Page 5 of Bravely Yours

Eyes widening, Sarah pulled the cart back. “What?”

“You’re disturbing the peace.”

She lowered her brows and hit me with a glare. “Excuse me?”

“If she wants to be held, then I’ll hold her while you finish your grocery shopping.” I huffed out a sigh. “Anything to stop the crying.”

As Nora studied my face, then my outstretched arms, like she didn’t mind, I suddenly wondered what I’d volunteered for. When she batted at me with her pudgy hands, I swallowedhard, then scooped her up. Instantly, she stuck her thumb in her mouth and laid her head on my shoulder.

“See? How hard is this?”

Sarah fisted her hands on her hips. “Maybe it wouldn’t be so difficult if I had a second set of hands. But I can only do so much on my own.” She pushed her cart past me. “But since you so kindly offered.” She rolled her eyes. “Feel free to carry her while I finish my shopping.”

Wet, slimy fingers hit my face, and I cringed. What had I gotten myself into?

Chapter Four

SARAH

This guy was kindof a jerk.

Apparently, Nora and I had the same taste in men, because she was eating up his attention. I had to hold back laughter at the way he cringed each time she took her hand out of her mouth and touched his face. On top of the separation anxiety we were battling, my poor girl was teething. Going back to work full time in August after a summer off had been an adjustment for both of us.

“Um,” Jay said from behind me.

Ispun and chuckled at his grimace. The expression screamedWhat is going on?As Nora continued to gum on his shoulder, I fought back laughter.

“She’s teething.” I shrugged. “It’s either your shoulder or your finger. You decide.” Spinning back around, I continued forward, hiding the smirk on my face.

The young guy probably had zero experience with babies. In fairness, when I was in my midtwenties, I didn’t either. But now, as I was approaching thirty-two, my life had changed in monumental ways. I had a baby of my own and spent my days with a bunch of five-year-olds.

With an exhale, I turned off my thoughts about the man behind me and focused on the task at hand. What else did I need? Other than my normal groceries, I planned to grab a few things for tonight. My friend Tina was coming over for a girls’ night, and I wanted to have all of our favorite snacks. Chips and salsa, cheese and crackers… Oh. Ice cream!

I snagged a jar of the salsa I liked off the shelf and scanned the chips, searching for my favorite. When I found a row of them on the top shelf, I stepped forward and popped up on my tiptoes. At almost five-seven, I could reach most things, but sometimes I still needed to stretch.

“Jesus,” Jay grumbled, suddenly at my back and reaching over my head to grab the bag of tortilla chips.

I bit back a frustrated sigh. What was his issue now?

The heat from his body radiated against mine as I tilted my head back to look up at him. He froze, standing far too close, and stared down at me, his dark brown eyes burning into me. I ran my tongue along my bottom lip, suddenly parched. The way he zeroed in on my mouth made my breath hitch.

“Here.” He slowly lowered his arm, tortilla chips in hand and his gaze still locked on me.

I looked away. He didn’t need a thirtysomething single mom drooling over him. Images of his bare chest and thebasketball shorts hanging low on his hips from the other night flashed through my mind for what had to be the hundredth time.

“Thanks.”

As I took the bag from him, Nora grabbed a handful of my hair and yanked, making me flinch.

“Gentle,” he coaxed, slowly prying her hand from my hair. His fingers lingered for a moment before he combed through my long locks.

At the sensation, and as his masculine scent enveloped me, heat pooled low in my belly. Being near this man was doing stupid things to my body. I needed to get a grip.

Finally, he blinked several times and stepped back.

Once the heat of him was no longer palpable, I let out a long breath.

The next fifteen minutes moved in slow-motion as I worked to keep my mind focused on my list. It was a challenge, because now I was acutely aware of his presence. I could feel his eyes on me. And the way he fussed over my daughter when she whined or pointed to an object that caught her eye and babbled was so damn distracting.

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