Page 38 of Incurably Cupid

Right?

Stars and hearts I was a nagger.

Someone slap some sense into me.

Mesmer laughed, apparently at whatever expression was on my face.

I scowled. “What?”

“You look mortified and disgusted.”

“I just realized I was nagging you and had a justifiable reaction to the horror of my actions.”

He shook his head at me with amusement before he and Lance rolled off, possibly in search of food or a restroom.

After I freshened up, the doctor cleared both Mesmer and me for release. Since Mordecai had only brought Lance, we needed to grab toiletries and clothes for a few days at the Rose. I figured I might as well help my parents with the four Phoenix strays while I was at it. Maybe Mesmer could tag along since I was supposed to be taking care of him.

As we browsedthe aisles of a local store, I turned to Mesmer. “Will you be okay coming with me to help my mum and dad?”

He looked wary. “You mean to help the four who kidnapped you?”

I waved him off, searching for my brand of toothpaste in an aisle with approximately four billion brands of toothpaste.

“It was just a little bit of kidnapping,” I said dismissively.

Lance, with Mesmer’s direction, found his own brand of toothpaste, and I grabbed that for him as well.

“How does someone kidnap you a little bit?” Mesmer said, clearly still smarting over my being kidnapped.

“They said they were sorry.”

Leo started chortling in my bag, and I glared in the direction of the sound. After the toothpaste, we moved on to shampoo and conditioner because there was no way I was going to use the hotel brand. I didn’t care how fancy the hotel was; their shampoo and conditioner were always awful and made my hair feel like straw. Straw hair was not attractive. I knewwhyI wanted to appear attractive, but I wasn't going to think about it at the moment.

“Excuse me, can you tell me where the nasal spray is?” a blue-haired pixie asked, stopping right in front of me.

Baffled, I looked around, thinking she was talking to someone behind or beside me, but there was only Mesmer and me in this aisle. I pointed to myself. “I don’t work here. You’ll have to ask someone else.”

She frowned at me, as though she thought I was lying to avoid helping her.

I almost laughed at her increasingly skeptical expression.

“Lady, what about me says I work here?”

“You’re wearing a blue shirt.”

“I assure you I’m not. It’s red.”

She shook her head adamantly. “It’s clearly blue. What’s your name? I’m going to talk to your manager!”

A harried boy of eight or nine ran up the aisle. “Nana, she’s wearing red!” he cried, skidding to a stop. “Remember? You’re color blind.”

The woman paused, pondered her grandson’s statement, and then looked sheepishly at me. “I suppose that’s why yours has been the only blue shirt I’ve seen in the store. The rest of them looked red to me. I’m sorry, young lady.”

“No problem,” I said as her grandson guided her carefully away.

Just as they turned the corner into the next aisle, I heard him say, “Nan, I’m good at finding stuff. Don’t ask other people; that lady looked scary.”

“I needed some nasal spray.”

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