Christmas Steele Read Online Free Page B

would be easier if she had a
legitimate reason to leave. With Tosh otherwise engaged, errands
were her only excuse, and there were only so many times she could
go to the store before her mother became suspicious.
    “Are you caging the place?”
    Lacy jumped, not realizing she had been
walking around the store in a daze until Jason spoke. “What?” she
said dumbly as she looked him up and down. How did he make jeans
and a long sleeved t-shirt look so good ?
    “You’ve been walking back and forth with a
blank expression on your face for the last few minutes. I wondered
if you were planning a heist.”
    “Your job is making you cynical.”
    He shook his head. “I’m pretty sure I became
a cop because I was already cynical. It’s a chicken/egg debate, I
guess. What are you doing here?”
    “I came to get some sugar.”
    “I’m right here,” Jason said with an
exaggerated wink and cheesy leer.
    “Wow, I didn’t think you could be a creepy
old guy until you were at least thirty. Good job breaking the age
barrier,” Lacy replied.
    Jason laughed. “So what are you doing after
you get your sugar?”
    “Is this a pickup?” she asked.
    “Depends on your answer,” he replied.
    “I’m free.”
    “Then, yes, it’s a pickup. Want to grab some
coffee?”
    She thought of her mother, lying in wait for
her at her grandmother’s house. “More than anything in the world.”
Lacy replied, realizing as she said it how much it was true; she
had missed him. “What are you here for?” she asked, nosily peering
in his basket.
    “The essentials,” he said, holding out his
basket for her inspection.
    “Baby carrots and mixed greens are your
essentials?” she asked.
    “They are if you like a good salad,” he
said.
    “Your eating habits are bizarre,” she
commented.
    “This coming from the person who surrounds a
prune in cake and caramel and calls it breakfast,” he said.
    “You said you liked prune cake,” she reminded
him.
    “It was good, but I also felt like I had to
do an extra hour on the treadmill to work it off,” he said.
    “Why is everyone obsessed with weight today?
Why can’t we just eat and enjoy our food without worrying about our
bodies?”
    He quirked an eyebrow at her, probably
alarmed by her over the top reaction to his innocent statement.
“Bad day, Red?”
    She sagged in defeat, thinking they had all
been bad days lately. “Yes,” she said.
    He moved forward and put his arm
companionably around her shoulders. “C’mon, let’s get your sugar
and get out of here.”
    She allowed him to lead her like an invalid
to the baking section. She stepped forward and plucked a bag of
powdered sugar from the shelf, hugging it close to her chest when
he reached for it.
    “You shouldn’t pay for my sugar,” she
said.
    He rolled his eyes and pried the sugar from
her fingers. “Not everything has to be a fight, Lacy. What are you
making with this sugar?”
    “Cookies.”
    “Then give me some cookies and call it even,”
he said.
    “All right,” she relented, although the sugar
was already in his basket and he was heading toward the
checkout.
    “Are you like this with him?” Jason asked as
he set the items on the scanner.
    “Who?”
    He gave her a look. “Don’t play dumb, Lacy.
You know who I’m talking about; the other me—Stretch McPastor.
    Lacy wouldn’t give in to her laughter,
finding the jab amusing would be disloyal to Tosh. “Tosh is not
that tall.”
    “Please. He looks like he’s been on the rack
for a week. You look ridiculous together.”
    She wanted to say the same about him and the
pretty blond, but it wouldn’t be true. They had looked perfect
together, like something from a magazine photo shoot.
    “Are you?” Jason prompted.
    “Am I what?” she asked, distracted by
thoughts of the blond. Who was she?
    He gave an exasperated sigh. “Are you like
this with him? Is everything a battle?”
    “No,” she blurted before she could think
about it.
    “Hmm.” His