Page 6 of Ten of a Kind

“Of course.” Her grin widened.

I leaned in and whispered in her ear. “I don’t date co-workers. Period. Do me a favor and spread the word.” I winked at her before walking away.

“Breaking hearts already?” Christian grinned as he walked up and hooked his arm around me.

“Just making sure the word gets out.” I sighed.

“Are you meeting us around the bonfire tonight?” he asked. “The girls are going out.”

“You bet. I get off in an hour, and then I have to make a Target run before I head home. Do you need anything?”

“Nah, I’m good. Thanks, though.” He patted my back. “I’ll see you later.”

After my shift, and as I walked to my car, I texted Gabriel.

“Target run. Do you need anything?”

“Yeah. A Starbucks. You know what I like.”

I rolled my eyes and climbed into my car. Grabbing a basket, I walked down the central aisle until I found where the shaving products were. After throwing a new razor and shaving cream in my cart, I sawherturning down the aisle. She stopped, and our eyes locked on each other.

“Are you still going to pretend you don’t know me?” I smirked.

“I don’t have to pretend because I don’t.” A fragile smile crossed her lips.

“Ah, okay. Do you do that often?”

“Do what?” she asked.

“Sleep with a guy, kick him out after, and then pretend it never happened.”

She stared at me for a moment. “Okay. You win. Obviously, I hurt your feelings, and I’m sorry.”

“You didn’t hurt my feelings.” My brows furrowed. “I do it all the time. The difference is when I see the woman again, I don’t pretend we never met.”

“Again, I’m sorry, Grayson. If you’ll excuse me, I have more shopping to do.”

I moved my cart out of the way so she could get by. “Enjoy your evening,” I spoke.

“You too.”

I sighed and continued shopping. After checking out, I grabbed my bags from the cart and walked to Starbucks. I was pleasantly surprised at the woman standing before me in line.

“Looks like we had the same idea,” I said.

She turned and looked at me. “You again?” Her brow arched.

“Me again.” The corners of my mouth curved upward.

“What can I get for you?” the barista asked her.

“A Grande Iced Cinnamon Dolce latte with almond milk, please.”

“Name?”

“Ava.”

Instantly, my brows furrowed. “Put her coffee on mine,” I said to the barista.