Page 52 of Count Your Lucky Stars
Olivia’s brows rose. “A dip?”
“Yeah. You know, sour cream or hummus or—I don’t know.Dip.”
Brendon was the first of her friends to get married. The whole of her knowledge of bachelor and bachelorette parties came from movies likeThe HangoverandBridesmaids.
Olivia smiled. “I guess I’m not most people, then.”
“No,” Margot agreed, warmth spreading through her chest. “You aren’t.”
Olivia ducked her head, but there was no mistaking the way her smile began to curl. “If I’m baking cookies, I need sugar. A few other odds and ends, too.”
“We’ve got break-and-bake dough in the fridge,” Margot said, erring on the side of simplicity. That, and it was hard, though not impossible, to fuck up premade dough.
Olivia wrinkled her nose. “I want to makerealcookies. My grandma’s cookies.”
Oh, shit. “You mean the chocolate cookies with—”
“White chocolate chunks?” Olivia nodded. “Yup. My grandma’s tar cookies.”
Margot’s mouth watered. She stepped away from the counter and fished her phone out of her pocket. “It’s only after ten.”
Olivia cocked her head. “Want to go with me? Keep me company?”
Margot shrugged. She wasn’t doing anything. “Sure. Let me grab my jacket.”
Three minutes later, they were out on the rain-splattered sidewalk. Margot tugged her hood over her head and crossed her arms against the chill, setting off down the street in the direction of the QFC.
A blast of heat blew her hood back as soon as they stepped through the automatic doors and into the grocery store. Bypassing the carts, Margot paused in front of the bank of registers. “I’m going to head to the freezer section. Meet you by the self-check?”
Olivia nodded, already shuffling in the direction of the aisle markedpet care. “Sounds good.”
Margot meandered toward the ice cream, stopping to snag a bag of Reese’s off the endcap of an aisle, grabbing a box of Sour Patch Kids, too, because Olivia had an affinity for things that were sour and sweet and—huh. A snort escaped her, earning her a sideways look from a woman wearing a fur coat pushing a cart full of mayonnaise. Thirteen jars of Kraft mayonnaise and not a single other item in her cart, though it looked like she was seriously considering the bag of Pop Rocks in her hand.
Capitol Hill after dark was an interesting place, that was for sure. Margot loved it here.
Ooh, Ben & Jerry’s had a new flavor featuring peanut butter cupsandpeanut butter swirls. Margot cracked open the freezer, a chilly blast of air nipping at her face as she bypassed the closest pint and grabbed the second out of habit. She was still bitter that they’d discontinued her favorite flavor, sending it to the flavor graveyard, because apparentlysomepeople had no taste and couldn’t appreciate a good thing.Thiswas a small concession, one she was eager to try.
“Hey.” Olivia ducked her head around the aisle, arms laden with sugar, cocoa powder, chocolate chips, and several cans of Friskies cat food in delightful flavors like—Margot squinted—chicken grillerandcheesy ocean feast. Yikes. Margot would stickwith peanut butter swirl, thanks. She smiled ruefully. “I forgot a basket.” A smile played at the edges of Olivia’s mouth when she spotted the Sour Patch Kids in Margot’s other hand. “Are those for me?”
“These?” She wrinkled her nose. “Oh, I was about to put these back on the—”
“Shut up.” Olivia laughed and stepped closer, crowding Margot up against the glass door of the freezer, earning a glare from the woman with the cart full of mayo and, now, Pop Rocks, who was perusing the Magic Shell fudge sauce at the end of the aisle.
Margot pressed her lips together, muffling a snicker. She dropped her voice to a whisper. “Look at her cart. Think she has big plans for tonight?”
Olivia’s eyes darted to the left, doing a double take at the contents of the cart. “Holy—okay, I don’t want to yuck anyone’s yum, but some things aren’t okay.”
“Right?” Margot muffled another laugh when the woman grabbed every single jar of fudge sauce, easily six, off the shelf and added them to her cart.
“I mean,Kraft?” Olivia tutted. “Hellmann’s or bust.”
Laughter bubbled up Margot’s throat and past her lips.“Liv.”
Olivia beamed at her, hazel eyes crinkling. She leaned closer, breath warm against Margot’s mouth. The very tip of her nose brushed Margot’s once, twice, three times before she pressed a kiss to the corner of Margot’s mouth.
“Tease,” Margot muttered, breathless, practically vibrating from holding still, letting Olivia come to her.
“Not if I follow...” Olivia frowned. “I’m buzzing.”
