Page 7 of Meowy & Bright

“I’m Ariadne.” She shakes with efficiency, though I sneak in a stroke of the back of her hand with my thumb.

Soft. Just as soft as I’ve always thought it would be.

“I’m going.” She gives her head a swift shake.

“You’re here for some lights?” I point at the counter.

“Not just ‘some’ lights.” She crosses her arms over her stomach and looks up at me with defiance. “You know full well I want the lights youstoleout from under me.”

“Stole?” I lean on the counter. “I special ordered these and had Carl set the stock back a while ago, didn’t I, Carl?”

“Yes, sir, you sure did.” He nods.

“But—” I shrug. “I’m pretty sure I’ve over-bought. My house isn’t big enough for all these lights. I live over on Oak Lane. Do you know it?”

“Of course I know it. I live across the street from you, as you are well aware,” she snipes.

“Oh.” I nod, still trying for that Oscar. “Yeah, it’s coming back to me now. You’re two houses down in the Craftsman-style with the big tree on the corner. That’s a great hou—”

“You know full well I live across the street from you.” She’s on the verge of blowing up.

I shouldn’t keep pushing her, but she’s so adorable right now I can’t seem to stop. “Oh, so you liveacrossthe street. Whoops.” Then I cock my head to the side. “Funny, I thought some sort of cat lady lived there.”

Her eyes widen, but I continue before she can retort, “Good to finally meet you, Ariadne. As I was saying, I bought too many icicle lights, and I’m happy to share with you, if you’re interested.”

“Well, isn’t that convenient? So convenient that you bought the exact lights I need to perfect my holiday display.” She glowers, her lips pursing, but she doesn’t storm away. Instead, she keeps stealing looks at the pile of lights.

“I guess it’s convenient?” I give her what I hope is a disarming smile. “After all, I’ve been hoping to meet you for quite some time, so this is pretty serendipitous.”

“Big words aren’t going to save you. You wouldn’t happen to know anything about my box of busted lights? The one that fell in my garage, would you?”

Carl clears his throat, then gives me the total.

I swipe my card. “They fell and broke? That’s terrible. I lost some of mine the same way over the summer.” I don’t exactly lie. I just turn her question into a question.

She points to the card machine. “You just paid for all of them. Right after you said you’d share.”

“I will.” I scoop up the boxes in my arms.

Her gaze goes to my biceps, and I add a little extra flex. Vain? A bit, but I work out with her in mind.

“Come on. I’ll take you to breakfast, and then we can go back to our street and divvy these up.” I head toward the doors, a frigid blast of air whooshing inside when they automatically part.

She dogs my heels. “Just give me half—or all,” she says under her breath. “I’ll pay you for them, and then we can go.”

“No can do.” I load them into the back of my pickup.

“Why not?” She pulls a green knit cap from her pocket and slides it over her head.

I reach out and straighten it, making sure her ears are tucked in and toasty.

She looks as if I struck her, but she doesn’t push me away.

“I’ll meet you at Cal’s.” I open my door and hop in, then put it in drive and slowly pull away from her.

She’s still fuming, gawking, and glaring all at once.

I hesitate before pulling onto the highway and watch her in my rear view. When she gets into her Prius and starts it up, I can see her arguing with herself behind the wheel.

---