The Lost Fisherman (Fisherman 2)

“Oh yes. My parents have always celebrated everything. And I have a huge family, so even things that weren’t a big deal seemed like one because fifty gazillion people were there, and that was literally ‘close family.’ You were at the hospital. Tell me the waiting room wasn’t filled to capacity with my family.”

I laughed as we continued to stroll, garnering funny looks from other shoppers since I still had on the hat and he wore the glasses. “Point made.”

“Do you use an alarm clock?” Fisher picked up a retro looking alarm clock, the kind with an actual bell.

“I use my phone. Does anyone use an alarm clock?”

He pointed to the clock in his hands. “Someone does.”

“Fake plants or real plants?” I buried my nose in a fake bouquet of decorative flowers.

“Real.”

“Agreed.” I nodded.

“Halloween. Best holiday ever or most annoying holiday ever?” Fisher asked when we crossed a main aisle to the seasonal displays. Lots of Halloween stuff.

“I’m inclined to say best.”

He wrinkled his nose at my answer.

I turned to face him, holding onto the cart while walking backward. “And before you unfairly judge me, you have to know that after Rory went to prison, I didn’t get to go to parties because my grandparents said Halloween was Satan’s holiday, so my dad caved to their nonsense and didn’t let me go. Then he died and I didn’t have a prayer of ever going to anything fun like a costume party. So imagine my excitement when my roommates wanted to have a Halloween party my first year of nursing school.”

He grinned, matching mine. “Let me guess, you dressed up as a naughty nurse.”

“Pfft …” I shook my head.

I totally dressed up as a naughty nurse. I also had sex with Batman that night. Good sex. Two beers, lowered inhibitions, and false confidence sex.

Naughty nurse ended up dating Batman for eight weeks.

Fisher eyed me through his funny glasses. “Then what was your costume?”

“Um …” I glanced around as if I’d see something and use it.

“You were a naughty nurse.”

“I wasn’t!” I giggled.

“Liar.”

I turned forward again, still giggling. He knew. And I could no longer hide it.

We spent an hour in Target. There was a lot one could learn about a person by spending an hour with them in Target, such as neither one of us cared that people were looking at us in our hat and glasses.

Fisher was a huge Star Wars fan.

I owned over thirty Barbies by the time I was ten.

We both loved big mirrors.

Fisher had never played pickle ball.

And I was a sucker for bookends in the shape of animals. Specifically elephants.

“Your list … what did you need?” he asked as we approached the pharmacy area.

I sighed, no longer feeling like I wanted to hide my list and come back later. “I need deodorant and tampons. What do you need?” I quickly countered before he had a chance to react to the tampons.

“Mouthwash and condoms.”

Gulp …

He steered the cart toward the tampons first.

Figures.

“Applicator? No applicator? Regular? Super? These are made with organic cotton in case your vagina is eco-conscious.”

And there it came … that blush only Fisher could bring out of me so quickly. I snagged the box I needed and tossed it into the cart.

“So your vagina is eco-conscious.” He grinned. “Noted.”

Oh my gosh … what exactly is he “noting” and why?

We grabbed my deodorant and his mouthwash, making our final stop in the condom aisle.

“I’m a little surprised Angie isn’t on the pill.” I fidgeted with the hem of my T-shirt. Old habits never died.

“Apparently, she went off the pill in preparation for getting pregnant.”

I nodded. “So you’re going to have kids right away. That’s exciting.”

He tossed a box of condoms in the cart. “I’m not sure if it’s exciting, hence the condoms. I’m a little hesitant to make a child with someone if I’m not sold on the idea of marrying them yet.”

I followed a few steps behind him.

“So you’re just going to hump her and dump her.”

He stopped so quickly I ran into his back.

“Oof … why’d you stop?”

Facing me, he squinted and twisted his lips. “You don’t think I should have sex with her if I’m not certain I want to marry her?”

With a tight smile, I lifted a shoulder. “I don’t have a strong opinion on it. But I imagine she does. Maybe you should make sure you’re on the same page. The intimacy might lead her to believe all is good between the two of you. That’s all. It’s the male brain versus the female brain.”

Fisher waited until I felt a little squirmy before he responded with a sharp nod. “Good tip.” Turning, he headed toward the checkout lane.

Chapter Nine

“It’s like getting to wear pajamas to work,” Fisher said, checking out the racks of scrubs.

“It sure is. And I can wear comfy shoes instead of work boots.”