The Cowboy Songwriter's Fake Marriage by Lucy McConnell

Author:Lucy McConnell [McConnell, Lucy]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Orchard View Publishing LLC
Published: 2019-12-25T16:00:00+00:00

15

Xavier

Xavier pushed the cart up and down the aisles while Emily stacked it with more food than they could eat in a month. If he’d been shopping, they would have hit the frozen foods aisle and called it a day. Not Emily. She lingered in the produce, smelling melons and checking the bottom of strawberry cartons for bruised fruit. She bought organic and non-GMO items.

She was super-focused on shopping—turning it into an Olympic sport. Whatever the issue had been with her ex-coworker, she didn’t want to talk about it. So why did he feel the need to push her, to uncover her secret? He should give her space to work through things. Her life before they were married was her own. But he had this feeling that there was something lingering. In the couple of weeks they’d spent together, he didn’t once feel like she was dishonest with him—but she was hiding something about her last job. In his gut, he knew it wasn’t anything that would jeopardize him or Cody. But it had affected Emily. And he cared about her enough to ask.

Emily picked up a bag of marshmallows and added them to the cart.

He’d seen her bristle at the sucker the hairstylist gave Cody earlier, so he had to ask, “Aren’t those pure sugar?”

She smiled easily, and he was grateful she didn’t get defensive. “Cody’s doing great.” They both smiled at him sitting in the basket, surrounded by groceries while watching a show on Xavier’s phone. “I didn’t like that she didn’t ask first. There are tons of kids out there with food allergies and sensitivities. I think people should be more aware. I’m planning a vegetarian dinner tomorrow night; he can have some carbs after that.”

Xavier agreed. “He spends so much time outside now. I think he’s going to become part of the forest one of these days.” Besides bike rides, they hiked and swam in the pool and played a game that included throwing the tennis ball against the garage.

She hip-bumped him. “That’s the idea.”

He chuckled. “We need to get body wash too—he smells like he lives in the forest.” He waved his hand in front of his face and grimaced.

She laughed. “Duly noted.”

They turned the corner and bumped carts with a brunette. Both women screamed like little girls and dashed around the carts to throw their arms around one another. In seconds, they were talking excitedly.

“Your hair looks great.” Emily picked up a strand of the woman’s hair and looked closely. “What did you do?”

“I dyed it a shade darker.”

They continued to laugh and joke. Xavier enjoyed the animation on Emily’s face. He caught the resemblance between the two women, the wide smiles, the apple cheeks, and the slight builds. This had to be her sister.

While he was being completely ignored, it didn’t feel like Emily was doing it on purpose. She was just thrilled to be with Lexi—he’d picked up on her name between the giggles and exclamations and rapidly flowing conversations.

He’d also picked up a large dose of guilt.

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