Page 74 of Knot Now Knot Ever

The clerk took out a handheld device and scanned the barcode. “What name should I put the hold under?”

“Zachary Evans.”

The man paused upon hearing the name and glanced at me, then at Fawn, holding Zachary’s hand. “Thank you, sir. Just give the person checking you out this barcode, and they’ll bring it out.”

Finished with us, the man headed off down the aisle in the opposite direction at a rather quick pace.

“Did he seem a little odd to you?” Fawn asked.

“Yeah, once Zachary gave his name,” I agreed.

Zachary caught me, tugged me close in a half hug, and kissed my temple. “Please don’t think I’m at all arrogant when I say this, but on occasion, people know who I am if they follow my company’s social media. They like to film us working to promote new products and things like that. Sometimes people notice I’ve been in a bunch of them and get awkward.”

“He keeps life interesting,” Fawn teased. “Come on, our paint should be ready to pick up.”

In fact, it was ready and the last thing we needed before checking out. The cart Tanner was pushing had been filled to the brim with things I don’t remember picking out. Then I spotted a set of pillows I’d been admiring but knew I had more than enough, so I didn’t grab them.

“Have you all been picking up anything I stopped to look at behind my back?” I accused, looking at the five men, hands on my hips.

Four of them had the decency to look guilty, but Eli simply raised a brow as if daring me to challenge him. I wasn’t stupid enough to fall for the bait, but I did narrow my eyes in a subtle warning. From now on, if I’m out shopping with the guys, I’ll be more careful as to what I pay attention to.

“What if I looked at it and decided I hated it?” I challenged.

Eli shrugged. “That’s why you keep receipts. Pretty much anything can be returned.”

I blew a strand of hair out of my face and gave up. There was no way I’d win this battle. “You win, Eli, but promise me you’ll take Fawn shopping.”

“Yeah, about that, angel,” Fawn cut in, rubbing the back of his neck. “Remember last night when he handed me a tablet and said there’s no limit? Well, it was my favorite clothing store, and I took the man at his word. Good thing I have a spare room to turn into a secondary closet.”

“I would have done the same thing for you if I thought you’d see it as a gift,” Eli added, a glint of humor in his eyes. “With you, I have to be a little more… creative.”

Unsure what to do with that information, I gaped like a fish out of water, turned on my heel, and headed for the checkout. Quick footsteps followed behind me, and Fawn appeared at my side, looping his arm through mine, grinning.

“Angel, you should have seen your face when you figured it out. I was the first to do it to see if you’d notice, and then the others played along. How could you not guess what was going on when Zac made his big move with the chandelier?” Fawn inquired, bumping me with his hip.

He made a good point. They weren’t trying to be sneaky. I was so distracted with how much fun I was having that I didn’t notice. “Let’s chalk it up to hyper-independence. I’m used to having to do it all on my own and don’t expect others to bother paying attention to things like that.”

“Look, I never want to upset or make you feel bad, but the more you tell me about this old pack of yours, I’m relieved they found their Omega when they did,” Fawn admitted. “I’m afraid if you’d been with them much longer, they would have whittled you down to the point you’d appreciate a sliver of attention.”

“You might be right, but without knowing anything different, I’m not sure I’d have left if they didn’t make me,” I shared honestly as we watched the cashier emptying our cart. “Better to trust the devil you know than the devil you don’t.”

“A true angel,” Fawn said with a sigh. “Seriously, after everything, I’m not sure I’d have a kind word to say. I might look all cute and innocent, but you cross me, and I’ll cut a bitch.”

I chuckled and squeezed his arm. “Careful, your claws are showing, my sweet strawberry prince.”

Fawn smirked and cupped my face with a hand. “Strawberry prince… I like it.”

“Come on, love birds, let’s head home,” Tanner called as a man rolled a cart with a large cardboard box with the picture of my new chandelier on it.

“Whoa, not so fast, angel. Your prince demands a kiss first,” Fawn said as he stopped me from heading after Tanner.

Rolling my eyes, I gave him a quick peck, which only caused him to pout and give me the biggest puppy dog eyes. Leaning in, I kissed him for real, tongue and everything, knowing he wouldn’t let it go until I played along. Then the flash of a camera broke us apart.

“Lyra, how do you feel about Fawn being a stripper?” a woman asked, shoving a recorder in my face.

More flashes went off as three more photographers appeared.

“Fawn, do you plan to give up selling your body now that you found Lyra?” a man demanded.