Adrenaline pumped through her veins as she brought her cart to a stop in the diaper aisle. She stared at all the packages, wondering which size she should buy. Which brand was best?
Knowing she was being impulsive again, but too excited to stop herself, she grabbed one box of each size of the most expensive brand. Sheila’s kids got diaper rashes from the cheap diapers when they were babies. She pushed her cart to the next aisle, carefully balancing the boxes of diapers and pull-ups.
Tears filled her eyes as she stared at the binkies, bottles, and bibs. They were all so adorable. And just looking at them made her heart ache. If she was lucky, she’d get to foster an infant. She collected a variety of sizes and colors of bottles and pacifiers. Sippy cups came next, followed by baby wash and lotion.
She flipped open the cap of the baby lotion and inhaled.
Heaven in a bottle.
Knight’s Grocery–the only grocery store in Providence–didn’t have a large selection of baby stuff, but Debbie managed to find a couple of small fleece blankets and stuffed animals. She’d have to plan a bigger shopping trip to the Tri-Cities area soon. It could be some time before she actually got to foster a child, but she wanted to be ready when it finally happened.
“Attention customers, the store will be closing in ten minutes. Please make your final selections and bring them to the front of the store.”
Debbie pointed her overflowing cart toward the registers. As she passed the feminine hygiene aisle, she remembered she needed tampons. She didn’t have to buy them often because her cycle was so irregular, but her flow was so heavy, she hated being caught without them.
She propped a box on her loaded cart and headed to checkout, barely able to see around the stack of diapers. She rounded the corner and for the second time tonight ran into another shopping cart. The previous collision had been a mere tap compared to the bone-jarring impact of this cart crash. Boxes of diapers, bottles, baby wash, and tampons scattered across the floor. Several items from the other equally loaded cart toppled to the floor too.
“I’m so sorry,” Debbie said.
“Forgive me. Are you okay?” The rugged, denim and flannel man stepped around his cart and studied her.
“I’m fine. I’m such a klutz tonight.”
“I think this one was as much my fault as it was yours. I was hurrying to grab a few more things before the store closes.”
The deep timbre of his voice sent a shiver skittering across her skin. It had been a long time since she’d felt this level of attraction for a man. Even the men she had pursued over the last couple years hadn’t made her feel this aware. It certainly wasn’t for lack of trying—on her part anyway. That’s probably why they were all married to other women now.
Too bad Denim and Flannel was married. Although, she couldn’t recall ever seeing his wife at the soccer fields.
“Obviously, I wasn’t watching where I was going. Again.”
“I’m not sure how you could over all of that.” He chuckled as he eyed her cart.
“Yeah, I think I got a little carried away. I got some good news tonight, and I kind of went crazy.”
“Congratulations.” His eyebrows rose as his gaze shifted from the diapers to her flat stomach.
“Oh, um… I’m not pregnant.”
A flush colored his cheeks. “Sorry, I just assumed…” His brow creased as he motioned to the boxes of diapers in her cart.
“Understandable.” Debbie didn’t offer an explanation, because it felt like too much information to share with a stranger.
He bent to pick up the scattered items, and she did the same. His masculine scent hit her again, and she had to keep herself from leaning closer and taking a deep breath.
Heat filled her face as she grabbed the box of tampons near his booted feet.
“Uh… I think those are mine.” He held out his hand for the box she held.
She examined the pink box, spotting a yellow R for regular. Nope. These were not the tampons she had put in her cart. She handed them over.
“I mean, they’re not mine. I’m buying them, but they aren’t for me. They’re for my daughter.” Color flooded his face again, and Debbie couldn’t help herself, she busted out laughing. He grabbed another similar pink box but with a green S. “I believe these are yours.”
Her laughter died instantly.Great.Not only did this handsome stranger think she had some sort of diaper fetish, he knew she used super-sized tampons. That was way more information than anyone needed to know about her.
She snatched the box from his hand, and they fumbled around, gathering up the remainder of their items, both avoiding eye contact with the other. As soon as Debbie had all of her stuff, she apologized again and darted away as fast as she could while trying to make sure she didn’t run into anyone else.
“Debbie? Is that you?” The gray-haired cashier looked Debbie over from head to toe as she loaded her groceries onto the conveyor belt.
