“So then, you’re counting on me to somehow keep whoever knows it’s you from running after you when you suddenly take off.”
She sent him one of those irresistible smiles. “Yep. I’m trusting you to think on your feet. I know you won’t let me down.”
“Famous last words,” he muttered under his breath and turned into the Safeway parking lot.
“One more thing,” she said as he pulled into a space and switched off the engine. “How likely are we to run into someone you know?”
He shrugged. “It’s a small town. It could happen.”
“If it does, introduce me as Mallory Malloy.”
“Sounds fake.”
“Itisfake. That’s the point. But if you don’t like it, make up something else. Just give the fake name and say I’m your tenant. I’ll make friendly noises and then suddenly remember there’s something I forgot. I’ll rush off for another aisle and not come back.”
“And then we meet here, at the truck?”
“That’s it. We’re set.”
Inside the store, she had him push the cart. He happily followed along behind her, admiring the sweet sway of her hips as she tossed in produce and groceries, humming to herself as she went.
“What’s that song you’re humming?” he asked, when she stopped to grab pimiento-stuffed olives and a big jar of dill pickles.
“‘I Love to Love.’ Tina Charles sang it. Big disco hit in England way back in the day. It’s essentially the theme song of the BBC seriesRiver.” She leaned close and whispered with great enthusiasm, “Did you seeRiver?”
He got a whiff of petunias and lemongrass and realized that right at this moment, he felt ridiculously happy about every little thing. “Sorry, didn’t see that one.”
“You should.” She tapped his shoulder with the jar of pickles. “Murder. Love. Loss. And Stellan Skarsgård. Does it get any better?” She held up the pickles in one hand and the olives in the other and busted a few disco moves, singing that same song under her breath. An old guy down at the other end of the aisle stopped to watch, but quickly moved on when Sten gave him the evil eye.
And the old guy wasn’t the only one who noticed her. A wig and sunglasses couldn’t hide the sheer energy that radiated from her, or the infectiousness of her laugh. He didn’t think anyone realized she was Madison Delaney, though. They just appreciated a pretty girl in tight jeans with a great laugh.
At the rear of the store, she found a straw-hat display stuck back with the metal racks of deep-discount merchandise. She went nuts over those and chose four of them to take home.
“Because who knows how long I’ll be here?” she whispered to him. “What if I never work up the nerve to call the Bravos? I’m going to want to go shopping again just for the sake of getting out of the house and I’ll need more than one good disguise.”
“Just do it,” he said.
“Do what, buy some hats?”
“Make that call. If you don’t want to try one of your brothers or sisters, call Percy Valentine. He’s a sweet old guy.”
“What? Now? Right here in Safeway?”
“Yeah. I’ll drive you to Valentine House, where Percy lives with his sister. The house is older than they are and they’re both in their eighties. You’ll love it.”
“Don’t get pushy,” she commanded, and tried on a wide-brimmed red sunhat. “What do you think? I love this one.”
He wanted to grab her and kiss her, but settled for giving her a hard time, instead. “You are having far too much fun. You know that, right?”
“You can never have too much fun in Safeway.” She tossed the red hat in the cart and plunked a porkpie-style creation on her head. It looked good with her short, reddish wig. “Let’s move on.”
She wore the porkpie hat through the bakery area and on to the wine section and the deli.
By the time they made it to checkout, the cart was full to overflowing. She had to take off her hat for the checker, a twentysomething with word tattoos scrolling up and down her arms andFearless Dreamerwritten in Gothic script on the side of her neck.
“Thanks.” Madison took the hat back once the checker had scanned it and plopped it on top of her wig again.
“You know,” said the checker, frowning thoughtfully, “you look a lot like Madison Delaney, the actress?” She leaned in to get a closer look and then, with a gasp, she covered her mouth with her hand, her dark eyes going wide. The people in line behind them were watching now. “Omigod,” said the checker in sheer wonderment. “Youareher, aren’t you?”
