Page 32 of Harmony Island Gazette
Her gaze remained on Boone as she nodded. “It has.”
I glanced from Boone to Meaghan. “Well, is there anything I can help you with? Looks like Boone rang you up.” I was trying to be happy for my friend, but that didn’t mean I wanted to witness the start of their love story. I got the sinking suspicious that, to her, I was just the third wheel.
She flicked her gaze over to me. “Actually, I?—”
“There’s someone coming up, so if you’re done…” I nodded toward the sliding doors and gave her a wide smile.
She narrowed her eyes before she sighed and nodded. She wrapped her fingers around the shopping cart handle. “Call me, Boone,” she said before she started pushing her cart out of the way.
Boone just nodded. I peeked over at him to find that his gaze was still trained on the register. He looked like he’d done something wrong. I felt bad. He shouldn’t feel ashamed for seeing Meaghan.
Mrs. Wolf started unloading her groceries on the conveyor belt, and the sliding doors shut on Meaghan’s retreating frame. Boone turned to leave. I hated that I might miss my opportunity to tell him that I was happy for him, so I reached out and rested my hand on his forearm.
“Wait,” I whispered. My gaze was trained on his arm. His entire body had frozen in front of me. I slowly brought my gaze up to meet his. “Will you wait until I’m done with Mrs. Wolf? I…I want to talk to you about something.”
His gaze was dark and stormy, but he nodded. “Sure.”
“Thanks.” I held his gaze for a moment before I turned to ring up Mrs. Wolf’s 20 cans of cat food, meat, apples, and cat litter.
Once everything was paid for, Boone helped her load it into her cart. She gave us a shaking, “Thank you,” before she made her way out to the parking lot.
I was suddenly alone with Boone, and all the things that I wanted to say to him left my mind. He was studying me as if he were waiting for me to talk. I knew I should talk, I just didn’t know what to say.
“Thanks for helping me with Mrs. Wolf,” I said, feeling like a complete idiot. This wasn’t what Boone was waiting for. Why couldn’t I just say the right thing?
He frowned as he glanced toward the sliding doors. “Of course. My pleasure.”
I pinched my lips together as I nodded. I wanted to tell him that I was okay with him dating Meaghan without making it sound like he needed my permission. But I couldn’t figure out how to say it. I was going to melt under his gaze if I didn’t say something soon.
“Meaghan seems nice,” I finally blurted out.
Boone blinked a few times before he nodded. “She is nice.”
“She eats a lot.”
He drew his eyebrows together. “She does?”
What was I saying? I waved toward the store. “I mean, she came in here two days in a row. One can only deduce…” I needed to stop talking. Right. Now.
“Ah. She just moved into her apartment and realized she forgot to pick up aluminum foil yesterday. That’s why she came back today.” He folded his arms across his chest and leaned against the register as he studied me.
I felt like an idiot. Why did I have to open my big mouth? If I had a lick of sense, I would bid Boone a happy lunch and turn around. I would stop trying to suss out how he felt about Meaghan and if he was seeing her.
I would let my friend find his happiness.
I wanted to, anyway. It must be my pregnancy, but all my sense left my head as soon as I saw how Meaghan was looking at Boone.
“Do you have a big date planned with Meaghan?” I asked as I leaned toward him. “I saw her give you her number.” As soon as the words were out of my mouth, I realized that the confession made me sound more like a stalker than just a curious friend.
His eyes widened. “Um, she just gave it to me after she told me about her art show this weekend. She wanted me to go to it.”
“Oh.”Don’t ask. Don’t ask, Juniper.“Are you going to go?”
His gaze felt like it was boring a hole into me. I could tell he was trying to figure out my intention. “I guess it depends on you.”
My heart began to pound, and I felt my cheeks flush. “Me?” I whispered, surprised by my reaction.
He nodded. “I did promise your dad I’d watch over you while he was gone. If you need me here, I’ll be here.” His gaze intensified as if he wanted me to feel the weight of his words.
