Was she hallucinating? Erin closed her eyes and opened them again. No, that was definitely him. She couldn’t mistake those shoulders, the muscles moving under a thin cotton tee, the power in the arms bared by short sleeves.
Transfixed, she stared hungrily. His hair had grown enough not to be spiky anymore. Instead, it was rumpled, as if he shoved his fingers through it. She would give anything to slip her fingers into his hair, feel the texture of it now. Have him turn, his sharp blue eyes locking on her, narrowing purposefully…
Dear God, what if he saw her gaping?
Her cheeks flamed with humiliation and she moved fast enough to make her cart wheels squeak, not slowing until she was mostly hidden behind a heap of bananas. Even then, she kept her back to him.
Erin grabbed bananas and red grapes. By the time she reached the lettuce, she knew he wouldn’t be able to see her if he happened to turn. Nobody was close enough to hear her whimper. Her heart hammered so hard and fast her head swam.
As much as she’d wanted to see him, she suddenly realized she couldn’t afford the stress. Maybe she should start driving farther away to do her shopping. The hours she worked at the library should be safe, except she’d have to decline shifts like this evening’s. She’d be smart to buy gas in the middle of a working day, when there was no way she’d run into him.
And here she’d thought she was doing so well.
She pulled herself together enough to continue shopping, although her choices were more random than they should have been. Usually she maintained a mental list of what she needed. Today, she found herself putting a bottle of extra virgin olive oil in her cart, even though she didn’t remember whether she needed it or not. And never mind pausing to make price comparisons.
She had to backtrack four aisles to get a carton of eggs she did need before she went to check out.
This was close to the longest day of the year, so the sun still hadn’t set. But the purplish-gray of dusk had deepened the color of the sky by the time she pushed the cart to her Cherokee. Thanks to her remote, the hatch door had already lifted when she stopped the cart. She started to pick up the first bags of groceries…and saw the man leaning against the fender.
“I thought that was you in there,” Cole said.
* * *
SEEING HER JUMP six inches, he regretted not waiting in plain sight. What, had he assumed that if she spotted him out here, she’d lurk inside the store however long it took for him to go away?
“I’m sorry,” he said, retreating a step. “I didn’t mean to scare you. It’s not dark yet, and…” And what? “I’m sorry,” he repeated.
Erin pressed a hand to her chest. “No, I should’ve seen you. I guess I was preoccupied.” She smiled, although he wasn’t convinced it was genuine. “How are you?” she asked.
“I’m good.” When she didn’t move, he took over the job of putting her groceries in the back of her SUV. “The job’s going well. Uh, I have an apartment not far from here. I could have walked, but I felt lazy.”
“That’s great.”
“How are you doing?”
“Oh, I’m fine.” This smile looked a little more…real. “Lottie drove over the other day to bring me a coffee cake, which even I have to admit was better than Nanna’s.”
“Lottie drove?” Guilt poked at him, because he’d never followed up on his concern. He’d meant to talk to Ryan and Michelle at least, and ask if they’d offer to pick up groceries for Lottie, or give her a lift. He knew Erin would’ve been willing if he’d said something.
“Well, it’s not as if she could walk that far. It was kind of scary to see, though. And when she backed out—” Erin’s shudder was theatrical.
“She’s afraid she’ll lose her independence if she has to give up driving.” Cole shook his head. “I told her the neighbors would take her to the store if she asked, and there’s Dial-A-Ride, but I understand her fear.”
“I do, too,” Erin said. “I’ll see if she wants to hitch a ride next time I shop. I’d be glad to drive her when she needs to do other errands, too.”