Page 5 of Sofa King Safe

“Are you saying you didn’t get enoughMarried Multiple Momstalk?”He’ll never get me to shut up if he brings up Karen Read.

“I could always use more.”He opens up the bag and pulls out one of the containers for me.

“How much?I’ll pay you back.”When I open the container, I see it’s a bacon grilled cheese with a side of sweet potato fries.

“You can pay me by having lunch with me.”He pulls out a chair for me, and I take a seat.

“How’d you know this is my favorite?”

Rhodes gives me another one of his easy shrugs that implies it was no big deal.“I’ve seen you order it at the diner.”

He pays way more attention to things than I realized.I didn't know he even noticed me before now, let alone the things I liked.He’s a good man.Safe.

“I’ll stay at your place,” I tell him, and that earns me a giant smile.He makes it seem like I’m doing him the favor when it’s really the other way around.

“Good.”Rhodes takes a giant bite of his cheeseburger, and after that, we seem to fall into easy conversation about another podcast.

The more he talks, the more I find myself relaxing.He’s so comfortable that it puts me at ease, and our talks flow from one subject to another.Before I realize it, we’ve eaten our lunch, and I stand to throw away the empty containers.

“Thanks again for lunch,” I say while wiping down the table.

“These locks aren’t great.”Rhodes is at the rear exit of my shop, and he’s opening and closing the door.

“They aren’t?”I don’t know shit about those kinds of things, and the landlord didn’t say anything.

“Yeah, I’ll replace them.”

“You don’t have to do that.I mean, I’m a renter.I’m not sure if it's allowed.I’ll have to ask my landlord.”

“You let me worry about that,” Rhodes says, and it sounds like he means it.

My heart gives a small flutter.Letting someone else worry about something for me is a foreign concept, but dang, does it sound nice.

“You’ve done too much already, Rhodes.”I don’t want him to think I’m using him or taking advantage of the situation.

“I’m only getting started, sweetness.”He winks at me before strolling out the front door.

For once, I’m excited for my day to end.Tonight I won’t have to drive around in my van searching for a place to sleep.I’ll get to go home with Rhodes, and I really love the sound of that.Probably a bit too much.

ChapterFour

RHODES

My day is busy as people come in and out of the hardware store needing my help.Sure, I’m the owner, but I’ve got other people that can answer questions.In a small town, people can get stuck in their ways, so when they come in they want to talk to me.I’m glad I’ve got a lot to do, but no matter how much I run around, time still seems to drag.

I’m waiting to see the light on Clean Kitty go off so I can run over and get Quinn.The anticipation of being in the truck with her again and getting to ask her questions makes me both excited and nervous.

“You okay, Rhodes?”Macy, one of my employees, asks while she takes apart a broken drill.“You look like you can’t stand still.”

“I’m good.”I force myself to stop tapping the pen I’m holding and take a breath.Then I go to the end of the counter and key in new orders.It's boring data entry, but it will keep my fingers occupied.

“You sure?”She looks across the street and then back at me.“Because you seemed awfully chipper when you came back from Clean Kitty this afternoon.”

“Lunch was good,” I say, not looking up from the screen.

“And was that you and the owner of Clean Kitty I saw getting out of your truck this morning?”Macy takes a screwdriver out of her tool belt and points it at me.“Don’t try and deny it.Hannah saw it too.”

“Maybe you should pay more attention to your wife than what I’m doing.”I try to focus on the invoice I’m holding, but Macy isn’t letting this go.

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