Page 66 of Love in Overdrive

Chapter 22

Friday afternoon, on her way to her car, Laney checked her phone for messages. One from her mom ensuring her safety. The second from Addison, venting about her boss. The third from Cade. A smile crept to her lips as she clicked on his.

Cade: How did you sleep?

Laney: Like a rock. Someone tired me out. You? She started the car and waited for his reply. It came before an ounce of heat blew from the vents.

Cade: Same. Must be all that baseball last night that did it.

Laney: Must be. She was grinning and her cheeks were warm, but not from the heater. She still needed to get that looked at. At least now, she knew a mechanic who was good with his hands. Was it too early to ask him to fix her car? She could have Sawyer look at it, but… she really wanted to see Cade.

She dropped her head to the steering wheel. “I’m in so much trouble.”

Cade: What are you doing?

Laney: Sitting in my car. Wishing he was here. She’d see him in what… twenty-six hours? It’s like she was jonesing for a fix. Her Cade fix. She started typing thinking of you, but stopped. On an exhale, she tapped the delete button. Delete. Delete. Delete.

Laney: See you tomorrow. She clicked “send” and threw her phone in her purse. She needed to work on this new independence. Her romance-loving heart tried to take over whenever possible. Maybe she could find a rope to tie that runaway organ down.

Shifting into drive, she headed for the store. She’d see him tomorrow. Thankfully, her friends were okay with him joining in.

That morning, Laney told Marti she’d invited Cade along tomorrow night. Loving a good time, her friend’s face lit with excitement. “Sounds fun. If Cade’s friend, Nash, is coming, why don’t you invite Sawyer, too? We can make it a party.”

Addison took a little more persuading. Especially when Laney told her they were inviting Sawyer and Nash. Eventually, she conceded in a huff, “I guess that’s fine.”

“What’s the deal with you and him?” Laney said.

“It’s no big deal. He’s a pretty boy who thinks women should drop at his feet.”

Laney didn’t get that impression of Nash. Addison wasn’t wrong about his looks. The man was fine with a capital F. But not egotistical. Laney pegged him as more on the quiet side, with a good sense of humor.

Addison’s usual type.

“Strange.” Laney would ponder her friend’s odd behavior later. She’d just pulled into the parking lot at the grocery store. She grabbed her smock and locked her car.

As the glass doors slid open for her, she wondered what new gossip she’d hear tonight.

She cringed. The robbery and carjacking would be the hot topic in town for months, unless a meteor suddenly hit the Sip and Slurp on the edge of town.

One step inside the store and all eyes focused on her.

By the exaggerated concern on MaryLou’s face when she spotted Laney, the Sip and Slurp was still standing. Crap.

***

An hour later, Cade found himself wandering up and down the aisles of Gray Duck Grove Market, muttering. He had most of the items his mom requested, except one. Olive oil.

A week ago, he would have cringed at the thought of doing a shopping run for his mother, but today… She hadn’t even asked. He volunteered.

Cade did a mental head slap. He had it bad.

He turned the corner in the next aisle and halted.

“Whoa, mama! That’s a lot of olive oil.” Who knew there were so many brands and varieties? He was pretty sure there weren’t this many motor oils, and Cade understood why they needed those.

He cringed as he looked at the shelves. His mother would send him back if he got the wrong one. Pulling out his phone, he sent her a text. While waiting on the three dots, he scanned the main aisle. Knowing his mom, she was typing a detailed description of the item she wanted.

Head on a swivel, Cade scanned for Laney. There. A gray vest. His shoulders slumped when the only one that crossed his field of vision was a fifty-year-old man.