Christmas with the Sheriff (The Fiore Family 3)

“One day,” we both grunt because I’m a grumpy bear as well.

I shake my head and laugh. “Have a great holiday. I have to hurry before my sister sends out a search party. See you tomorrow.” I wave them away and keep moving.

“That’s a good woman. You missed out on her, Hank.” I turn just in time to see Hank roll his eyes and then help his grandfather into the car. I shake my head again and take the cart inside. I only need one thing, and I’m hoping they have it.

Making a beeline to the dairy section, I catch sight of the seasonal cooler and a petite redhead, smiling and putting a can of Reddi-Wip into her cart. I get closer and see the last eggnog, but I also get this unfamiliar pain in my chest as my heart slams against my ribcage. Her eyes dart up as if she senses me approaching, and those pretty blues land on me. Fuck…all thoughts of coming in for one thing change. All of a sudden, I’ve found something I truly need.

“Hello…” I say, forgetting how to speak.

“Hello,” she replies with a blush on her delicate, pale cheeks. My fingers ache with the need to brush her rosy apples, wondering how truly soft they are.

“Are you here with someone?” I ask, wanting to know if I have to find a place to hide a body because a primal urge to eliminate all competition fills my bones.

“Maybe. Why do you want to know?” Her brow arches and then she looks me up and down, and not in a flirtatious way but in a cautious way.

“Because I want to find out if I have to deal with an angry boyfriend. I’m Mark, by the way.”

“Mia.” She doesn’t answer my question. Instead, she turns back to the cooler with the last eggnog.

“Um, that’s mine,” I insist as she wraps her perfectly manicured hand around the container of eggnog. “I might consider sharing it with you, if you’re alone.”

“Actually, this one is mine; as you can see, I got it first. Maybe you can ask the manager if there’s more,” she sasses with a smirk.

“I don’t think so, gorgeous.” I shake my head and smirk. I always get what I want, but never have I wanted someone like her. I don’t even need the eggnog anymore. It’s little Miss Mia that I need and will have.

“Well, I do. Excuse me.” She puts it in her cart and walks away from me. I came for one thing and I’m not leaving without it, even if I have to take matters into my own hands. I follow two steps behind her as she heads to the register. I wait, letting her put all her things on the conveyor belt, but it won’t matter because she’s not paying for them.

“Hello, Mark,” Susie, the cashier, says with a little more flirting in her voice than normal, giving Mia a side-eye. We’re nearly the same age, and I never speak to her unless necessary.

“Hello, Susie.” As soon as she reads Mia the total, I slip my card into the reader, paying for her groceries.

“Hey, what are you doing?” Mia hisses, glaring at me.

“Paying for the groceries. It’s the least I can do,” I answer with as much sugar in my tone as I can muster.

“Trying to make me jealous?” Susie asks, rudely interrupting a conversation she wasn’t invited into. “I wouldn’t worry—she’ll flee just like Nicki did. City girls can’t deal with small-town men.”

Hell, no. I want to say something and put Susie in her place, but my sweet red asks, “Are you two…” I can’t believe that bitch went there. I could ring her damn neck, but instead, I finish the transaction and shake my head with a seriously hard negative.

“Mark?” Mia calls out softly. I give my attention to my future wife. With a wicked grin on her face, she smirks at Susie and then turns back to me. Mia grasps my face and brushing her soft, sexy lips against mine. Growling, I grip her head on both sides and deepen the kiss, unable to control the violent desire to make her mine right on the belt. She pulls back and stares in shock.

“No, darling. I’m all yours.” Both women are staring at me looking dumbfounded, but I snatch up the receipt and begin pushing her cart to the door. My girl might have kissed me to piss off Susie and to shut her up, but she wasn’t expecting to like it so much, and frankly, neither was I.

“Hey, what are you doing? Those are mine,” she cries, coming up behind me and attempting to stop the cart, but my body is too wide and her legs are way shorter than mine.

She fucked up with that kiss. I could have let her walk away with her number only, but now that’s not good enough. “Technically, they’re mine. I paid for them.”