For You & No One Else by Author

Author:Author
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Sourcebooks, Inc.
Published: 2022-05-11T00:00:00+00:00

Fourteen

Beckham grabbed a box off a high shelf labeled Round metallic purple, 7mm. He plunked it onto the flat pushcart dolly that Will had parked in the middle of the store’s wide aisle.

“How many is that?” Will asked as he eyed a box of mini stuffed New Orleans Saints footballs with a furrow in his brow.

Beckham grabbed another box, this time of long, green throw beads instead of purple. He eyed the cart and did the math quickly in his head. “Seven hundred and twenty.”

“Get a few more cases of those,” Will said. “The group said no short beads. We have a reputation to protect.”

Beckham grabbed a box of gold-colored beads and added it to the haul. “You sure that’s not just the guys guaranteeing they get a lot of shirt-lifters?”

Beckham hadn’t grown up with Mardi Gras. Even if he had grown up in New Orleans instead of Arizona, he wouldn’t have been allowed to go to a celebration that had ties to both Catholicism and paganism. But he’d picked up the traditions pretty quickly since he’d moved here. And he knew that the longest, most unique plastic bead necklaces were often held out as bait at parades to get women to lift their shirts. It wasn’t his favorite tradition. After his strict upbringing, he was mostly a live-and-let-live kind of person, but it felt a little weird to have women flashing breasts while people’s kids were nearby just trying to get some beads.

Will smirked. “That’s definitely some people’s motivation, but even the women don’t want the cheap stuff. Plus, we’re riding in Metairie this year and not in the city, so it will be more family-friendly.” He held up one of the footballs. “You think I should get these? Might be fun to throw.”

Beckham shrugged. “Sure. It’s not my money.”

Will grabbed a box of them and stacked it on top of the cases of loot already on the cart. “This is going to be fun. I know you’ve been to the parades, but it’s a whole different experience riding on a float.”

“I appreciate the invite. Seems like a New Orleans bucket-list item,” he said.

Will had asked Beckham a few weeks ago if he’d wanted to ride with his coworkers because they’d had a few spots open. Normally, Beckham wouldn’t do anything that would put him in front of the public, but they’d be wearing masks so he decided to give it a shot.

“Yeah, man, no problem,” Will said. “I owe you anyway.”

Beckham picked up a tiny stuffed duckling in a purple, green, and gold jester hat, checking the price and then putting it back. “For what?”

Will pushed the big cart slowly down the aisle as they walked. “For introducing me to your friend Eliza. We’re going to dinner this week. We had a really good time at the party.”

“Oh.” Beckham forced himself not to grimace. “That’s cool. Glad you two hit it off.”

“We did. She’s really easy to talk to. Smart, too.” Will stopped and picked up a bag

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