Page 134 of The Image of You

And I was a big one.

Ally didn’t speak until I parked the car.

“Do you have any cereal?”

Cereal?

I wasn’t sure I had any sort of edible food left in the cupboards. “Um, if I do, it’s stale.”

She got out of the car and started walking toward the open garage door. I scrambled out of my seat, slamming the door behind me.

“Where are you going?”

She looked at me as if I was crazy.

“I want some cereal,” she stated slowly. “If you don’t have any, I’ll get some at the convenience store.”

Then she kept walking, so I hurried to catch up. She glanced over her shoulder at my approaching footsteps and stopped.

“I’m perfectly capable of going to the store and getting some cereal.” She paused, her voice becoming somewhat sarcastic. “I can remember how to get back now.”

“You might want some milk, too. And besides, I’m rather hungry, except I don’t want cereal. I’ll get some chips or something.”

She rolled her eyes but didn’t order me away—not that I’d go if she did. I let her wander the store, filling her basket with more than highly overpriced cereal and milk. She threw in some chocolate bars and a package of pastries, studying the picture on the box. She paused by the freezer, looking at what I was sure were out-of-date frozen pizzas.

“We can order a pizza if you want,” I offered.

She huffed at me with a glare and moved on, waiting for me by the display of chips. Obviously, I had displeased her with the offer of a fresh pizza instead of a freezer-burned one from the convenience store. Blindly, I grabbed a couple of bags and threw them into the basket.

“Do you have any beer?”

I had to look away so she didn’t see my grin. Ally hated beer and never drank it. I wasn’t sure why she suddenly wanted some. Bradley was right—she was all over the place.

“Yeah. A couple bottles.”

I got another glare when I reached across her at the counter and paid for the items. I handed her one of the bags to carry, and we were silent until we got into the loft.

She went directly to the kitchen and grabbed the only bowl, sitting down at the counter and opening her Alpha-Bits. I sipped a beer and munched some chips while I watched her, fascinated. She ate an entire bowl and poured another one before she slowed down. I had never seen her eat so fast.

She turned to me, her eyes narrowed, her voice challenging. “You and Bradley were all buddy-buddy. Are you best friends now?”

I blinked. Was that what was upsetting her the most?

“No,” I replied. “We’ll never be friends. I thought he’d lost enough tonight,” I explained. “He lost you, after all. That’s one hell of a punishment.”

“Hmph.”

“Did you want me to beat him up, Nightingale? I can go find him and do that if you’d feel better.”

“Don’t be ridiculous.”

“He’s an asshole and took full advantage of the situation to keep you. I agree with that.” I risked touching her shoulder. “I can’t say, if the situations were reversed, I wouldn’t have tried to keep you as well.”

She glared at me. “You’d lie to me for months? Keep me away from the person I loved so you wouldn’t be unhappy?”

I let out a long exhale. “No. I don’t think I could do that to you.” I caressed her arm. “As much as it would kill me, if I knew you loved someone else, I’d let you go. Your happiness is more important.”

She softened a little under my touch. “It always is with you, isn’t it?”