“My car?” She leaned out the front door to take a look at the convertible. It cost her every day she had it, not as much as you would think, but she didn’t have time to buy a car right now.
“Yeah, if you want to turn it in, I can loan you a truck.”
“You just have a spare truck hanging around?”
“I have two.”
She scowled, which made him laugh.
“Technically, they belong to the company, but you’re welcome to take my personal truck and I’ll drive one of those.”
She thought about the money she’d save. Though driving his truck felt even more wife-y than running errands, it would be nice not to have the constant drain on her credit card. “Yeah. Sure. I mean, that sounds like it would work out fine.”
He grinned. “I’ll grab my keys and follow you into town.”
“Are you sure? I have a lot of shopping to do.”
He winked. “I don’t mind.”
She waited until he was around the corner before falling against the wall for support. Her resolve to be strong—to keep this marriage at a friendly but not too friendly level—was growing weaker by the day, and they’d been married less than three weeks. At this rate, she’d be having his child in a month.
Kidding! She wouldn’t jump into anything like that—no matter how many times she melted into goo over him.
Just three and a half weeks to go.
* * *
“Ican push it.” Maggie grabbed for the cart handle.
“I got it, really.” Cash moved forward, taking the cart out of her reach.
She gritted her teeth. “Look, I don’t tell you how to run your job site—so don’t tell me how to do my shopping.” She lunged and gripped the handle with white knuckles. “I like to have control over the cart,okay?”
He lifted both hands and backed away. “Wow. I’ve never seen this side of you.” Leaning in so only she could hear and his breath brushed her neck, he said, “I like your feistiness.”
Maggie closed her eyes. There was an image in her head of her grabbing the front of Cash’s shirt, pulling him close, and then kissing him hot enough to melt the freezer section, and it stole her voice. She might be feeling feisty, but she had no comeback. No witty response to maintain the appearance of sanity in his presence.
When she opened her eyes, Cash was already in the produce section, thumping a watermelon. Why did he have an effect on her when he could walk away without so much as a thumping heart?
This was why he scared her. Flirting was easy; it didn’t mean anything to him. For her, it meant interest and a desire to spend more time together. It wasn’t a game that could be dropped or put on pause while they took a break. If she flirted with her husband, she wanted it to mean something, darn it all!
Feeling out of sorts and stirred up, she headed to the fresh greens. Making dinners every night meant that she had to have a variety of produce on hand.
Cash came over, a large melon in the crook of his arm. “Can I put this in here? I don’t want to step on your cartwheels.”
“Ha ha.” She motioned for him to go ahead and add the melon to the cart.
“Maggie?” called a friendly voice.
Maggie turned to see Jennifer Buckner barreling down on her with a cart full of frozen dinners and packaged cookies. Her stomach dropped. Jennifer had a nose for news. Last time they’d talked, she’d been after the mystery man with the ad for a wife. Suddenly feeling protective of Cash, Maggie stepped in front of him.
Jennifer swept her into a hug. “It’s so good to see you again. What brings you to town?” Her eyes darted to Cash and back, asking for an explanation and possible introduction.
Maggie grinned. What else could she do? Jennifer’s general enthusiasm was contagious, and their hurried wedding was a story that she could share—at least part of it. “Actually, I didn’t leave town.” She left the implication that there was more hanging out there.
Jennifer took the bait. “What happened?”
Blushing horribly—because saying all this out loud was like admitting she’d fallen in love and been impulsive, which wasn’t the case at all—Maggie sweated in places better left unmentioned. She stepped aside and motioned to Cash. “I ran into my high school sweetheart and … well …” She lifted her left hand to show offtherockCash had placed on her finger when they’d said “I do.”
