Page 42 of My Greatest Joy

“I’ll be there,” I tell her. The whole damn town will be.

When I finally meet up with Fallon, she’s comparing two zucchinis.

“The left one has more length if you’re into that. But the right one has more girth. Tough decision,” I taunt, standing behind her.

“Too bad a girl can never find the right size…”

I meet her eyes and she smirks.

“You know, one with lengthandgirth. It’s a rare find,” she continues.

Now I know she’s messing with me because she’s seen and felt my dick on more than one occasion.

“Anytime I’ve found one that’s long and thick, it always turns out terrible.” She lifts a brow. “No flavor.”

“That’s an odd observation.”

She tosses both in the cart. Then she gives me her signature death glare. “What took you so long? Get stopped by another fan club member?”

Her jealous tone makes the corner of my lips curl up. “It’s a small town. I told you, everyone knows everyone.”

“I guess I hadn’t realized you meant itliterally.”

“Why don’t you just ask me what you want to know? Stop beating around the bush and say it.”

“Nah, I’m good.” She moves over to the fruit.

I wait in silence as she picks out apples and oranges, then I follow her to the yogurt section. Once she’s finished, we make our way to the cashier.

“Hi, Levi,” Sierra greets sweetly as I put things on the belt. I glance over at Fallon, who’s rolling her eyes.

Great. I’m sure she thinks I’ve hooked up with Sierra too, and that has never happened.

“Hey. How’s your fiancé?” I ask. The douchebag got out of jail last month for assault.

“He’s fine, thanks for asking. How’s your mom?”

We go back and forth until the cart is empty, and I introduce her to Fallon. Once I’ve paid and our groceries are bagged, we leave.

“You can sit in the truck and get warm while I load these,” I tell her, cranking the heat.

She nods. I don’t push her to talk, though, because she told me she was exhausted, and I want to respect her boundaries. I’ve always been a chatty guy—kinda comes with the territory—but I understand wanting peace and quiet.

We listen to soft non-holiday music as I drive home. She stares out the window, and I’m sure she fell asleep by how her head bobs.

“Fallon.” I pat her thigh when I’ve parked in front of the cabin. “We’re home.”

She blinks over at me and rubs her eyes.

“Go ahead, and I’ll bring in the bags.”

Fallon jumps out and pulls up her hood as she walks across the snow. I follow her so I can unlock the door and take out Dasher. She slips on her first step, but I catch her before she busts her ass on the ice.

“Jesus. You okay?” I hold her tight as she finds her footing.

“Yeah, I think so.”

“Sorry, I need to salt again.”

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