Page 35 of The Best Thing He Never Wanted

“Let’s walk.”

~ ~ ~

As Bea wandered among the stalls at Covent Garden Market, Blane found himself following in her wake. He couldn’t stay beside her the whole time; she kept stopping to look at knickknacks and things that made no sense to him. But apparently, he didn’t need to. Seeing the smile on her face as she picked things up, watching her laugh with the vendors and chat with the people around her—that was what he was here for. He drew in a breath as that thought landed.

He hadn’t realized that was what he was here for, but he looked at the crowd flowing around him and knew it was true. He would never come to a place like this otherwise. In fact, this was the kind of thing he actively avoided. Gift shops, stalls, a sea of humanity wandering around without any obvious objective. Every bit of it went against the grain for him.

And yet here he was, and worse, he was enjoying himself.

Bea turned and held up a small painted ceramic dish with ridges across the center.

“What do you think?”

He folded his arms across his chest and studied it. He could tell her it was nice. Tell her that if she liked it, he did too. He supposed that was what a man was meant to do in this situation. But he didn’t feel the need to. For some reason that he didn’t understand, Bea seemed to like him exactly as he was. So he gave her the truth.

“What the hell is it?”

She laughed. “It’s a garlic grater.”

He looked at it again. “That’s a thing?”

“Yes, Blane. It’s a thing.”

“What’s wrong with a knife?”

The woman behind the stall gave Bea a sympathetic smile. “You can’t have it all, love. Don’t push your luck. He’s good-looking and patient enough to wander around here with you on a Monday morning. I’d be grateful for that. I wouldn’t ask for more if I were you.”

Something about the smile she gave Blane sat wrong. It was like she was trying to bring him in on a joke at Bea’s expense. Like she understood what a pain in the ass this must be for him, even if Bea didn’t.

He stepped closer and put his arm around Bea’s shoulders, took the little ceramic thing from her, and studied it again.

“It’s okay, I guess, but I saw some of these back there. We should check those before you buy this one.”

Bea’s eyes widened.

He caught it immediately. “But if this is the one you want, get this one.”

She studied him for a second, then the woman, then set the grater down. “No. Let’s look at the others.”

As she allowed Blane to steer her back into the crowd, she asked, “Are you okay?”

“Yeah.”

He knew he’d seen the things somewhere farther back, and for some reason he really didn’t want Bea buying one from that woman. He kept his arm around her shoulders, taking the risk that she might object.

“Just had a feeling she might be trying to rip you off.”

Bea laughed and slapped his arm. “You mean you were uncomfortable because she was flirting with you?”

Damn. So she’d noticed. He stopped dead, ignoring the people who had to change course around them.

“Wasn’t uncomfortable for me. Didn’t like that she was talking to me over your head.”

“Oh.” Her smile softened. “You’re very sweet, aren’t you?”

“Never been accused of that before.”

“Then I suppose you haven’t spent enough time around people who understand you.”