Page 4 of King

“I—thank you,” she managed.

Brilliant.

He held out a hand, an unspoken offer. She hesitated for half a second, then placed her fingers in his palm. His grip was warm, steady, completely surrounding her uninjured hand as he helped her step into the car without incident.

She settled into her seat, her pulse still erratic as he shut the door behind her.

The car pulled away, and she exhaled slowly, willing her heartbeat to settle.

“Good man, that one,” Mayor Winslow remarked, pulling her from her thoughts.

She turned her head, raising a brow. “King?”

The mayor grunted. “One of the best in Shadowridge. Reliable, solid, good in a crisis. Always willing to help anyone in need.”

Ella bit her lip, unsure why that made her feel warm.

The mayor glanced at her with a knowing smile. “Pretty sure he’s single, too.”

Her stomach flipped.

She turned quickly toward the window, hiding the blush crawling up her neck.

She wasn’t looking for anything. At least, she didn’t think she was. Then again, being in King’s presence for a short amount of time had her questioning all kinds of things.

Ella hummed softly as she bounced down the snack aisle, her white Converse squeaking against the polished tile. She glanced into her basket, satisfied with her haul. Gummy bears, a rainbow assortment of chips, sugary cereal, boxed macaroni, cupcakes, and a six-pack of root beer.

All the essentials.

Dressed in her favorite pink leggings and an oversized lime-green sweater, she felt extra cozy, her high ponytail swishing with each step. The bow tied neatly at the top of her head was the cherry on top. Shopping like this, picking out whatever looked good without worrying about anything else, was fun. She couldn’t understand why her mother always hated grocery shopping. As an adult, you could literally buy anything you wanted, and nobody could say no.

As she rounded the corner, she nearly ran straight into a broad chest. One covered in navy-blue fabric, decorated with a firefighter’s emblem.

King.

She stumbled backward, gripping her basket, her heart giving a traitorous little flutter.

He stood there in his uniform, sleeves pushed over his inked forearms, the radio clipped to his shoulder, a half-smirk playing at his lips. He wasn’t alone. Two other firefighters from thestation were tossing things into a cart nearby, but Ella only had eyes for him.

King’s gaze flickered down to her basket. His smirk deepened.

“Where’s the real food?” he asked.

Ella frowned, then glanced at her collection of sugar and carbs. “It’s right here.”

King huffed out a quiet chuckle, shaking his head. “No protein? No vegetables?”

She wrinkled her nose. “For your information, there is protein in cheese, and there is cheese in the macaroni. Also, I got potato chips, which are made of potatoes, and I’m pretty sure potatoes are considered vegetables. And sugar, well, sugar is made from canes, which you have to grow, and let’s face it, if you have to grow it, it’s a vegetable.”

He folded his arms, studying her like she was some kind of strange, new discovery that he was intrigued by. “Uh-huh. And what’re you eating for dinner?”

Ella blinked, then looked at her basket.

Good question.

She bit her lip, realizing she hadn’t actually thought that far ahead. “Umm…”

His brows lifted, clearly waiting for an answer.

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