“Yeah, Ted, and he’s kind of way out of your league. I’ve seen him,” Miranda added unhelpfully.
“You’re not going to change your mind?” Ted asked.
Jessie shook her head. “Sergio and I are serious.”
“Marriage serious?” Miranda asked, finally scanning her purchase.
“Um.” Jessie wanted to be Sergio’s wife more than anything, but that was thinking too far into the future. They’d only known each other for two months. Jessie knew deep down he was it for her. Ever since he entered her life, there was no other man she was interested in, but still.
Jessie always wondered when Sergio would finally wake up and realize he didn’t want a damaged woman like her. Some mornings, she looked at the bathroom mirror and saw her mother staring back at her. Her mother had killed herself because her boyfriend left her, and the heartbreak had been too much for her. They had the same genes. Did Jessie inherit her mother’s weakness?
Sergio had left his old life for her. Would he come to resent her for that as the years passed?
“That’ll be $14.99,” Miranda said.
Jessie fumbled for her wallet, but someone else beat her. An inked hand slipped a twenty over the counter. Sergio. Jessie’s smile faded. He wore a frown on his face. He looked over her shoulder at Ted. Crap. Did Sergio overhear their conversation? Sergio was too possessive of her sometimes.
“Uh, hi. You must be Jessie’s boyfriend?” Ted croaked. Sergio stepped around Jessie, about to near him. Jessie blocked his path and placed a hand on his chest.
“Don’t.” She hoped Sergio heard the warning in her voice.
Sergio didn’t listen. He cornered Ted against the closest bookshelf, practically dwarfing Ted. Her man loomed over her coworker like a frightening behemoth. If Jessie didn’t put a stop to this, he would cause a scene.
They’d lucked out when those two drunks from Carver’s didn’t report them to the cops. She knew Sergio. Unlike some men who were all talk, Sergio killed for a living. Not only did he live and breathe violence, but he also lacked a moral compass.
Jessie grabbed her purchase and tugged Sergio’s arm. He didn’t budge.
“Let’s leave,” she insisted.
“Jessie’s mine,” Sergio said in a cold voice she recognized. Sweat dripped down her back. “You got that?”
Sergio fisted Ted’s shirt and lifted him an inch above the ground.
“Let him go, Sergio. He’s harmless,” she whispered, furious now.
Sergio lowered Ted and looked back at her. Jessie stomped out of the bookshelf, more pissed than ever.