Page 18 of Fated Mates and How to Seduce Them
Ian shook his head rapidly in denial.
“—but we don’t have room in both vans. I can get them sorted later. This trip is just to tide them over.”
Ian stared up at him, eyes wide with disbelief, for a full five seconds. “André. Just for my knowledge, do you have any other speeds besides dead stop and full steam ahead?”
Funny, he’d been asked this before. “Uh…no. Come to think of it.”
Ian rubbed the bridge of his nose, muttering something about paying better attention to the warning signs. He might have been praying for strength, too, but André could tell him his concern was a lost cause. André’s parents had been muttering similar sentiments since he was three years old to no noticeable effect.
Anyway, no one could argue the kids needed clothes. André went to where the women patiently waited for him in the little girl’s section, looking over the selection she’d already pulled, the other employee steadily pulling more items from the little boy’s section.
“You’ve got a great eye,” he complimented her. The three outfits she’d coordinated were cute and right in line with what he should buy. “I love all of them. Those, definitely, and what else can we pull? Oh, I like the look of that red shirt there. What sizes does this come in?”
Both women dove into the job, and while Ian might be trying to rein him in, he stayed right there in step with André the whole way. He kept the reclaimed list in his hand, marking things down to make sure the right clothes went to the right child later.
They couldn’t buy all of the clothes for the kids in this one shop because they only went up to pre-teen sizes. Still, they made a sizable dent in the store’s inventory before André called it good.
Liam caught up with him as he was checking out. He greeted the man with a wave. “Liam, how full is the van?”
“About two-thirds. We packed it tightly.”
“Good. Here’s the first batch of clothes. These lovely ladies are still packing them up, but carry them as you can. We still have more to go. I think we’ll hit the big department store next, for the older ones.”
“Yes, sir.”
He repeated the same routine with the department store clerks. It worked perfectly, as it always did. André knew some people didn’t like shopping with a salesclerk helping them, but André did. They knew the inventory far better than he did, after all, so it was easier to tell them what he was looking for than to hunt for it himself. Besides, today, especially, he didn’t have all the time in the world to shop. He wanted to be back at the group home by dinner so he could hand everything out.
Shopping with Ian felt nice and domestic. Also enlightening. He learned oodles about Ian just from shopping. Seeing what the man gravitated to and what he was willing to spend told him a lot about Ian’s upbringing and values. It also told him to steer clear of anything brand name. He was fairly sure if he tried to buy something with a designer label on it, Ian would have a heart attack on the spot.
Finally, though, the clothes shopping and shoes were all bought. Now for the fun shopping.
André dove right into the first toy shop with a cackle of glee.
Ian snagged him by the arm, once again trying to rein him in. “One toy each, André.One.”
André gave him a pitiful frown, lower lip pushed out and faux trembling. “But I promised the kids three.”
Ian stared up at him suspiciously, voice sounding defeated. “You did?”
“I did.” André’s frown flipped into a smile, knowing he’d won this round.
“Dammit. Fine. I won’t disappoint them.”
See? He couldn’t argue. André knew it had been smart to tell the kids beforehand. The adults couldn’t stop him that way.
Now, back to fun things.
There were some items not on the list that were just a given to André. Like soccer balls. Everyone liked to play soccer, andit would entertain multiple kids at once. He put those items immediately into the buggy.
Ian appeared ready to argue again, then visibly checked himself, shoulders slumping forward. “The outdoor playgroundisin bad shape.”
“Oh really? I hadn’t looked at it closely. I’ll ask the contractor to check it out too.”
Ian face-palmed. “André, focus on the list for now. Please.”
He would do that today, sure. No one could stop him tomorrow, though.
Why was tweaking Ian’s nose so much fun? It was mostly a rhetorical question. André didn’t care why. It was, so he’d enjoy it.
