Total pages in book: 159
Estimated words: 155775 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 779(@200wpm)___ 623(@250wpm)___ 519(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 155775 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 779(@200wpm)___ 623(@250wpm)___ 519(@300wpm)
He took a closer look. Period panties. Good to know. They seemed to come in lots of pretty colors. The pair she chose were a pale blue with white daisies on them.
“Just one?” he asked.
“I have more at home. And it hasn’t come yet.”
Her voice sounded like it was getting raspier.
“Get two,” he told her. “Just in case.”
She nibbled on her lip, then nodded. “These are cute. Never seen ones like this before.”
“Really?” he asked.
She picked up another pair that were also pale blue, but these ones had strawberries on them.
“Okay, I’m good,” she said as she held her two pairs of panties.
She was good? What was she talking about? There was a lot more stuff that she might need. Heating pads and these patches that you stuck on your tummy that grew warm. They could be a good idea, especially while on the plane. Not that he wanted to think about that.
And then there were some zip-up waterproof bags. He bent down to have a look at them. One of them was white and thick, and said along the front, ‘Crime Scene Kit.’ Another one said, ‘Period Essentials.’
There were toys with removable bellies that could be heated up, soft eye masks, fluffy bathrobes and slippers to match. Heated blankets. Face masks and tons of soft socks.
She didn’t reach for anything, so he went through it all, drawing out two pairs of fluffy socks, one with strawberries and one with little pink bows that he thought were pretty cute.
Then he grabbed two of the face masks, as well as one of the toys that had the heating thing inside. It was actually a strawberry with eyes and little black legs dangling out the front.
He thought it was pretty cute.
“Who are you getting these for?” she asked without looking at him. She was busy staring down at her feet.
“Oh, just a cute girl that I just met,” he said teasingly, expecting that she’d get it. But she simply nodded and kept her face lowered. Did she not understand that he was talking about her?
“Addie, look at me.”
She shook her head.
“Addie. Eyes on mine.”
Immediately, her head rose and she stared at him.
“These are for you, silly.”
“For me?” Surprise filled her face.
“Of course they’re for you. Who else would they be for?”
“I don’t know. I thought you said a cute girl you just met. Oh, you really mean me?”
“We need to work on your self-esteem,” he told her. Unfortunately, there wasn’t going to be time for him to help her with that.
He led her back to the desk. On the way there, they walked down an aisle with toys and clothes. She stopped at a few boxes of squishy toys. The ones that you could squeeze when you were stressed. Addie reached out one hand to touch a fake banana. She pulled her hand back before she could touch it, though.
Well, that wouldn’t do.
He picked up a cube. It was actually quite nice to squeeze.
“What do you think of this one?” he asked, handing it to her.
She squeezed it and her face lit up.
Yeah, she liked the cube.
Picking up a hoodie, he studied it. It was pale yellow and there seemed to be something in the cuffs. Oh, were there squishies stitched into the cuffs?
“Look, there are squishies sown into the cuffs of this hoodie.”
“Ooh,” she said, squeezing the cuff.
He thought about buying her the hoodie. But it was probably enough to get the other things.
For the moment.
He could sneak back and get it later.
Cash watched her put the cube reluctantly back.
“Pink or blue?” he asked.
She shook her head. “I don’t need it.”
“All right, pink squishy it is.” He picked it up and then took her hand and led her back to the front desk.
Where Bonnie seemed to be caught in a staring match with Titus. Cash often wondered if there was something going on between the two of them. Whether they had feelings for each other.
Finally, Cash cleared his throat as it became obvious that neither of them was going to acknowledge him or Addie.
Bonnie jumped and turned to stare at him. “Oh, hi. Sorry. Didn’t realize you were there.”
Titus sighed. “And that is why you cannot go out playing detective. You have no instincts for it.”
Bonnie’s face fell. Cash glared at Titus.
“I think you’d make a great detective,” Addie said.
It surprised him that she’d spoken up like that in front of Titus.
Titus turned to frown down at her. To Cash’s shock and delight, she stepped behind him. It meant that she trusted him to take care of her. It also meant she was scared and felt like she needed protection.
“Do not stare at her like that.”
Titus raised his eyebrows, not looking at all concerned. But then he huffed and walked away.
“He doesn’t mean to be so grouchy,” Bonnie said. “Sorry if he frightened you, Addie. He’s actually a big softy on the inside. He’s just concerned that I’m going to go do something stupid.”