Stone heard movement behind him, then grunted when Brady smacked him with the roll of paper towels. He turned to find Brady thrusting them in his direction.
“I don’t work here,” Stone said deadpan.
“You don’t work, period, from what I hear,” he whispered, grinning.
“Touché.” Stone took the roll of paper towels. “Catch,” he told Nico before launching them in his direction.
“I have the cutest little collar for you,” Reilly said, talking in that silly way people do with dogs.
Nico’s gaze slid over Stone once more before he turned and walked out.
“I thought it was coldoutside,” Brady said. “But an arctic wind just blew through here. What’s up with that?”
“What’re you talkin’ about?”
“He still holdin’ a grudge?”
Stone tried not to react to that question. “For what?”
“For you punchin’ him when he dumped Chelsea.”
“You talked to Reilly.”
“She couldn’t get it out fast enough.”
Yeah, his little sister certainly made a vast contribution to the town’s rumor mill.
From the back of the store, Stone heard Reilly giggling.
“Might have to get her one of those,” Stone told Brady.
“I’ll get her a dozen if it’ll make her happy,” he mumbled, staring toward the back as though he could see her.
“You’re whipped.”
“Completely,” Brady agreed.
Stone laughed. “Have y’all picked a date for the weddin’ yet?”
“Sometime in June. That’s all she told me.”
Stone had gotten a call from Reilly on New Year’s Day. She’d apparently been running through her contacts, telling everyone that Brady had asked her to marry him. He’d asked her then if they had a date. She’d said sometime in the summer. Good to know Brady was able to get her to narrow it down a little.
The bells chimed again, and a chilly breeze accompanied Nico into the store.
Stone did his best not to stare, but it wasn’t easy. Seeing the man brought back memories of that night, and while he’d been attracted to Nico then, it was nothing compared to his body’s reaction to him now.
He was still staring when Reilly came racing to the front, chasing the puppy despite him wearing a collar and leash, neither of which he’d had on when he came into the store.
“I found a few things,” Reilly said cheerfully, passing over one of the small baskets that some customers carried through the store. “Collar, leash, some dog food. I don’t have a huge selection.”
“That’s okay,” Nico said, but his words were drowned out when Reilly kept going.
“There’s a toy in there and some bells. I hear if you hang ’em on the back door, you can teach him to alert you when he needs to go out.”
Nico nodded, his gaze sliding to Stone once more.
“You’ll have to get him some bowls. Oh, and the collar and leash won’t last him long,” Reilly continued. “Based on his paws, he’s gonna be big. But it’ll work for now.”
