my dress designs and getting my feet on the ground for making a name for myself.
Changing topics, I can’t help but tease her. “Still want to strangle your neighbor?”
Dread fills her face. “Ugh, don’t remind me.” That was slightly unconvincing which is exactly why I do remind her.
“Why don’t you ask Tyler to go trick-or-treating with you?”
She swipes a plastic witch decoration off the shelf into her cart. “He has hockey. They have a game orpractice. It’s the universe telling me that I shouldn’t have to put up with his company.” He plays for the Spinners and is actually quite talented.
“So that’s a ‘no, Gracie, we won’t be going to the next game so I can watch him skate and hope his jersey ends up on my floor,’” I tease her.
She playfully shoves me as we turn the corner. “Don’t be annoying. If I go to a game, it’s because the Spinners are actually worth a ticket these days.”
“Probably because of the new coach who wears a suit well.” Asher definitely has left an impression on me. Every word he speaks is on my level. It feels like we share the same thoughts that are completely rewarding to my imagination.
It’s true, I might have watched an extra game on TV just to see him coaching from the bench. I just wasn’t going to admit that earlier when I ran into him. Men in suits who cause my nipples to peak purely from words alone deserve my attention, including screen time.
