Wes handed it to me and I smiled again. “Thanks. You’re my hero.”
He gave a disbelieving grunt, and the rumble settled low in my belly. Heat danced across my neck.
Wes’s attention drifted over my shopping cart and landed on the bouquet of flowers.
“My parents are having everyone over for dinner tonight. Mom needed a few things, and I thoughtevery woman deserves pretty flowers.” I twirled the bouquet, fully aware that I was having a one-sided conversation and rambling. “Cute, right?”
Wes’s eyes settled back on me, and the intensity of his stare rattled me. “Gorgeous.”
I told myself he meant the bouquet. My stupid, traitorous body decided to believe otherwise. Flustered, I swiped a hair from my face and glanced at his near-empty cart. “Looks like you’ve got more shopping to do. I’ll let you hop to it.”
Wes’s blue eyes bore into me.
“Hop to it. Get it?” I swallowed hard and a nervous giggle bubbled up. “Because of your ...” Panic and embarrassment gripped me. The second the words left my mouth, horror detonated in my chest.
Who makes a hop joke to a man with a prosthetic?
A swift exit was my only option. “Okay, bye.”
Mortified that I’d made a joke about his injury, I quickly wheeled my cart away, banging it into a display and nearly knocking it over. Heat clawed up my neck, and I wanted the earth to open up and swallow me whole.
Just as I was about to die of embarrassment, Wes’s deep chuckle rattled behind me. I slowly turned to find him with a hand pressed to his chest and laughing.
“Hop to it.” He shook his head. “That’s pretty good.”
I offered a sheepish smile as relief washed over me. “Sorry.” I pointed to my mouth. “No filter.”
His smile softened. “That’s the first time anyone’s had the balls to tease me since it happened.”
My shoulders lifted. “That’s me. Big Balls Clara.”What the fuck am I saying right now?“Okay, I’m going to go die now. Goodbye.”
Without a second glance back, I shoved my cart forward. I was too mortified to bother getting the rest of the groceries. Instead, I abandoned my cart and made a beeline for the exit. There was a supermarket in the next town over, and I could get what I needed without shoving my foot in my mouth. I left behind everything—the snacks, the flowers, whatever dignity I had left—parked neatly in the frozen food aisle.
I wasn’t used to being so flustered, but there was something about the intensity in Wes’s stare that knocked me off-kilter. I had no idea what it was, but I also had zero intention of finding out.
My parents’house was a quaint little Cape Cod on the outskirts of Star Harbor. Once all my siblings, plus their partners, showed up, it was downright small. Selene and her daughter, Winnie, were getting settled while Selene’s boyfriend, Austin, shook hands with my dad. The two of them, plus Hayes, started talking about sports. Elodie showed up with Cal and his teenage son, Levi. Kit was solo and sitting on top of the counter—like she always did—as my mom stirred the pot on the stove.
Everyone seemed to slot into place like puzzle pieces—partners, kids, routines. The only piece that didn’t quite fit anywhere was me.
The house was loud and chaotic, but something about seeing everyone together made my chest feel too tight. There was barelyenough room at the table as we all sat elbow to elbow, talking over one another and passing food around.
I loved them. God, I loved them. But squeezed between all that happiness and forward momentum, I felt like I was slowly disappearing.
I mostly stayed quiet, soaking in the chatter and feeling like an outsider. It was so clear that everyone’s lives were moving forward and I was living at home with my parents without a clue as to how I was going to afford to go out on my own.
When a knock sounded at the door, we all quieted and turned. My dad stood, walking toward the entrance and pulling the door open. My mouth popped open when I saw Wes standing outside the door with a bouquet of flowers in his hand.
My bouquet.
The air whooshed out of my lungs. Of all the people to show up holding the evidence of my grocery store meltdown, it had to be him.
“Well,” my dad said. “This is a surprise. Come in.”
Hayes stood, eyeballing his best friend.
Wes took a step inside. “I didn’t mean to interrupt. I happened to see Clara at the store today, and she left these.” His eyes flicked to mine, and I could feel the heat rising on my cheeks. There was something unreadable in his gaze—amusement, maybe, or curiosity. Whatever it was, it saw straight through me.
His attention moved to my mother. “I believe they’re for you, Mrs. Darling.”
