Page 11 of The Lies We Told Ourselves

“What’s happening now?” I asked through gritted teeth as I stopped the cart and refused to go any further.

There was barely any meat on the woman, and if I had to sit her down for every meal and watch her eat, I’d do it.

“I just need bread, peanut butter, and maybe?—”

“No.”

“No? Is that your favorite word or something?”

“No.” The corner of my mouth ticked up again, and now I was ready to shake myself. “You need proper food.”

Reece shuffled awkwardly. “I don’t really have much. I can survive for a while with just?—”

“No.”

When her eyes flicked up to me, I could have sworn she was getting ready to punch me. It lit a fire in me in response that I didn’t want to acknowledge.

“I’m paying,” I told her. “Think of it as an advance.”

Reece opened her mouth to argue, but then it slowly closed before she said a word. She knew she needed this, and I could see how hard it was for her to accept it. Instead of waiting for her to say something, I headed back to the beginning of the aisle again. This had better be the last time today because people were already looking at us funny.

Reece followed quietly, and then she finally shopped. Every time she picked something up, checked the price, and then put it back on the shelf, I grabbed it and put it in the cart while she wasn’t looking.

She didn’t notice until we’d made it to the end of the aisle, and when she went to thank me, Marie from the bakery stepped into view.

“Booker! Why don’t you introduce me to your lovely friend,” she said warmly.

My presence in the grocery store with an unknown woman would be all over town in less than an hour. The gossip would go wild with this.

“Hi! I’m Reece Graham,” Reece said, stepping forward to shake her hand.

It probably wasn’t a good sign that this was the first time I’d learned Reece’s last name.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you, dear. That’s a nasty bruise on your face.”

Oh hell, I really hadn’t thought this through.

“Erm, yes,” Reece said awkwardly, her fingers coming to her eye as if to remind herself it was there. “Hopefully, the last one I get.”

I hated the sight of that thing on her face. It made me want to punch something every time I saw it. It was definitely the last one Reece would ever get because as soon as I found out the name of the guy who’d given it to her, I was breaking both his arms. And there was no doubt in my mind this had happened at the hands of some guy.

Marie looked at me, her head cocking to the side as she thought. The scowl on my face actually made the strange woman smile. “Well, by the looks of it, Booker is going to make sure of that. Now, my name is Marie, and I run the bakery in town. Make sure you stop by soon, and we’ll have some cake and a chat.”

Reece thanked her, and then they hugged before Marie walked away. What was with this girl and hugging random strangers?

The rest of the time we spent in the store was a test of my sanity and patience—of which I had none.

Every person we came across stopped and introduced themselves to Reece, and she had a standing invitation to four people’s houses, the bakery, and apparently a discount at the beauty salon waiting for her.

Every. Single. Person.

I was pretty sure I was about to crack a molar with how hard I was grinding my teeth. The whole while, I’d pushed the cart silently behind her, praying that the world would end.

When we finally approached the register, Reece turned to me with a smile. It was the first genuine smile I’d seen on her face, and it made her breathtakingly beautiful. A simple trip to the grocery store shouldn’t be able to have this effect on a person.

“If you grumble any louder, people are going to talk,” she quipped.

“You’ve never been to a small town before, have you?” I asked, and she frowned in confusion. “They’re already talking. They never stop talking.”

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