Page 190 of Secret Shifters Next Door

I’d only gotten back from the store an hour ago, but I needed a pork butt and black beans. I grabbed my purse and headed for the store, making sure to take my car. I didn’t want yet another shopping bag scenario to deal with.

The store was busier than it had been when I’d come in earlier, so my already escalated anxiety shot up another couple of degrees. Resolved to zip in and out as fast as I could, I grabbed a bag of dried black beans and some ripe plantains to caramelize for dessert, then I headed to the meat section.

The pickings were a little slim. They had plenty of pork tenderloin, but it wasn’t fatty enough. Maybe I could make it with chicken thighs? Miles had probably never had the dish. Would he really know the difference? Everyone liked chicken, right? My brain went ahead and formed a horrifying scenario.

“Thanks for coming over,Miles. I made feijoada. It’s a Brazilian dish.”

“Uh, I know. I’m a professor of Brazilian studies at the university. This isn’t traditional feijoada. Where’s the pork?”

“Oh…um…well?—”

“Okay, I’m leaving. This is so disappointing. Please don’t talk to me again. Or look at me. Also, you’re an idiot. Thanks. Bye.”

I groanedand rubbed my temple, trying to hold off the headache that was trying to form.

“Are you okay?”

The voice caused me to jump. The bag of beans flew from my hand and landed on a pile of packaged bacon. “Oh,” I yelped.

A lovely young woman held her hands up and smiled. “Sorry to scare you. Looked like you were on the verge of a meltdown there. Thought I could help.”

Crap, had I been that obvious? How many other people had seen me losing my shit while staring at the dead animal parts? “Thanks. I was trying to figure out how to make feijoada with chicken instead of pork. Not that any of that would make sense to you. Sorry, I’m rambling.”

A surprised grin bloomed on her face. Her smile was gorgeous. “Feijoada? Are…are you Brazilian?”

I frowned. “Actually, yes. Well, fifty percent anyway. My name is Celina Santos.”

“Oh my gosh! I’m Brazilian, too.” She extended a hand. “Felicity Cruz.”

I shook her hand and wondered what the odds were of two Brazilians meeting up in a boutique grocery store in the middle-of-nowhere Colorado.

Felicity leaned down and grabbed a pork loin and a pack of the bacon my beans had fallen on. “If that’s what you’re making, pork is the only way to go. Use the bacon to make it tastier. Everything is better with bacon, right?”

Bacon would get the fatty deliciousness into the dish. I wished I’d thought of it. I took both packs and smiled at her.“Thanks. I think all I needed was someone to go ahead and make the decision for me.”

“I miss the traditional foods. I haven’t had any since I got to town,” Felicity said.

“It’s not a big cultural hub, is it? Lilly Valley is pretty small.”

“Right?” She nodded. “Come on, let’s finish shopping.”

She hooked her arm over my elbow and started walking through the store. The physical contact startled me. I had a sudden fear that she might be a lesbian and was hitting on me. I didn’t lean that way, but there was no way I’d have the guts to say anything. Thankfully, as we went down the bread aisle, she started talking about dumping her last boyfriend. I relaxed, relieved to not have to live through the awkwardness of turning down a date. Christ, knowing myself, I probably would have agreed and gone on the date to avoid having an uncomfortable moment.

We spent almost a half hour strolling through the store. Felicity was a chatterbox, which was nice. I wasn’t a talker, but she carried the conversation almost singlehandedly. She made it relaxing and organic. I couldn’t remember the last time I’d had such a long exchange. It had probably been with Tiffany a few months ago when I submitted my outline for the new book.

By the time we got to the checkout line, I was actually enjoying myself. Felicity was funny, smart, and intriguing. She had a magnetism that appealed to me.

“Do you want to give me your number? We can get together sometime?” Felicity said.

A flush of heat shot from my chest to my cheeks. “Um, yeah. Sure.”

As we exchanged numbers, I wondered what it was about this little town. I’d met more people in the last week than I’d met in the last year in the city. Perhaps the fresh air made everyone more willing to start up conversations.

“We need to hang out soon,” Felicity said. “I’ll text you? Cool?”

I grabbed my groceries and nodded. A real nod, one that I actually meant, a nod that told her I did want to hang out. “Of course, yeah. I can’t wait.”

She headed for her car, waving and smiling at me as she went. I simply stood in the parking lot for a minute. What a strange little town this was. After I watched Felicity pull away, I went to my car and went back home.

---