He rolled his shoulders as Charity crossed something off her shopping list. She’d made one. On paper. Something that had oddly charmed him. “Don’t mention it,” he growled, hoping she caught on. Literally, don’t mention it again.
“Should I get more portabellas?” she asked, turning to face him, closer than he’d realized. He caught a whiff of her scent, clean and feminine and not entirely human. Sweet and spicy.
The change of conversation and her sudden proximity froze him up. He started to salivate and stared into her red-brown eyes, sparkling with intelligence.
“What the hell is wrong with you today?” she demanded. “Has Yasmine got your head lost in the clouds or something?”
He grinned while trying to claw his way out of his weird stupor.
“Jealous?” he teased.
“Yeah, right. What’ve you got that a vibrator can’t do better?”
He froze up for the second time, surprised and shocked and holy shit she’d just gotten him hard. That wasn’t good.
“Ha!” She grinned at him. “Embarrassed you! Point to me.”
He blinked a couple of times, and couldn’t help the goofy grin as he looked into her beguiling gaze. An unexpected burst of butterflies filled his stomach.
Still a little flabbergasted, he followed her around the stands of produce, only coming out of his fog when he realized he was shopping with a poor kid who was used to a minimal budget.
“Whoa, wait a minute.” He snatched the bag of carrots out of the air. “We’re not here to get the cheapest stuff. I want good food. I want organic or whatever. If it costs more, fine.”
She surveyed her list. “But…” She cocked her hip. “You don’t have much in the house, and we’re probably going to have to feed your pack mates.”
“So?”
“So, it’s going to cost a ton to get all this stuff if I don’t bargain-hunt.”
“No bargains. I want to taste the food.”
“You’ll taste it either—”
“No bargains,” he interrupted, holding up his hand to forestall future arguments. “I’m not telling you what to cook, so don’t you tell me what to buy.”
Tossing up her hands, she said, “Fine, but don’t blame me if you go bankrupt.”
“Just so we’re clear, I’m definitely going to blame you.”
She nudged him with her elbow and smiled. Shaking her head, she headed toward the organic produce.
“I guarantee this will be cheaper than constantly eating out,” he said, then stifled a groan when she reached for broccoli.
“True…”
“And easier on the waistline.”
“Oh yeah, because you desperately need help with that.”
“And lots of meat. I eat meat!” Devon flicked her ponytail, the gesture unlike him. But her playfulness was infectious. On that alone he could believe she was fae. When she let herself go, she sparkled with mirth and joy, something that spread like a virus, even to a guy who’d never had a lot of humor in his life.
She led the way to the next aisle, leaving the cart behind.
“Oh, I get to push the cart, then?” he asked, following.
“Obviously. Make yourself useful.”
“We get paid at the end of the week, by the way,” he said, his gaze snagging on her round, muscular butt. He ripped his eyes away. She’d kick his ass if she caught him looking. “Every other week after that.”
“I meant to talk to you about rent.” She threw a couple of items into the basket before scratching off more of her list. “We need to work out an amount for that and other bills. I don’t know how much I can afford—”
“You’re staying as my guest,” he said, scanning the boxes on the shelves without really seeing them. “You won’t be paying rent.”
“I’m staying as your burden. Rent is the least I can do.”
“Same difference, and no.”
She dropped in some olives, and he nearly made her take them back out again. He wasn’t a fan. Then again, he’d actually liked a giant mushroom made with old wine. He’d probably enjoy anything she put on a plate. She had a real gift for cooking. And fighting. And annoying the hell out of him. She was a woman of many talents.
“I’ve never understood that expression,” she said. “It’s a difference, which by definition means it can’t be the same. If it were the same, it wouldn’t have a difference.”
“Leave the philosophical babble for school, please. Speaking of, how did today go?”
She shrugged as she moved on, stopping in the next aisle to analyze canned soup. “The afternoon class was the one with Andy, so that was actually good. He insisted that I sit with him and his friends. It was nice to be included.”
“The guys seem to like you, not to mention Macy.”
She turned her face up to his, a smile of gratitude boosting her loveliness. “I’ve landed in hell, but I’m in the trenches with good people. I didn’t have many friends growing up. It’s a neat feeling.”
“You’ve lived a pretty lonely life, huh?”