Page 10 of On the Double

She rushed around the belt and flung her arms around my neck,pressing a kiss to my cheek. I grimaced, wiping it off as soon as she backed up. “You’re the best. I promise, you won’t regret this.”

“I already do,” I said as she turned and ran away.

Mrs. Mallard had her lips pursed, looking like she was about to scold me, which was ridiculous since I was the one who was trying to remain professional at my minimum wage job.

Being a cashier at the local IGA was hardly my dream job. No, when I was a kid, I had aspirations to become the first woman on the Supreme Court. When I found out from my brother Oliver that the position had already been filled, I quickly abandoned those dreams.

“Twenty-seven dollars and thirteen cents,” I told her.

As usual, her face fell aghast at the price. “How much?”

“Mrs. Mallard, it’s the same price it was last week and the week before that.”

She pulled out her cash and handed it over. “Well, I never!”

Rolling my eyes, I made change and handed her the receipt. “You’re welcome to take it up with management, but that didn’t work so well the last three times you tried.”

She ripped the receipt out of my hands and held out her wallet for the change. I could have dropped it on the conveyor, but I wasn’t that mean. I dumped it into the pocket of her wallet and smiled cheerily as she walked out.

Sighing, I grabbed my drink and took a long sip as I leaned on the conveyor belt. This day was going to take forever, just like yesterday and the day before that. I could see my manager in his office right now, talking on the phone and laughing. I knew he wasn’t actually working. Raymond didn’t have a working bone in his body. He was probably making plans for the night, which most likely consisted of taking his new girlfriend Sheila out.

As the minutes ticked by, I waited on the various customers that filtered into the store. The beeping of the scanner on the belt lulled me into a state of constant boredom. I yawned repeatedly, wishing I could crawl back into my bed for the day and take a long nap. I hated waking up early for work, but it was better than working until close.

“Oh my gosh!” Luna squealed, rushing over to me a few hours later. “You would not believe what Jake said.”

“Something about taking you out on a date.”

“How did you know?” Her face lit up with happiness as she gushed about where he was going to take her and how amazing it was going to be. I hated to tell her that life was not a fairytale. As much as she hoped Prince Charming would sweep her off her feet, it was more likely he would drop her in the mud and make her get out on her own.

“Well, he sounds fantastic,” I beamed, trying to show as much enthusiasm as I could.

“I know, right? God, he’s so amazing.”

“So were Sam and Ron,” I reminded her.

“Don’t even bring them up. I was delusional.”

“You still are.”

“But you love me anyway.” She leaned in again and pressed a kiss to my cheek. It didn’t matter how many times I told her not to do that, she continued to act like I was her fur baby and she had to snuggle me as much as possible.

“Go to your register. You’re getting a line.”

“Yeah, like they’re desperate to get out of here.”

“They are. It’s a grocery store. Nobody wants to wait in line.”

She giggled as she rushed off. I loved her dearly, but she was such a flake sometimes. I rang up three more people before I caught a scent that had me stiffening. It was something I remembered from my childhood and was used to smelling around here, but it was mixed with something else—something very masculine and?—

I looked up and nearly swallowed my tongue. A very handsome man was standing in front of me, staring at his phone. And since he wasn’t watching me, I took the opportunity to check out every delicious inch of him. Tall, muscular, and nearly every inch of him covered in tattoos, I knew I was a goner. His brown eyes were darker than his skin, but not by much. Thick, luscious lips quirked into a grin as he answered a text. I was so tempted to lean across the conveyor belt and kiss him, but that would be frowned upon.

Right?

Suddenly, he looked up at me and I knew I was caught. His chocolate eyes melted me on the spot. I felt myself sinking into their depths as I imagined all the beautiful children we would have and what kindof house we would live in. I would, of course, have to stop working at the IGA so I could stay home and take care of the kids. And at night, he would wrap me in his arms and make passionate love to me.

“Is everything okay?”

“Huh?” I asked, shaking my head slightly.