Page 75 of The Closed Off Captain

“I’m good.”

“Take my card, Chloe.”

I shut the door and wave before heading inside. I grab a basket and move like a woman on a mission. Knowing the guys like I do, I first head to the fruit section and grab oranges andstrawberries. Next, I grab beef jerky, cheese sticks, and a giant bag of trail mix. I ponder a moment, trying to think through what to bring for the women. “Chocolate,” I say out loud. I grab a bag of mixed chocolate candy bars and a large bag of sweet and salty kettle corn. I find the aisle with pickles and grab a large jar. On the way to checkout, I grab a bag of my favorite sweet chili Popcorners. I start to walk away and then walk back and grab one more bag in case everybody decides they like them as well. I make it to self-checkout and checkout in record time. True to his word, Gunner pulls up as soon as he sees me. He parks and runs around to my side to take the bags and put them in the back.

“Did you buy out the whole store?”

I put my hand on my hip. “Have you seen your teammates eat?”

“Good point. Thanks.” He opens my door for me and closes it once I’m safely inside.

Less than ten minutes later, we pull up in front of Aiden and Brielle’s house. I don’t wait for Gunner to come around but open my door, climb down, and start pulling out the bags. Gunner grabs most of them and starts towards the front door. “Hey, Coftman.” He turns to face me. “If it gets awkward, I’ll just get an Uber and head home.”

He frowns. “If you need to leave, I’ll take you. Why would it get awkward?”

I smirk. “You know me.”

His frown deepens. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“I just mean that you know me. I’m not exactly warm and fuzzy, and I’m pretty sure your teammates wives all hate me.” I cock my head to the side, thinking. “Well, not Bri; but I don’t think it’s possible for her to dislike anybody. Anway, it doesn’t bother me; I just don’t want to make it a bad night for you. So if it’s rough, I’ll just scoot out. No worries.”

“Chloe,” he starts, but I cut him off.

“It doesn’t bother me. I’m fine with who I am; I just wanted to—"

Gunner steps close and cuts me off. “Chloe.”

“What?”

“I want you here tonightwithme. Not because you’re my fake fiancé; I want you here because you’re you. If anybody has a problem with that, we’ll just leave.”

He makes it sound so simple, and maybe it is. I find myself agreeing. “Okay.” And we don’t say anything else about it. I take a quick accounting of vehicles on our way up the driveway and know we’re the last ones to arrive. We walk up the front steps and Gunner knocks on the door. “I’m glad you’re not warm and fuzzy,” he says in a low voice.

I look up at him. He towers over me since I’m not in heels. “Yeah?”

“Sounds like a caterpillar.”

His dry tone and words makes me laugh out loud, and that’s how Sebastian opens the door and finds me. “Hey, love birds, come on in.”

I step forward into the house. “You know it’s just fake, right?”

“Yep. Just like my fake dating was fake,” Seb says easily.

I roll my eyes. “Go away, Hart.” I walk past him and slip off my shoes.

“Hey, Chloe, Gunner.” Bri greets us with a smile. “I’m so glad you were able to make it.” She gives me a side hug, and I return it.

“Can you point me to the kitchen?” I ask.

“Sure. Follow me.”

I lift my bags onto the counter and begin pulling out ingredients. “We should invite Chloe more often. She brought all the good stuff,” Rico says, coming into the kitchen and snagging the entire bag of trail mix. “Thanks.”

Gunner drops off the other bags next to me and snatches the bag right out of his hands before handing it back to me. Rico just grins and leaves the kitchen with an orange instead. “Ooo. Chocolate,” Bri breathes and takes the bag almost reverently.

I pull out the jar of pickles and suddenly feel uncertain. “I grabbed these because they always say pregnant women want pickles, but if you don’t...”

She snatches the jar right out of my hands. “Oh my goodness! You are a life saver! I was going to send Aiden out to get some for me; I’ve been dying all day for a pickle.” She opens the jar with a pop and pulls one out and practically inhales it. She shuts her eyes, and I smirk.

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