Page 24 of Mob Princess

7

Two days later

Bonnie

I openedthe pantry door and stood there in shock. The damn thing was as bare as it could have been. I mean, sure, that random phone was in there, mounted to the wall. But, did the shelves in here really have to go unused?

Israel and I had eaten through everything we had in the freezer. I had one more meal I could whip up for us before we’d be completely out of food. And while it was obvious to me that he had no issues surviving on takeout, I wasn’t about to eat Chinese and Thai every night until one of us caved toward the groceries.

So, I decided to start a list.

I wasn’t sure if Israel wanted this space utilized, but I made the executive decision to use it. So long as that phone wasn’t blocked or impeded in any way, I figured I’d be fine. I closed the door and made my way back to the kitchen island. I hunched over the list, scribbling down the basics as I rattled them off in my mind.

Flour. Eggs. Rice. Beans. Does Israel like lasagna? I’ll need mozzarella for my lasagna recipe. I wonder how far that cheese place is from here?

My pen paused its motions. “Hey, Israel?”

“Hmm?”

I peered over my shoulder, glancing at him sitting at the breakfast nook. “I need to run out and go do a few things. Need anything while I’m out?”

He slowly looked up from his file of papers. “What?”

“I have to go out. Do you need anything?”

He looked at me like I’d lost my mind. “You’re to stay here until I need to go out. Then, you can come with me.”

“Well, yes. That’s the agreement for when you go out. Not when I do.”

“Then, if you leave, I leave with you.”

I narrowed my eyes. “Says who?”

His eyes fell back to his papers. “Says me. When I leave, you leave. So, when you leave, I leave. It’s that simple.”

“But —”

He flickered his eyes up to mine. “That. Simple.”

I stared him down until he looked back at his handful of papers. All right. So, he wanted to play this game. That’s fine. I mean, a compromise was a compromise. But my plan for the day wouldn't work if he was at my side. I had things that needed to get done outside of grocery shopping, and if I had any chance at succeeding in my endeavors to prove to Israel that I was on his side, I had to get him to agree to staying behind.

I tapped my pen against the marble countertop. “So, guess I’m ordering groceries then?”

“Guess you are,” he murmured.

I clicked my tongue. “Want anything specific?”

“We’ve run out of olive oil.”

“Oh, the humanity.”

“Bonnie.”

I giggled softly. “It was just a joke. Lighten up. I’ll get you some more olive oil. Anything else?”

“Some chips.”

I paused. “Chips.”

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