CHAPTER FOURTEEN #2
“I wasn’t the one who got confused,” Wes reminded her.
Bee handed him the book. “That sounds defensive.”
He placed it back on the display. “That sounds like you need a cookbook.”
They moved into the fiction section, where Wes pulled a thick romance novel from a shelf and handed it to her. Bee studied the couple embracing on the cover before staring at him. Wes kept his expression completely serious.
“Why are you giving me this?” Bee asked.
“You said we were supposed to have fun,” Wes reminded her.
Bee turned the book over and read the description. “This man owns a vineyard.”
“Maybe he knows something about passenger princes,” Wes suggested.
She placed the book against his chest. “You should read it.”
Wes took it from her. “I don’t think so.”
Bee reached for another book before a young woman approached them. The woman held her phone in both hands and looked uncertain until Bee smiled at her. That was enough to bring her the rest of the way down the aisle.
“Excuse me, are you Bee?” the woman asked.
“Yeah,” Bee replied.
The woman’s face brightened. “I love your videos. Would you mind taking a picture with me?”
“Of course,” Bee said.
The woman unlocked her phone and handed it to Wes. He accepted it while her eyes lingered on him. She moved beside Bee and smoothed one hand over her hair.
“Are you her boyfriend?” the woman asked.
Bee looked at Wes. He met her eyes over the top of the phone. The question remained between them while the woman waited.
“He’s my date,” Bee explained.
The woman grinned. “That’s so cute.”
Wes lifted the phone. “Ready?”
The woman nodded. Wes took several pictures before handing the phone back. She checked the screen and smiled at the first one.
“Thank you so much,” the woman said.
“Thank you for watching,” Bee replied.
The woman hugged the phone to her chest. She thanked Bee once more with a wave. Then she hurried toward the front of the store.
Wes returned the romance novel to the shelf. “Does that happen a lot?”
“Sometimes,” Bee replied.
“You didn’t tell me,” Wes said.
Bee picked up the book she had been reaching for. “You never asked.”
“Fair enough,” Wes said.
They made it through one more aisle before a second woman stopped Bee. She did not ask for a picture. Her smile widened as she stepped closer.
“Your grandma is my favorite part of every video,” the woman said.
Bee smiled at her. “She’ll be happy to hear that.”
The woman laughed. “She already knows.”
“That’s probably true,” Bee admitted.
The woman glanced at Wes. “Bringing her doughnuts was smart.”
Wes held the book against his side. “I was trying to stay on her good side.”
“Keep doing that,” the woman advised.
Wes stayed beside Bee until the woman said goodbye. He carried the book Bee had chosen while she led him toward the register. Neither of them made it ten steps before he started smiling again.
Outside, Wes took the small shopping bag before Bee could reach for it. The evening air had cooled while they were inside. More people filled the sidewalk. Bee adjusted the strap of her purse while he looked back at the bookstore.
“You’re kind of famous,” Wes said.
Bee laughed. “I’m not famous.”
“Two people stopped you in one store,” Wes pointed out.
“That doesn’t make me famous,” Bee replied.
Wes looked at her. “It does to me.”
Bee shook her head. She could not stop smiling. “I’m a little recognizable.”
“A little,” Wes repeated.
They started walking toward the parking garage. Bee expected another joke. Wes stayed quiet for most of the block. When she glanced at him, she found him watching her.
“What?” Bee asked.
Wes shifted the bookstore bag to his other hand. “I like seeing you like this.”
“Like what?” Bee asked.
“Happy,” Wes replied.
Bee’s smile softened. “I’m happy.”
He nodded and looked ahead again. “I think I understand why you brought me here.”
Bee waited for him to explain. “Why?”
“You wanted me to see this part of your life,” Wes said. “The places you know. The people who know you.”
Bee looked through the windows of the shops they passed. Grandma’s house had become home again. This part of her life still belonged to her too. Wes had watched her videos, yet standing beside her in the coffee shop and bookstore was different.
“I wanted you to see my world,” Bee said.
“I liked it,” Wes replied.
She looked at him. “Even though you had to ride passenger?”
“Even then,” Wes replied.
Bee smiled. “Good.”
Wes walked beside her for several steps before speaking again. “Can I pick the next date?”
“You’re already planning another one?” Bee asked.
“I told you I wanted another date,” Wes reminded her.
She made him wait while she pretended to think. “Okay.”
Wes looked at her. “Okay?”
Bee nodded. “You can pick the next one.”
His smile returned. “Good.”
They were almost at the parking garage when a woman approaching from the opposite direction slowed down. Her gaze moved from Bee to Wes. She changed direction before they passed each other. Bee stopped when the woman stepped in front of them.
“You’re Bee, right?” the woman asked.
Bee gave her a polite smile. “Yeah.”
“I knew it,” the woman said. “I follow you on TikTok. I’m Sara. I comment as @saralee.”
Bee’s fingers tightened around the strap of her purse. She could still see the words beneath her video: Making a man drive around after midnight because you wanted snacks isn’t cute. Beneath Wes’s video, the same username had written: I wish my man was more like Wes.
“I recognize the username,” Bee said.
Sara smiled before turning toward Wes. Her gaze traveled over him slowly enough that Bee’s polite expression became harder to hold. Wes shifted closer to Bee without taking his eyes off Sara.
“So you’re Wes,” Sara said.
Wes faced Sara. “Yeah.”
“I saw the snack video,” Sara continued. “When you’re ready for a real woman, hit me up. I wouldn’t make you drive around after midnight because I wanted chips and candy.”
Bee went still. Wes glanced at her before turning back to Sara. The smile had disappeared from his face.
“No,” Wes said.
Sara blinked. “No?”
“I’m not interested,” Wes replied.
She gave a nervous laugh. “I was only saying I’d treat you better.”
Wes’s voice remained calm. “You don’t know what treating me better means.”
Sara crossed her arms. “I know what I saw.”
“You saw a video,” Wes said.
“I saw you driving around after midnight for her,” Sara said.
He nodded once. “Because I wanted to.”
Sara looked toward Bee. “A woman who appreciated you wouldn’t ask.”
Wes stepped closer to Bee until their arms touched. “Bee asked me for snacks. I got them because I wanted to make her happy. Nobody made me do anything.”
“I still wouldn’t ask a man to do that,” Sara said.
“Then don’t,” Wes replied.
Sara’s mouth tightened. “I’m trying to tell you I’d be better for you.”
“You don’t know me,” Wes said. “You don’t know Bee either.”
“I know she treats you like a delivery service,” Sara said.
Wes shook his head. “Don’t use something I chose to do for Bee as a reason to insult her.”
Sara opened her mouth to answer. Wes lifted one hand and kept his voice even. “I like taking care of her. I like making her happy. If she wants Hot Cheetos at midnight, I’ll bring her Hot Cheetos at midnight.”
Sara glanced at Bee. “A man deserves a woman who appreciates him.”
“Bee does appreciate me,” Wes replied. “You don’t get to decide she doesn’t because you watched a video.”
Sara looked away from him. “I didn’t mean it like that.”
“You told me to call you when I wanted a real woman,” Wes said. “You meant it exactly like that.”
Her face flushed as two people moved around them on the sidewalk. Sara adjusted the strap of her bag and looked toward the parking garage. The confidence she had approached them with was gone.
“I was trying to give you another option,” Sara said.
Wes held her gaze. “I don’t want another option.”
Sara muttered something Bee could not hear and walked away. Wes watched until she disappeared among the people farther down the sidewalk. When he turned back, Bee was staring at the ground.
“Are you okay?” Wes asked.
Bee nodded without looking up. “Yeah.”
“You’re not,” Wes said.