Page 37 of One Sweet Match Up

Zoe’s arms went up, and she motioned all around her. “I need you to get all of these boxes out of my shop!”

Okay, not what he expected and a bit out of nowhere, but maybe she’d tried Will or someone else and he was her last option. He’d like to figure out a way to bump Will off her call list. “Where are they going?” he asked.

She looked mad. Her eyes narrowed while her lips pursed. Yep, that was definitely a scowl forming. Maybe he should start again. “What would you like me to do with these boxes?”

“I don’t know. Dump them into the lake for all I care.” She blew out a breath and sat down on a large box. “Did you really think that this was the way for me to agree to your zany Sweet Match Up proposition?”

Zany proposition. Obviously, she was talking about Saturday, but he was still missing a big part of this conversation. He came up and stood in front of her. “What would I be tossing into the lake?” He tapped his foot on her box. “There aren’t body parts in there, are there?”

She scoffed.

Okay, not a laugh but it was a start.

“No, it’s food. From Fresh Foods. I don’t have enough room in my kitchen for everything. I got as much as I could in my refrigerator and freezer, but I have no idea what to do with all these canned goods.” She sighed, reaching into the opened box next to her, pulling out a loaf of bread. She hoisted it up. “Andthisalong with the twenty other loaves are going to go to waste.”

“Why did you order so much?”

Zoe jumped to her feet, and he instinctively stepped back.

“I didn’t order this!” Her long bangs fell into her face, and damn if he didn’t want to brush them aside and tell her everything was going to be okay. If he tried, she’d probably slap him. Better to curb that impulse. “So, there was a mix-up in orders?”

Zoe placed her hands on her hips, leveling him with a stare. “Donovan, I’m in no mood for games. Just admit that you placed the order in my name.”

Seriously? Why would she think that? “Zoe, I didn’t. I didn’t do this.”

“You didn’t?” she asked, but lines of clear doubt etched into her face. “You didn’t do this to force me to go into business with you?”

“No.” He let out a chuckle to lighten the moment. “Although, would it have worked?”

“No!”

“And that’s the answer I would have expected. I wouldn’t have wasted my money.”

“Then who did?” she asked, bending down to snatch a piece of paper and waving it in the air. “Because my name’s on this order, but I didn’t place it.”

Donovan took the paper from Zoe. Sure enough, the invoice for more than a thousand dollars worth of items was in her name. Who would mysteriously send Zoe a food order? He bent down and pulled the flaps of the nearest box back. It was filled with tomato sauce and paste. He couldn’t deny that they were perfect start-up items for a comfy foods menu. All he needed was some seasoning.

Seasoning. He let that word marinate for a second.

Oh, shit.Seasoning that he just so happened to have thanks to an antique purse.

He released the flaps and stood back up. It couldn’t be Mary’s doing.

Could it?

If it was the crazy lady of a ghost, he wasn’t ready to share that suspicion. Instead, he knelt back down and opened another box.

“What are you doing?”

“Inspecting the loot. Are all of these nonperishables?” He pointed to the loaf in her hand. “Except for the bread.”

“No. I was able to put most of the perishables in my refrigerator. But it’s packed, and I’ll need it for my frozen yogurt items. It may not look like much, but I do have a business that I need to keep running.”

“Right. Okay. Not too worry.” He grabbed the box of tomato sauce and paste and hoisted it up. “Get your coat.”

“Why?”

“We’re going next door to talk to Ralph to see if he can store some of this stuff in his kitchen, and then pay a visit to someone up the hill.”

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