“I can practically hear the gears of the rumor mill being greased right now,” Elaine said quietly as she leaned into Davis’s broad shoulder. “The two of us food shopping together. Scandalous.”

“You don’t know the half of it,” he whispered back. “That woman who practically ran up the dairy aisle in her high heels was Lucille. She’s the town busybody, and I guarantee she left her shopping cart where it was and started hitting speed dial to spread the news. She’ll have our wedding planned by the end of the week.”

“That doesn’t bother you?” Elaine asked, scanning the frozen food section for something that looked remotely like one of the diet meals she normally heated up at the end of the long day.

“They’ve had me linked to much less attractive women before. You’re far from the worst person I’ve been fake engaged to.”

“That’s a glowing review,” she teased. “Where is all the healthy food?” she asked, finally starting to open the doors to the frozen food and move things around.

“What are you talking about? All this food is locally sourced, grown within a hundred miles. Most organic. You can’t get better than this. What are you looking for?”

“I like these frozen meals that are like three hundred calories. There’s a broccoli one I usually get, but I don’t see anything like that.”

“And you won’t,” he assured her with a high and mighty grin. “That’s not a real meal. It’s just chemicals molded into the shape of food. You can’t actually enjoy those.”

“I don’t,” she admitted, rolling her eyes. “But I do enjoy not having to buy bigger clothes every month. I enjoy not having to turn the oven on when I get home at ten at night. My job”—she hesitated remembering how her life had changed—“my old job had me out all hours of the day and night. I could have grabbed takeout and greasy food like most of the guys, but I probably wouldn’t have had a job much longer.”

“Why not?” Davis asked, stopping the cart abruptly and twisting his face up, seeming to know the answer already. “You had to be skinny to work there?”

“An unwritten rule at my particular firm. You’re working with clients every day, you’re the face of the firm. There is a certain expectation. I consider myself a feminist. It insulted the heck out of me, but some games have rules, and if you want to win, you play by them.”

“That’s ridiculous; some of the best women I’ve known in my life were curvy. Some were short, some wore overalls. Any boss that makes you count your calories is an idiot.”

“That we can agree on. My boss was an idiot. But it doesn’t matter now because I don’t work there anymore. The only thing that matters now is what kind of flowers Mrs. Donavan wants me to trim. I’ll tie whatever ribbon she needs into bows. Maybe she’ll keep me so busy I won’t be able to run in the mornings anymore. Which means I’d still like to get some of those low calorie meals.”

“Maybe stop counting your calories and start counting your blessings,” a nasally voice called from over her shoulder.

“Lucille,” Davis laughed as he flashed a warm smile. “I thought I saw you in the dairy aisle. How are you?”

“Who cares how I’m doing?” she replied quickly, waving him off and keeping her eyes fixed possessively on Elaine. “How are you two doing? What are you two doing? Why are you doing it?”

“That’s a lot of questions, Lucille,” Davis said, grabbing some more items off the shelf and hardly sparing the old nosy woman the one thing she was craving. Attention. “This is Elaine. She’s new in town. I’m guessing you’ve heard about her from Caroline by now. Or maybe Mrs. Donavan. You have no shortage of operatives here in Indigo Bay.”

“Hmm,” Lucille said, as if he were holding back the good stuff. “Our network is very thorough. But we’re always looking for the latest updates. Straight from the horse’s mouth if we can get it.”

“I don’t hear anyone neighing over here,” Davis said, looking up and down the aisle sarcastically.

Lucille was not impressed. “I heard she rolled in during the middle of the night without a penny to her name and looking like a hot mess. But you swooped in and saved the day.”

“Not exactly,” Davis corrected, and Elaine stayed quiet. “But she will be coming to stay in my spare room for a few days. Dallas had a cabin for her but the last storm knocked a tree through the roof.”

“How lucky,” Lucille sang out, clapping her hands together in excitement.

“I’m guessing Dallas doesn’t think so,” Davis corrected, clearly loving this banter.

“Dallas’s bad luck is your good fortune. But what brings you to the supermarket?”

“I’m picking up some nails and lumber,” he teased. “I’m going to see if they have a carburetor for my old truck.”

“You’re going to make her dinner aren’t you?” Lucille took an intrusive inventory of the items in his cart and nodded her approval.

“The girl’s got to eat,” Davis said matter-of-factly. “What kind of host would I be if I let her starve?”

“Right,” Lucille sang, her high heels skittering a bit as she hustled to keep up with them. “And it looks like you’re making your mom’s meatloaf?”

“I am,” Davis confirmed. “You think that’s a good choice? She doesn’t strike me as much of a down-home meatloaf kind of girl, but it’s the recipe I know the best.”

Elaine giggled as the two of them continued to talk as if she wasn’t there. But she still didn’t speak up.

Lucille thought it over, her face showing deep deliberation. “I think that would be fine. It’s not particularly romantic. You can light some candles maybe to make up for that. Perhaps make a little salad too. Judging by her figure, or lack of it I should say, I bet she’ll want something green too.”

