“No, please. Let me pay.”
Sindra refuses to take Grace’s money and drops an extra bottle of Mountain Wood beard oil into the bag too, along with a soap bar and shampoo bar that also have my goddamn handle on them. “I can’tbelieve my products are trending right now.Trending!” she says louder, like we didn’t hear her the first time. “This is so exciting!”
She drops a bath bomb into the bag like we’re here to Trick or Treat. “You two have a fun time at the tree lighting. And then go on home and warm up with these goodies.”Plop, plop. Two more bottles go into the bag.
“Woman, stop giving your whole store away.” I snag the bag and close it before she can add anything else.
Sindra won’t stop smiling as she walks us to the door and opens it for us.
“You’re too sweet. Thank you!” Grace says, waving goodbye.
I walk out of there feeling like I’m in some kind of twilight zone. “She saw my account.”
“Well, you did go viral, babe.” Grace hooks her arm with mine.
“She made a line of beard oil with my fucking handle on it.”
“Smells so good too. Makes me want to fuck you.”
Any other time, that statement would have me guiding her right back to my truck so I could give her what she wants. But I can’t wrap my head around what just happened, and it’s got me all flustered.
“How many people do you think know about my account now?”
Grace leans her head into my arm as she escorts me down the sidewalk. “Mm, probably everyone.”
Is she joking? I can’t tell.
We enter the coffee shop and get in line. I’m suddenly self-conscious of every pair of eyes that swing my way.
“That smells really, really fucking good.” Grace practically purrs against me, her nose tipped up towards my chin.
My gaze swings to hers. Her pupils are big. I can’t tell you how much I love seeing that level of reaction from her. It’s the hottest thing ever.
“Behave,” I warn, bending down to kiss her pretty little mouth.
“And if I don’t?”
She’ll win either way. My girl’s a brat and a boss, depending on her mood. I’m just the beneficiary. “Do you want to see the tree lit up or—”
“Hi guys!” Taylor comes into the café, her cheeks and nose bright red. Conner’s right behind her carrying a bunch of shopping bags. “Are you staying for the Jubilee?”
“Yeah,” Grace says, hooking her arm with mine again. “We’re on a date.”
“Ohhh.” Taylor waggles her eyebrows. “Dean, do you even know how to go on one of those?”
I flip her the bird.
Conner drops all her bags onto an empty table. “I can’t take much more of this torture, woman.”
“A deal’s a deal, dude.” Taylor looks over at me and explains, “Since I was his DD for poker night, he’s my bag bitch for the Jingle Jubilee.”
“Looks like you’ve had a head start,” I tease, staring at all her bags.
“Hey, at least Conner can skip arm day at the gym.” Taylor grins.
“She shops like it’s an Olympic sport and she’s going for gold.” Conner fusses, massaging his biceps.
Taylor ignores him and turns to Grace. “So, I just finished the Face-lift Fuckboy episode.”
