Chapter 3 #2
“No, I get it,” Marlow replied. “Cort doesn’t talk about the military much, either, but Pixie is one of those warm people you just feel comfortable with.”
“Marlow.” Much more of this and she’d perish from embarrassment.
Andy saved her by shouting, “Fend, fend, fend!” from the playpen. He held the top rail and jumped up and down.
“I need to go. Andy just spotted Brogan, and I do have customers now.” Two women had just come in, their interest in the new shirts obvious until they spotted Brogan.
Now their attention was diverted. Pixie wasn’t at all surprised.
Big and built as he was, he looked very incongruous in the small-town setting of the shop.
The cute infant on his chest was just added appeal.
“Go take care of the squirt, don’t work too hard—and, Pixie, have fun!” Marlow disconnected without giving her a chance to protest that last order.
Brogan grinned at her. “I’ll talk to Andy while you take care of your customers.”
Unsure what else to do, Pixie nodded. “Okay, thanks.” Her son was used to waving to people who came in, but usually she had a clerk in the shop, too. Since she’d opened a few minutes early, her help hadn’t yet arrived.
The shoppers, who were in the area on vacation, ended up buying quite a bit. Shirts, hats, and a few souvenirs. Their plans were to see the small-town architecture and then go boating on the lake for the weekend.
They had just left when Renee arrived. The thirty-one-year-old part-time worker breezed in, saying, “You opened early!” She loudly slurped on a fountain drink as she headed to the counter, but came to a dead stop when she spotted Brogan. With the straw still in her mouth, she gawked.
At least I’m not the only one with that reaction. Pixie cleared her throat. “Renee, meet Brogan Rafferty. He’s renting the lake house for a few months. Brogan, this is Renee Colson. She works with me here in the shop.”
Brogan stepped forward with his hand extended. “Nice to meet you, Renee.”
She put her limp hand in his—and suddenly came alive again. “Good heavens, you’re a showstopper. What are you? Six and a half feet tall? And a baby? It’s like the prettiest bow on a really nice package.”
“Six-five,” Brogan corrected. “And … thank you?”
Renee grinned. “I’m terrible, I know. My husband, who’s the best, tells me so all the time.
The good news is that I mostly manage to rein it in when I talk to my sons’ teachers.
At least I hope I do. I try.” She laughed.
“I have a runaway mouth. Thoughts turn into speech before I can properly censor. Bet you noticed right off, huh?”
What Pixie noticed was that Brogan looked more riveted by the speed-convo than insulted.
“And there’s my guy!” Renee went to Andy and lifted him out for a huge hug.
Andy pointed and said, “Baby.”
Being silly, Renee looked at the floor, the walls, and then the ceiling. “A baby? Where?”
Enjoying the antics, Andy laughed, bounced in her arms, and pointed again. “Baby, baby!”
“Ooooh, I see now.”
Pixie stepped aside to watch, smiling at how quickly Renee and Brogan got to know each other. Renee laughed several times, as did Andy, and Shayna was busy cooing, occasionally twisting to look at Brogan. She’d smile at him often, and once she caught his hand to chew on his knuckle.
Pixie was pulled aside when another customer asked for help, and then another, and soon the flow of shoppers was steady.
Being a mom, she still kept her eye on Andy and knew the very moment that Renee returned him to his playpen so she could ring up an order.
Brogan helped to get Andy settled with a few toys, then strolled over to browse the shelves.
When she finished with her customer, Pixie approached him and asked, “Looking for anything specific?”
He lifted one shoulder. “I came into town to get a few things that the smaller shop in Bramble didn’t have. Figured I’d stop in while I was here.” He glanced around. “This isn’t what I was expecting.”
“How so?”
“Your artwork is amazing, for one thing.” He lifted a tote bag. “I couldn’t believe this was yours when I first saw it; then I noticed your signature.”
“I created the original print.” It was a simple design of the sunset over the water, with the name of the lake below it. “Sometimes I do stuff without thinking about merchandise, but then Marlow sees the potential.”
“It’s a busy shop.”
“It is.” Pixie tried to see it through his eyes, but it was tough to do because of all the pride she felt. She’d had a hand in creating it, and her designs were everywhere now. “Marlow had this amazing vision and made it come true.”
“It’s a dream life, right? Living on the lake, owning her own successful shop.”
“Married to a Marine and loving her life.” She grinned.
“Yup, it’s a dream come true for her. Not that she expected the Marine.
Mostly, she wanted to downsize her life after a year of nasty divorce proceedings, only to have her husband—” Pixie drew to a hasty halt.
Good God, she was running her mouth more than Renee did.