“What about dessert?” Elaine interrupted, elbowing her way into the conversation finally. “Do you plan to make anything, because if not I have a recipe that’ll . . .” she hesitated as she thought on it. “Boy I need to borrow some southern sayings if I’m going stick around down here.”

“The recipe will have you begging for mercy, and you’ll be full as a boot,” Lucille offered seriously. “You’ve got yourself some of the most beautiful hair I’ve ever seen. Davis have you seen her hair? It’s like golden spun silk.”

“Hmm,” Davis said, eying Elaine with a bemused smile. “I hadn’t notice she had hair before this, but now that you mention it, you’re right. It’s very pretty.”

Lucille slapped his shoulder and grunted in frustration at the pain it caused her own hand. “What are you made of, rocks?”

“Just in my head,” he replied seriously, knocking on his forehead.

Lucille turned toward Elaine, looking completely exasperated. “I hope you like a smart aleck because this boy is the worst. You’d think with a face like his and the way he fills out the back of those jeans he’d be dragged down the aisle by now, but no ring on that finger after all this time.”

“It’s a tragedy of epic proportions,” Elaine said with feigned seriousness. “It’s like having a prize winning pig and leaving him in the barn.”

“Exactly,” Lucille said, sounding relieved at the common ground they’d found. It seemed to hit her like a sudden ocean wave that she was the butt of their joke. “Oh, well,” she huffed, “aren’t you two the perfect pair? It’s nice to finally see you’ve met a girl who can keep up with you.” Her face was soft and forgiving as she patted his shoulder, and he leaned down to plant a kiss on her cheek.

“If only you’d give me a chance, Lucille.” He sighed. “If you’d stop breaking my heart, maybe I could find love someday.”

“Son,” she scolded with a wrinkled finger wagging in his direction, “you and I both know I’m way out of your league.”

“Goodnight, Lucille,” he said as she scampered away to find her shopping cart. Turning back toward Elaine, he moaned, “Welcome to Indigo Bay, where your business is everyone’s business.”

“You’re a good sport,” he said, his eyes fixed on her face for a long beat. When the moment grew quiet between them, just long enough to be noticed by them both, he cleared his throat. “So you’re making dessert. Should I be nervous? Is it gluten free, nut free, sugar free, flavor free?”

“You’ll like it, trust me. If I can remember the recipe,” she said, tapping her chin thoughtfully. “I’ll go round up the ingredients and meet you at the front.” She hurried away and prayed they’d have everything she needed. It had been ages since she made her grandmother’s cream cheese pound cake, but she knew it was just the kind of thing Davis would love.

By the time she had all the ingredients balancing precariously in her arms, Davis was standing at the front of the store chatting with another group of older women.

“Oh and speak of the devil,” one of the women cooed as she gestured for all the others to turn. “Her hair is beautiful. Lucille was right.”

“Thank you,” Elaine said, self-consciously rebalancing the groceries in one arm so she could push her hair back behind her ears. A couple things tumbled to the ground and bounced in every direction. “Oh I’m such a klutz,” she said, scolding herself.

“Let me help,” Davis insisted, first taking the remaining things from her arm and placing them down on the check-out belt. He quickly rounded up everything that fell and, with his hand on the small of her back, led her past the women gathered to see her.

“I feel like a gorilla at the zoo,” she whispered. “Everyone is just lining up to see me.”

“A gorilla with golden spun silk hair,” he corrected. “Let’s check out and get back to my place.”

“Your groceries have been paid for,” the pimply-faced kid behind the cash register announced as though he was reading it from a script.

“Who paid for our groceries?” Davis asked, eyeing the giggling women behind him. “That was completely unnecessary.”

“The only message I’m supposed to give you is use the money you saved and take this girl on a proper date.” The nervous boy began bagging the groceries as quickly as he could. His face was as red as a hot ember.

“That was so nice,” Elaine said, loud enough for the women to hear her in case one of them had paid the bill. “What a lovely place Indigo Bay is. I’m so glad to be here.”

“And we’re glad to have you,” a woman wearing a pastel polo shirt and stunning pearls chirped, and the others all nodded in agreement. “He’s a bit of a pain but one of the finest men for miles. Don’t let him scare you off.”

Another woman, with one of the largest diamond rings Elaine had ever seen, stepped forward and chimed in, “The blustery front is just that. Ignore it. He’s like a cactus on the outside but a teddy bear on the inside. Don’t give up on him.”

“I hear what you’re saying,” Elaine offered weakly. “It’s just that I’m—”

“Come on, honey,” Davis said, lacing his fingers in hers and tugging her away. “Let’s go to my place.”

They were out the front door, but the excited voices of strangers nipped at their heels.

“You are fueling the fire. They’re going to be gossiping nonstop about that.” Elaine giggled as she climbed into the passenger side of his truck. “I feel like we’re on the run.”

“Aren’t you though?” he asked, as he put the truck in reverse and sped out of the grocery parking lot. “Now you’ve got me running with you.”