Page 75 of Best Thing I Never Had

“Dowe have time?Weshould probably get to the grocery store.”

“Whosays we can’t have a little fun, too?Beforewe spend the entire day exhausting ourselves over a hot stove.”

“Jackson?”Imumble and then giggle.

“IsJacksonWatersthe boss of you now?Becauseif he is, then we need to have a long talk, my friend.”

“Ofcourse not!”Thefeminist in me nearly shouts.Justbecause he’s my boyfriend—fake boyfriend—does not makeJacksonWatersthe boss of me.I’mthe boss of me, and no one else.Iwant to poke my head into every single shop in this adorable little town, andJacksonisn’t here to stop me. “Let’sdo it!”

FlashingLilya devious smile,Istep out to jaywalk across the street.Mybravado crumbles whenIspot a police officer a couple of blocks away.Ipress into a full jog to make it across the street and out of sight into the shop before he notices me.

Lilywalks into the shop laughing a few seconds after me. “Didyou just think you were going to get a ticket for jaywalking?”

“Maybe?”

“You’vespent way too much time in the big city.Asif any cop here wants to do the paperwork to give you a ticket for something like jaywalking.Please.”

LilyandImill around the boutique, touching the different fabrics of the clothes hanging from racks in the window and along the walls.Ialways worry that nothing is going to fit me in cute little shops like this, but their size range is actually pretty inclusive.There’snot a full range in every style, butIspot sizes all the way from zero to twenty-eight.

Webrowse in easy silence untilIcan’t stop myself from asking, “So, hasJacksonreally never brought anyone back here?”

Lilylooks up from the white silk dress she’s admiring.Itwould be a departure from the thingsI’veseen her wear sinceI’veknown her, andIwonder if she has it in mind for something—or someone—special.LikeGunnar. “Nope.Nota one.Notuntil you.”

“Well, he only brought me because his dad was in the hospital.Itwasn’t like he planned a trip to bring me home to meet everyone or anything.Hedidn’t even actually invite me.Ikind of invited myself.”

“He’sa grown man, fully capable of running from a woman.Buthe didn’t run from you.I’veseen him do it countless times.Hepretty much leaves aJackson-sized hole in the wall as he escapes.It’spathetic.”

AJackson-sized hole in the wall?Isthat whatIhave to look forward to when the contract is over?Idon’t want to think about it, soIdistract myself with a less upsetting topic.

“So, are you andGunnar…?”

Lilynarrows her eyes at me. “WhatdidJacksontell you?”

Ishake my head. “Oh, nothing.Henever told me anything about you two.Well, he told me about you.Oneof the first times we met, actually.Wewere talking about my period, and he said that he would still want to, you know, even at that time of the month.Andhe told me you schooled him in all-things menstruation-related since you were in elementary school.”

“Ofcourse, the man would say that.Idiot.Idid a public service!It’sa natural bodily function.Whymen are so damn squeamish about it,Ihave no earthly idea.”

“Gunnardoesn’t seem like the squeamish type…”Isay, testing the waters.

“Mmmm-hmmm,”Lilymutters. “Thatman wouldn’t know how to…”Butshe doesn’t finish.

“He’shandsome, though,”Isay with a smile. “Notas handsome asJackson.Butno one’s as handsome asJackson.”

“Thatpretty boy has you wrapped around his…I’mgoing to be a lady for once and not say it.Buthe has you wrapped right arounditgood, doesn’t he?”

“Wrappedaround his what?”Iask, trying to figure it out.

WhenLilymotions with her hands to her thighs,Iput two and two together.AndIturn bright redagain.

“Well, with the glowing description you gave when we picked you up at the airport,Ican’t blame you,Iguess.”Lilynarrows her eyes. “Butthe least we can do is spend a chunk of his money today.AndIdon’t mean on groceries.Doyou have any cowboy boots?”

“Cowboyboots?No…Butthey’re not really my style…”

“Cowboyboots are everyone’s style.Ifyou don’t think they’re your style, you just haven’t had the right reason to wear them yet.Butyou’re inWesternSpringsnow.So, you’ll definitely have a reason.”

“Idon’t wear leather…”

“Noproblem.Thisplace has some sort of vegetable leather, too.It’smade of compost or something.Myfriend,Drea, is vegan, and she says it’s great.”Lilylooks over at the woman behind the counter, who has been cleaning the glass display case this entire time and couldn’t have missed a single word of our conversation. “Weneed to buyJacksonWaters’ girlfriend a pair of cowboy boots.Notleather, preferably.”

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