She had absolutely no reason to tell Brogan any of that.
Instead of leaving her to flounder, he said, “I should get to my own shopping instead of monopolizing your time.”
Relieved that he hadn’t pressed her, she said, “You’re fine.”
He kissed Shayna’s head. “She’ll be ready for a bottle and a nap soon, and I’d rather be home for that, so can you make a recommendation on some clothes for the two of us?”
“Sure.” After they picked out two cute outfits for Shayna, Pixie said, “And now something for you.” Just to tease him, she led the way to a sunny yellow polo shirt with a stylized firefly stitched on the front breast pocket. “What do you think?”
Brogan’s enigmatic gaze looked it over. “If you have that in a romper for Sugar, I’ll take it.”
Barely keeping her smile hidden, she asked, “You don’t want one for yourself?”
He eyed her, then the shirt, and shook his head. “Got anything in black? Without a collar?”
The laughter escaped her, drawing the attention of other shoppers and Renee.
He flashed his own quick grin. “It’s pretty, and I’m sure it’d look great on some guys, but it’s not for me.”
“No, it isn’t.” She turned to a shelf of T-shirts in gray, black, navy, and tan. “What do you think?”
“Much better.” None of them were splashy, but on the front they said: Lake Life is the Best, with Firefly Lake in smaller print. He chose black with narrow white lettering.
He surprised her by taking a few more things—the tote he’d admired, to keep Shayna’s things in, he said—and a little sun hat for her. Together, they headed to the register.
Once his purchases were bagged, he turned to Andy. “See you again soon, bud.”
“My baby.”
A silly laugh escaped Pixie. “He likes to claim his cup, his toys, things like that. Guess he’s claiming Shayna now, too.”
“My baby,” Andy said again, in his cute little voice. They all understood only because of how he stared at Shayna while saying it.
“Oh, you think so, do you?” Brogan knelt down by the playpen while Pixie and Renee watched. “Laying claim, are you?”
Andy leaned forward, lips pursed, definitely wanting a kiss.
Brogan laughed and moved Shayna closer. “Head or foot?”
Stretching forward, Andy reached for … Brogan. He put a big wet kiss on his jaw, and then said, “My baby.”
“You’ve almost convinced me.” He used his shoulder to swipe his jaw before putting Shayna in range. She squealed as Andy put a loud smooch on her cheek.
“Kiss!” Andy demanded—and he was looking right at Brogan.
“Oh, um,” Pixie said, unsure whether she should intervene.
Brogan cupped the back of Andy’s head and brushed a barely-there peck on his forehead. “All good?”
Apparently, it wasn’t, because although Andy beamed, he then wanted to kiss Renee and Pixie, too.
She lifted him out for some cuddles, but her thoughts were on Brogan.
He was so natural with Andy. She envied him that.
Not that she wasn’t comfortable with her son, but other people and other kids?
She sometimes reverted to her old insecure self.
She supposed being a SEAL would give a man a huge dose of confidence in most situations. Brogan certainly had that, which was proven a moment later when Renee decided to be outrageous.
“Kiss?” she asked Brogan, and quickly said to Pixie, “My husband wouldn’t mind. Look at him.” She gestured at Brogan. “It’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.”
Choking on her laugh, Pixie said, “I’ve met the man, and he would absolutely mind.”
“Ugh, I guess you’re right.”
“Plus, you’re indulging in sexual harassment, you know.”
Without shame, she grinned at Brogan. “I was just joking, you know that, right?”
“I do.”
“I mean, not that it isn’t tempting. It totally is, but being real here, my guy is incredible—and also possessive and protective, lucky me. He likes that no other man’s lips have touched me in the eight years we’ve been married.”
Brogan winked. “He’s a lucky guy.”
“Darn right.” She took Andy from Pixie. “Why don’t you walk him out? I can handle things for a few minutes.”
Why did everyone keep throwing her at Brogan? He’d clearly given more attention to her son than to her. Since Renee had already walked away, Pixie sighed. “Sorry about that. She’s loads of fun, but she can be a bit much.”
“No worries. I knew she wasn’t serious.”
Pixie wasn’t sure about that. Every woman who’d seen Brogan today had probably wondered about kissing him—her included.
He lifted his bag as they headed for the door. “Thanks again for your help.”
“Make sure you wash everything before you put it on her. Babies have sensitive skin.”
“A nurse at the pediatrician’s office told me that, too, when I was grilling her with a million questions. If you have any other advice, feel free to send it my way. I’ve read everything I can find, but I still feel like I’m learning as I go.”
As they stepped outside, she asked, “You don’t mind advice?”