Page 34 of Catch and Release
“Sorry if I went too far,” she said. “I just walked in and saw her touching you, and I thought about what you told me yesterday. And I wanted to make her stop. I didn’t think…”
She didn’t think he’d kiss her.
Those were the unspoken words hanging in the air. She must’ve thought he would just peck her on the cheek to keep up the charade.
He tried not to look disappointed. Did that mean she hadn’t felt as affected by the kiss as he had? That she hadn’t felt like the world stopped for a moment, and all that existed was the two of them? That she hadn’t wanted to keep going?
“Thank you,” he said honestly, knowing that if she hadn’t come in when she did, he’d still be trying to get away from that woman. “I’m sorry if I?—”
“No,” she said, cutting him off. “No, it’s fine.”
She bit her lip and crossed her legs, eyes darting to his lips again. A spark of hope coursed through him.
So she was affected, after all.
“Maybe I should use you as my fake girlfriend more often, Greene,” he murmured as he walked closer to her.
“Do fake girlfriends get discounts? Because if so, I’m in.”
“I’ll have to take it up with management.” He paused. “Management says you get 20 percent off every purchase.”
She giggled.
“Why’d you come in today, anyway?” he asked.
“I was on my way home from yoga and thought I’d get some shrimp. I was thinking of fishing off the wharf tonight. I was going to invite you to join me, actually,” she sucked a deep breath in. “But I’m just now realizing I don’t have my bucket.”
“I can bring some home for you,” he jumped in. “At the end of my day. I have a bunch of buckets out back I use to bring bait home or on the chartered trips.”
“I don’t want to be a hassle.”
“Not a hassle at all.”
She hesitated, then nodded.
“Should I go ahead and pay for them now?”
“This one’s on the house.”
“Shawn, you don’t have to?—”
“Please, it’s the least I can do for my fake girlfriend,” he smirked.
She grinned at him. “9 o’clock. My wharf.”
“I’ll be there.”
11
Shawn wasn’t sure why he was nervous. There was no reason to be.
The insulated bucket he carried sloshed a bit, though it was covered. He filled it with upwards of thirty shrimp—more than she asked for, but he told himself he threw in some extra as a thank you for being such a great companion to Grams. Ever since her fall, Willa had been insisting that Grams stretch every day, and she even walked her through stretches and exercises to do after their walks.
He tried not to acknowledge the fact that if they had more bait, they could stay out on the wharf and fish for longer.
That definitely wasn’t the reason he gave her extra shrimp.
For sure.