Cassidy wasn’t about to unload on him what had been running through her mind. But a partial sob escaped her as she idiotically answered, “I wanted M&Ms.”
He studied her face for a confused, concerned second. With his other hand, he wiped away a couple of tears before pulling her into his embrace. “Okay, sweetheart, we’ll get you M&Ms.”
That broke the dam. She clung to him, crying against his shoulder. Not because it was Mac, but because it had been a long time since she’d had this—literally crying on someone’s shoulder, being allowed the luxury of it, strong arms holding on to her, assuring her he wouldn’t let her break apart.
And him not giving a damn that they were most likely being gawked at, shielding her for the most part, as she took this rare moment of comfort. It lasted a few minutes as she struggled to reel her emotions back in.
Cassidy rubbed her face against his shirt and then sucked in a small breath; it was what she’d do with Elijah, but he hadn’t cared that she’d wipe her tears and snot on him. Lifting her head in embarrassment that she’d so easily recreated the same habit with another man, she tried to pull away as she raised a hand to her face, wiping at her tears. “I’m so sorry.”
“Stop.”
She started wiping at his soaked shirt. “I didn’t mean—”
“Cassidy!” His tone told her it didn’t matter.
She stopped moving, meekly standing in his arms because he refused to let her go. She couldn’t raise her eyes beyond his neck. Her cheeks flushed from more than the heat of tears. “Sorry.”
“It’s a fucking shirt,” he pointed out. “Look at me.”
“I’d rather not.”
He tilted his head to try to catch her gaze, but she turned her head away. He reached up, stroked her hair once before leaning forward to kiss her temple. Releasing his hold on her, he grasped her arm. “Let’s go get you those Ms.”
“I’m fine, I can—”
“You owe me M&Ms,” he said as he hauled her up the street, the humor back in his tone.
She didn’t, but she could have kissed him for providing her with levity at that moment.
Leaving Fred out front, they entered the Trading Post. Inside, he kept a hold of her arm as he steered them both toward the candy aisle. This was Marge’s territory, after all, and last time, Marge had come to her rescue. Cassidy could feel the quiet possession in his hold, his demeanor. He wasn’t about to let her slip away.
His grip firm on her, he eyed the selection. His voice was incredulous as he said, “What happened to just plain M’s? How many fucking choices does a person need?”
Cassidy finally looked up. “How do you not know that M&Ms have expanded?”
“Fuck’s sake,” he mumbled, his eyes running over the options, clearly lost. “Pretzel, crispy, almonds, coffee nut, peanut butter, hazelnut, caramel,pumpkin… thefuck?”
A small giggle escaped her.
He turned dramatic eyes to her. “You pick pumpkin, and I’m throwing you in the lake.”
“No way. Those have to be a holdout from last Halloween. I can’t believe they’re still on the shelf.”
“That’sthe thing that turns you off about it? How old the package is?”
She reached out and picked up the peanut, holding it up for his inspection. “One of the originals. Can you hang?”
His eyes shifted to dangerous as he grinned. “You know how hung I am.”
She blushed everywhere, and her lady parts tingled. Now she repeated one of his favorite sayings, “Fuck’s sake,” as she turned to walk away.
Except he was still holding on to her arm and jerked her back to him. She stumbled into him, his smile widening as his gaze dropped to her lips, which parted in surprise. But before anything else could happen, they were reminded of where they were.
“You doin’ okay there, Cassie?”
Cassidy watched Mac’s eyes lose their gleeful and sexual glimmer in an instant, to be replaced with annoyance. It was comical how quickly the shift occurred. She bit her lips to try to keep from laughing as she peered up at his irritated expression. Of course, he may have thought he was going to kiss her in the Trading Post, but he’d guessed wrong.
Cassidy leaned to the side to peer around Mac. “Been a day. Needed reinforcements.” She held up the bag of candy.