Page 56 of Hard Hat Hottie

“Do you guys mind hanging out here while we hit the market?” I ask. Both Jimmy and Rob’s gazes are glued to the large flat screen in the den where the baseball game is in full swing. They move into the den without a word, a silent confirmation. “Justin, your mom and I are going to the store to grab things for dinner. No going in the pool while we’re gone, okay?” I’m not sure I trust these two to keep a close eye on theboys if this game has them this hypnotized. I think I get what Harlow meant about these two.

“Yes, sir.”

“We need more ice cream sandwiches,” Alec yells. “And popcorn.”

I shake my head as I grab the keys to the truck. In the distance, I overhear Rob ask, “You guys live here now?”

Harlow

Walking into the grocery store hand in hand with a man is completely surreal. Even when my boys were infants, neither Jimmy nor Rob ever came along. But if this weekend has shown me anything, it’s that Harrison is a man above men.

Reaching for a shopping cart, he starts to push with one hand when I swat him away. It’s enough he’s here, forget that we’re cooking dinner for my kids and ex-husbands. I nearly laugh out loud at the mind-bending thought. “I can push the cart. We didn’t make a list. What do we need?”

“Well, I think Rob would be fine with a liquid diet.” He winks. “Does he have issues with alcohol?”

“No. Not that I’ve seen, anyway. I think he has too much time on his hands.”

“What do you mean?”

“He’s allergic to work,” I say, grabbing a small, round watermelon from the large bin. “He hasn’t kept a job for more than a few months since I’ve known him. Hard to afford beer if you don’t have a job.”

“What about Jimmy? Does he have the same affliction?” he asks, looking over the produce.

“No. He’s always worked hard. Not like you. More nine to five. He’s a plumber. I think he does well for himself, but most of it goes to his bookie.”

Harrison scrunches his face. “Damn. That’s too bad. Good plumbers are hard to come by. If he managed his money the right way, he could be rollin’ in it.” All of a sudden, he stands up tall and reaches up with his good arm to scratch the back of his head. His gorgeous dark blond hair has a bit of a curl at the end.

Unable to stop myself, I wrap my arms around him and stand on my tiptoes to kiss him on the cheek. “Is the non-date part of our weekend over?”

He nuzzles my neck. “Not as long as your exes are at my house.”

I giggle. “Touché.”

“We need to grab what we need and go, or dinner will be really late. What do you want with the steaks and burgers?”

This is still so new to me. Having a man want to cook for me. Gah. It’s sexy as hell. “I don’t know.” It’s moments like this that I realize how little we still know about the other. We’re definitely doing this relationship thing backward. “What do you like to eat?”

As if a twister has hit the store, I spin through the air as Harrison lifts me up in one strong arm, spins, and deposits me into the shopping cart. “You.”

“Get me out of here before they throw us out of the Piggly Wiggly.”

“This is the Jingle Mart, missy. We ain’t got no highfaluting Piggly Wigglies around here. You must be doing your shopping in Miami.”

I’m laughing so hard, I barely make out the strange looks of the older women walking by, staring at us as we clown around. “Harrison, please pull me out of here. If I try and climb out, my head will probably match poor Alec’s.”

A flash of guilt tinges Harrison’s once jovial expression as he swiftly pulls me to standing, placing a kiss on my nose.

“I was there. It was an accident. And he’s had so much fun with you this weekend, he’d gladly risk another head injury to do it all over again.”

“I know. I still feel bad.”

“Well, don’t. But I bet if you throw some ice cream in this buggy before we checkout, he’ll be your shadow from here on out.”

“Done.”

The rest of the evening goes off without a hitch. Dinner was incredible, everyone got along like old friends, and Jimmy and Rob even put their phones down for a while.

After dinner, we went back out onto the beach to play a makeshift game of baseball with the boys. I could tell Harrison was holding back a little, for fear of another injury. But as the game unfolded, so did the frolics.

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