Page 12 of No More Hiding
While she was reading the ingredients on a box of healthy protein bars, a cart bumped into her.
She turned and noticed it was unmanned, then looked up and saw the guy a few feet away swearing and apologizing. “So sorry. I didn’t think it’d take off on me while I was trying to decide.”
“Brent,” she said, recognizing him. “And you’ve kept the beard trimmed.” Of all the grocery stores in Colonie, she runs into him here. Talk about odd.
She’d fully expected that he’d let his beard go, which would have been a bummer since it had completely transformed him from a shaggy wildebeest to a handsome man.
He ran his hand over it. “I figured it was the least I could do,” he said.
Hmm, nice big hands to go with the rest of his body. Damn the girls for pointing out that she’d been paying attention to that.
“It looks good. And not hard to maintain either,” she said.
“No. I need to get into a routine is all,” he said.
She looked down and glanced into his cart, being slightly nosy and all. She never used to be that way either and would rather keep to herself.
“I know all about routines,” she said. “I shop at this time every week when I know the store will be quiet.”
“I don’t shop much at all,” he said. “Since I was out and returning from my parents I figured I might as well do it.”
She nodded her head. “That’s nice you go to visit with them.”
He laughed. “Not sure how nice some people might think it is. I went there for dinner and found out I’m getting a dog.”
She angled her head. This didn’t seem to be the same guy that came into the salon days ago and barely said a word. Now he was somewhat chatty. Maybe he had been embarrassed by the attention though.
“A dog?”
He snorted. “My mother insists I’m a hermit and if I had a dog, it’d get me out of the house to at least walk. I find it hard to tell my mother no.”
She found that sweet. She’d never felt that way about her mother.
It’s not that she didn’t get along with her parents because she did. Well, she did until her father ended up in jail. She hadn’t seen him since before he tried to flee the country. Without her.
Yeah, that told her where she stood in his eyes. In her parents’ eyes.
No one wanted to be discarded.
“So now you’ve got a dog coming that you didn’t know about?” she asked.
“A boxer. A female,” he said. “I’ve got the week to find as much research as I can on it and then I get to meet her and hope to hell I don’t damage her or me.”
She lifted an eyebrow, not sure how to take that statement. “Damage?”
“Emotionally. I’m pretty sure we will both be crying those first few nights.”
She smiled. What a personality he seemed to have had hidden behind all that unkempt hair.
“Excuse me,” someone said behind her. Vivian turned her head to see another customer trying to squeeze in. “I need to get that box.”
“Oh, sorry,” she said and moved back.
Brent grabbed his cart and pushed it to the side. “I should go too. Thanks again for the nice cut. My mother is finally off my case on my appearance.”
“My pleasure. I’m glad you liked it.”
She watched him walk away and found that she was staring at his ass in shorts. They didn’t fit him tight, but they weren’t saggy like he’d been sitting all day as his jeans were.
