Page 13 of Romancing My Grumpy Goalie

“Can I help you?”

My hand freezes midair. I turn to the sound of Anabelle’s voice like a kid caught by the principal. When she meets my gaze, her pleasant expression dims.

“Oh, hi, Lucas,” she says in a flat voice. “Nolan is in the back. I’ll go get him.” She turns and disappears through a door near the register.

The door to the shop opens, and a plump woman wearing a blue dress and a straw hat with oddly bright orange flowers enters. “Yoo-hoo! My dear? Are you around, Anabelle?” She swivels her head, and her gaze falls on me, rearranging a stand of homemade jams. Caught red-handed. “Oh, hello there!” She heads toward me like a mother hen preparing to gather her chicks. Her eyes are wide as she takes in my little housekeeping project. “I don’t think we’ve met before.” Like it’s unusual to see someone you don’t know in this town. Maple Creek is so weird. “Are you Anabelle’s new employee?”

Anabelle emerges from the back room with Nolan, saving me from having to speak to this woman who acts like she wants to know my deepest secrets.

“Lucas!” Nolan runs to me, eyes bright—a reminder of how much I’ll probably let him down. What have I gotten myself into?

“Nolan, remember to say hi to Mrs. Wheaton,” Anabelle urges.

He turns to her and waves. “Hi.” He immediately turns back to me with that eager look in his eyes. I gulp. Here we go.

“I see you hired some more help,” Mrs. Wheaton says excitedly.

Anabelle’s brow wrinkles in confusion. “Excuse me?”

“Did I get it wrong?” She looks between us, and her brows rise like she’s just figured out where the buried treasure is. “Oh, is this your new man?”

Anabelle’s mouth drops in horror, and her cheeks tinge pink. “Absolutely not!”

I frown. She really loves shoving this in my face, doesn’t she?

“If he’s not in love with you”—Mrs. Wheaton waves her arms as she speaks—"and he’s not your employee, then why is he rearranging your store?”

Someone put me out of my misery. Please.

“Lucas is my big brother,” Nolan explains. “He’s here to teach me about soccer.”

Mrs. Wheaton narrows her eyes, as if she’s just cracked a decade-old Maple Creek scandal. "Oh! Did your father have a little…ahem…adventurouspast?"

“He’s not actually his brother.” Anabelle’s cheeks are bright red by now. “They’re in a big brother/big sister mentorship.”

“Oh, silly me! What a wonderful opportunity for you, Nolan.”

“We should get going,” I say, before this woman adopts me or arranges a wedding. I’m not sure I can handle another moment with this woman.

As I head for the door, I can feel Anabelle’s gaze burning a hole in my back. Her hand reaches out and sears my arm just as I step outside—warm, firm, and impossible to ignore.

“Lucas,” she says, her voice low with suspicion. “Why were you rearranging my store?”

I glance down at her fingers on my skin, then at her flushed face.

Caught red-handed. Again.

FIVE

ANABELLE

Lucas shakesfree of my grasp. “These items seemed out of place. Let’s go, Nolan.”

The man is infuriating. But I paste on a smile for my son. “Have fun, bud.” No need for him to be caught in the middle of my…situation with Lucas. Whatever that situation may be.

The last thing I expected was for Lucas to be playing shopkeeper in my store. But why would he do that? Did he think my store was a mess or something? It was a little disorganized after the weekend rush, and I haven’t had time to straighten the shelves. The truth is, I’m behind on everything. There simply aren’t enough hours in the day. But I don’t let that get me down.

Mrs. Wheaton is browsing the local honey section, and I can only hope she’s here to shop instead of stirring up trouble. Not that she thinks she’s doing that. She probably thinks she’s being helpful. Aubrey’s mom means well. She just says whatever she thinks.

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