Page 49 of All Along

Chapter 18

“I’m going to stop going to the grocery store. Maybe I’ll start Smuggler’s Hideaway’s first grocery delivery service.” ~ Maya

Maya

Imessage Caleb as I hurry into the grocery store.

Do you need anything from the store?

I can do my own groceries.

I roll my eyes. I know he can do his own groceries. I’m trying to be helpful here. But sometimes Mr. Protector takes his role a little too seriously.

I’m at the store now.

Three dots appear and disappear several times. I grab a cart in the meantime.

Oh okay. Can you grab some bread and milk? Please.

On it. Be there in thirty minutes.

I typeLove Youbut stop myself before I hit send. Phew. Caleb and I haven’t been a couple very long. I don’t plan on throwing out ‘love yous’ until we’re more secure in ourrelationship. In other words, I’m not going to be the first to drop the three-word bomb.

It almost never ends well in a romance novel when the woman confesses her love first. It’s better if the man bares his heart before she does. And since I’m not planning to get my heart broken by Caleb, I’ll keep my love bombs to myself.

“Hey, Maya,” Hazel greets from the other side of the produce department.

I wave at her.

“How’s Caleb?” She waggles her eyebrows.

I glance around to ensure no one else is listening to us. There are a few customers who appear a bit too interested in their oranges so I steer my cart closer to Hazel.

“Keep your voice down,” I hiss at her.

“Your relationship with Caleb isn’t a secret. You came to the restaurant together.”

I feel my cheeks heat at her challenging tone, but I force my legs to stay planted and not run away.

“Caleb is a very private person. I don’t need to remind you of how private he is, do I?”

“Fine,” she gives in. “I won’t pester you with questions about how good Caleb is in bed. Considering you spent most of high school in detention, I thought you were more fun.”

She marches off and the tension in my shoulders relaxes. Crisis averted.

I hurry through the store while filling my cart with everything on my list. I’m anxious to see Caleb again. I was busyworking on the quarterly accounts yesterday and didn’t make it out to the cabin last night.

It’s only been four days since we removed the ‘fake’ from our relationship but I want to spend all my time with Caleb. I want to make up for all the years we missed.

I round the corner into the final aisle to get some bread for Caleb and I nearly crash into a woman. Not just any woman. My mother.

I can’t believe this. I haven’t had contact with my family – except to send Christmas and birthday cards – for years. But this is the second time I’ve had contact with Mom this month. Is there a blue moon or something?

I decide to ignore her. She’s done it to me for years. How hard can it be?

I steer my cart around her but she latches onto it and uses it to block me from leaving.

“Trying to avoid your mother?” Mom sneers.

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