Page 56 of Seduction Under the Southern Stars

“Done what?”

“Shopped with a man. Apart from my brothers, I mean.”

“Yeah, there’s something very comforting, I think, about food shopping.” He gestures at the packets of pasta. “Spirals, shells, or penne?”

“Um… shells.”

“Cool.” He puts a pack in our basket.

I watch him study the tins of tomatoes, thinking how handsome he is. Other women in the supermarket glance at him as they pass by, and I can see why. He’s tall and broad shouldered, and even though his tattoos aren’t visible when he’s wearing his jacket, there’s still something a little naughty about him.

What a shame he thinks of me as a sister.

I’d hoped that now we’re both older, the attraction he must have felt toward me to make him kiss me might have still been there, encouraging him to forget that I’m Fraser and Joel’s kid sister, the young girl who offered him her Twix. But he’s made it very clear that his feelings toward me are platonic. That’s probably not helped by my brothers hovering around us beating their chests like a couple of prehistoric apes. The altercation between Linc and Fraser in the conservation room was just masculine bravado, Linc’s way of teasing the sometimes officious Fraser. There was nothing territorial about it.

I know Linc cared for me back in the day, and he obviously still feels some of that sentiment, because he doesn’t have to spend time with me. I fully expected him to declare he was going off traveling or seeing other friends. But I think he’s doing so because Fraser told him about the assault, and he feels sorry for me. That rankles, but there’s nothing I can do about it except enjoy his company while he’s here, and mope privately as I wish for something much more physical between us.

It’s just a childish crush, because I haven’t dated properly, and because I yearn to experience the kind of passion I hear about and see in the movies. Well, I’ll have to grow up and just enjoy his company as a friend while he’s here. And then maybe when he’s gone, I need to think about what I’m going to do about dating going forward. Ultimately, I’d like marriage and children, but unfortunately you have to go through the awkward process of trying to find Mr. Right first. The thought fills me with dread rather than joy, but it’s a necessary evil I’m going to have to endure if I want the ultimate goal of a family and security.

I don’t have to worry about it yet, though. For now, I can enjoy being with Linc, as long as I keep my raging hormones and torrents of lust under control.

Our shopping complete, we go through the self-service checkouts, Linc scanning the items and me putting them into the bags. There’s something sweetly enjoyable about the process, about the mundane nature of it, the everyday, earthly task of discussing, buying, and preparing food. It’s almost… religious, like the act of breaking bread together, sharing a meaningful connection during one of our most basic human needs—food, the others being drink, air, shelter, clothing, warmth, sleep, and… sex.

And now I’m back to the raging hormones and torrents of lust.

I get out my credit card to pay, but Linc pushes it away, takes out his wallet, and opens it up to take out his card. I glance at it and see tucked in the front a small foil wrapper. Holy shit, is that a condom?

My face burns with the heat of a thousand suns.

Linc pays, picks up both the bags, and glances at me. “Are you ready to…” His eyebrows rise. “Are you okay?”

“Fine.” I turn and march out of the store. God, Elora! It was just a condom. Most men carry a couple in their wallet—it’s sensible and responsible and shows he has good manners.

It also shows that he thinks he might have sex at the drop of a hat.

Why am I not wearing a hat? I totally need to get into hat wearing, so I can drop it when I need to.

“Hold it,” he says as he catches up to me. “What’s going on?”

“Nothing.” I start heading off toward my apartment.

“Don’t tell me nothing. You look as if you’ve eaten a huge bowl of your chili in thirty seconds.”

“I saw…” I can’t say it.

He keeps pace with me. “What did you see?”

“It doesn’t matter.”

“Lora… come on. You can tell me anything.”

“I saw the condom in your wallet.”

His lips curve up. “Oh. I forgot it was in there.” He grins at me. “Why are you blushing?”

“I don’t know. It made me think of sex, and that made me flustered.”

He laughs. “I’m not planning to use it while I’m here. It’s been there for months. A guy doesn’t want to be caught short if the need arises, you know?”

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