Page 31 of Stella

He picked up the quilt and put it in my arms. It was heavy, comfortingly heavy. It was obvious that someone had stitched it with love, and it made me sad to think a family heirloom had ended up in a thrift store.

“I’m not in a rush. The point of a thrift store is to wander around and look at stuff.”

I looked carefully at his face for any signs of annoyance, to see whether I could work out if he was only trying to keep me happy.

He seemed happy. Grinning, his brown eyes warm with mirth. He tugged me over to the curtains and pointed out a jade elephant. “That would look really nice on that three-legged table you have right before the kitchen.”

He was right. I picked it up, the satisfaction of finding pretty things thrumming through me.

Finding cool stuff to take back to my house was almost as good as having an orgasm.

We pored through the rest of the store. I kept waiting, still slightly on edge, for him to get annoyed but, if anything, he was more enthusiastic than me. He found some records for Simon, and some old mystery novels for Jerrick.

When I tried to pay again, he wouldn’t let me. I glared at him on the way out of the store. “I have money.”

“I’m aware.” He didn’t sound sorry in the least.

I loved his desire to take care of me, more than I should. It would end at some point, and he would get annoyed at me being needy.

Tyler had always offered to take me shopping, but halfway through it became a negotiation whether I needed yet another blanket.

“Let’s check out the department store.”

I stopped in the middle of the sidewalk, some of the people in the parking lot giving us a glance. “You don’t have to pretend to like shopping for my benefit.”

Evan paused. “What’s up?”

I shook my head. “Nothing. Let’s go look at furniture.”

We went inside the department store. It was one of the few that did a great job of not making things feel sterile. Furniture and décor were organized by color and style, creating little nooks and areas.

Evan wandered into the safari area and gestured at a giant wooden giraffe. “I should bring this home, let Simon lose his mind.”

“Doesn’t match?”

“No, our style is a hodge-podge. But I love bringing weird stuff home to get a reaction.”

I grinned. Their house must have been interesting then, between their three styles.

Evan put his hand in mine and squeezed. “What about that hanging toucan?”

I pretended to think about it. “You could put it in the bedroom.”

Evan burst into laughter. “That’s perfect. I won’t tell him. Next time we’re having sex he’ll look up and see the toucan.”

I snorted. “It’s part of your new décor.”

We wandered around the store, commenting on this and that. Inevitably I was drawn to the celestial area. The New Age look was becoming more mainstream, and the latest shipment of goods in the store had blessed me with all sorts of things I suddenly couldn’t live without.

There was a side table that was beautiful: blue and gold lacquer with the Zodiac on top. A set of sculptures of the sun, moon, and stars, made from distressed metal and painted with foil. A huge chaise lounge, deep blue velvet with gold tassels.

Evan sat down on the lounge and tugged me to sit next to him. Most lounges were firm, but this felt like sitting on a cloud. I sighed and leaned into Evan’s side.

“That’s a yes, then.” He kissed the top of my head.

Apprehension, like cold prickles, killed some of my joy. “I can pay for it,” I said quickly. The chaise lounge was expensive. The last thing I needed was him feeling resentful so soon.

He tilted my chin up so he could look me in the eye. “You should be on cloud nine by now, not stressing out over who is paying for what. What’s wrong?”

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