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“I just need a few groceries, but not much, I promise.”

“I secretly hope you need all the groceries and it takes us all night.”

While we walked to the groceries, Easton once again scooped Max into his arms. By the time we made it to the produce aisle, he had started getting antsy, fighting the urge to close his eyes. Several times I had suggested Easton put Max back in the cart, but he insisted on keeping him wherever he was happiest. His arms may have been as big around as my thigh, but he had to have been getting tired.

“He looks so sleepy.” I ran my hand delicately through Max’s short locks as he laid his head on Easton’s shoulder. Max’s little hand grabbed Easton’s shirt and squeezed it in his fist as his eyes finally closed all the way.

“Take your time, Mama,” Easton whispered. “I’ve got him.”

Despite his words, I started grabbing as many fruits and veggies as I could. I must have looked manic because Easton grabbed my hand as I reached for an orange and pulled it to his mouth.

“Slow down, Baby, everything’s okay.”

Baby.

One word that, by definition, suited Max more than it did me, yet it made me weak in the knees. Easton’s lips slightly grazed my knuckles before he released my hand and let me shop again.

It was useless, though. I was standing directly in front of a mound of oranges and I couldn’t even remember what I had been doing before he spoke to me. Standing there with the bag open, I watched as Easton took his free hand, the one that he had just used to hold mine, and grabbed an orange.

“These look good.”

He dropped a few in my bag, and I tied them up, moving on to the next items. I stayed quiet but was able to focus, and I moved at a pace that didn’t make Easton feel the need to slow me down.

Another thirty minutes had passed and I was finally ready to head home. Thankfully, it was late and checking out was quick. Easton helped as much as he could with his free hand, keeping Max securely on his shoulder. Holding him and letting him sleep was more help than he could imagine.

“I’m all the way in the back,” I pointed as we left the sliding doors, hoping he didn’t mind taking Max to his car seat.

“Me too,” he pointed a few cars down from mine, and I saw his truck parked against the bushes that lined the back of the lot. “I didn’t want to waste time looking for a spot.”

“That would have made you even later,” I laughed, coming close to mentioning him being at Fiddler’s before he joined me. Not that it mattered. He still showed up when I didn’t expect him to, and whatever he did beforehand wasn’t my business.

“Exactly.”

As if the night air and the slight breeze were all I needed, I started to feel like myself again before the slight trance Easton had gotten me into with his sexy words. “Are you always late to dates?”

“Finally admitting it's a date, huh?”

“If this is your idea of a date, that’s incredibly sad.”

“No, this wasyouridea of a date,” he nudged me as I pushed the cart.

“No, this was my answer to your question. I told you that you could join me because I never in a million years thought you’d show up.”

“You underestimate how much I like you, Jesse.”

As we got to my car, I opened the trunk and started loading the bags while Easton placed Max in his car seat. With Easton being a firefighter, I was confident he knew how to strap Max in safely, but I snuck in next to him to watch, just in case. Then we both moved back to the trunk and loaded the rest of the bags while Max slept soundly in his chair.

After securing everything, Easton pushed the cart into a return, and I started my car. I wasn’t going to leave without saying goodbye, so I leaned on my door until Easton got back.

“So,” he smiled, “Whatisyour idea of a date? I mean, if this isn’t it, what is?”

Twisting my lips and scrunching my nose, I thought about it for a bit and then shrugged, “Drinks and dancing. I love to dance.”

“Hmmm, okay,” he said, lifting one finger to get me to hold still. Then he reached into his back pocket. He pulled his phone out, thumbed through it for a second, and pointed toward my trunk.

“Pop that up for a minute.”

Using my key fob, I did as he asked and watched as he returned to me holding two apple juices.

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