Page 49 of Wanting More
She kept her voice low and gave him a desperate look. "Joel, don't."
Never taking his eyes off hers, Joel took a step forward, forcing her to step back as he reached suddenly past her for the mini-fridge next to her. The squeezing tension in her heart released at once as she watched him grab a bottle of water. Her tension was immediately replaced by a simmering anger. She was going to kill him.
"Hey there, Joel," the woman at the cash register called out as they moved forward. "Long time no see."
Joel gave the woman a considering look as he cracked the bottle's cap and took a deep pull of the drink. "What are you talking about? I saw you the other night down at the bar."
With her extremely bright red hair teased until it sat like a halo of fluff around her head, the woman waved off Joel's words with a flirty laugh. "You know what I mean, sugar."
Sapphire willed the muscles in her eyebrows, not to react in surprise at the wordsugar. There was something sharp and astute about the cashier's ever-watchful gaze behind her bright purple leopard print glasses. Sapphire would bet her bottom dollar that this woman was one of the key players in the gossip trade in this town. For starters, Sapphire had never come into this store and not seen the woman working. A prime hub of comings and goings, the ability to scan all purchases and speak to nearly everyone. Yeah, this woman was a mover and shaker of the rumor mill in this town. The last thing Sapphire needed was the woman catching one of her errant looks and running off to fire up the presses.
"So, who is this pretty young girl I have been hearing about?" The woman smiled at her, and Sapphire could see the coats of makeup gather and crackle in the lines of her face.
Trying her best to keep a serene smile on her face, Sapphire promptly began unloading the cart as Joel leaned onto the tiny counter holding up the credit card machine.
"And what have you been hearing, Tonya?" Joel gave her what Sapphire could only classify as a fierce smile.
Tonya blinked at the undercurrent of threat in his expression, and Sapphire could swear she heard the woman swallow. "Just that you have a new girl working in the café with Julie," she attempted in a light tone.
"Mmm, yeah, we do," Joel smiled, the savagery completely disappearing, leaving only his natural charm and handsome face to do the rest. "Yeah, this is Sapphire." He gestured toward her as she took the last of the stuff from the basket. "She is the daughter of a girl I was in foster care with years back."
"Oh, so she's like family?" Tonya supplied, evidently relieved to be back under the grace of Joel's smile again. "That's nice."
This time Sapphire did decide to chime in. "Yep, just like an unc-"
"Anyways," Joel cut her off. "We need to get a move on. Hayden and I are taking her to the university in Stardust Cove for a tour today."
"Ooh, Stardust," Tonya cooed, looking at Sapphire with an appreciative look, "very fancy. Okay then, here ya go," she said, handing Joel the receipt to their purchases. "Don't be a stranger. Come by and see me. It was nice talking to you, Sapphire."
As soon as the glass doors of the supermarket closed behind them, Joel turned and gave her a scowl. "I should make you walk for that."
"What?" She asked, feigning innocence.
Stopping by the bike, Joel sat the groceries on the ground. "For the last time, I'm not your-“
Sapphire held up a hand to stop him. "Yes, yes, you're not my uncle. But it's better than letting everyone think you and Hayden are having sex with me—at the same time, mind you. Or that's at least how they phrased it. Or should I say what they said and quoterunning a train-"
She had expected him to look shocked or maybe even flinch at the words, but Sapphire did not expect the sudden grip of his hand covering her mouth. Warm, rough skin brushed against the skin of her tender lips as he glared at her. "I get it," he growled. "Now, just start packing."
In silence, they began packing the bags on his bike, and though she had been so very doubtful of their carrying capacity, they were able to get everything inside except for one of the steaks. Wrapping it up in a few of the discarded plastic bags, Joel stuffed the meat into his jacket and zipped it up to keep it secure.
He gave her a smug,I-told-you-solook before she got on.
"Joel?" she began hesitantly, still a little unsure of his mood.
"Mmm."
"Why was that woman, Tonya, scared of you?" Sapphire thought of the apprehension shining in the woman's eyes at Joel's reaction to her words and knew the woman feared him.
"Maybe because she knows I don’t take kindly to gossip."
Sapphire didn’t say anything. They both knew that wasn't the reason. There was something more, something far greater that would make a woman of that age and that well known in a small town like this visibly check herself just at Joel's warning smile.
Did it have something to do with being gangsters? Sapphire wished her mother had never told her that. Now she could hardly look at the men without thinking of it at least once. What did she mean by gangsters?
It was surprising, but until now, Sapphire had only ever thought of gangsters as the stereotyped images off TV. Italian mafiosos and "bosses" or Mexican cartel members or something. Nothing like these two. The urge to ask him about it was there hovering at the edge of her mind, but she quelled the urge. Now was not the time and most assuredly not the place. Besides, if she was being really honest, she was a little scared to ask not necessarily of him or Hayden per se, but of their reactions.
Right now, they were both so warm and almost gallant. Inviting her, a complete stranger, into their bachelor life and dealing with the bags of drama that, unfortunately, clung to her like a bad smell. She didn’t want to ruin that. It surprised her how much so. The thought of them maybe getting offended by her nosy poking about into their personal life and maybe even going back to the gruff, distant two men she met that day in the café made her want to wrap her arms around them and hold on tight.
