After Us (Next Generation #6) - J.M. Walker Page 0,85

stuck my tongue out at him. “Please.”

A wicked grin spread on his face. “I’ll remember that,” he said, walking away from me.

Letting my eyes roam down the length of him, it took everything in me not to bite my knuckles at the way the dark blue jeans sat low on his hips. They did wonderful things for his ass. Mixed with the black hoodie, although it was casual, I found it hotter than if he were wearing a suit. Though, I bet he’d look good in one just the same.

“I can feel you staring at me, babe,” he called out over his shoulder.

I laughed, shaking my head and following him and Brynlee down the aisle. We ended up picking up whatever we needed and even some things we wanted. Whenever I went grocery shopping, I usually only bought things we absolutely had to have. I got maternity pay from the center while I was currently off. Since my mom was one of the owners, I got more time off than usual. I would also get random envelopes in the mail each month with a check in them. I bought what we needed and put the rest in a bank account as an education fund for Brynn.

“Jaron, I need to tell you something,” I said, before I forgot again.

“What is it?” He came up to me and threw a box of Cheerios into the cart.

“I forgot to mention when you first got home how your parents have been helping me each month. I’ve been getting deposits into my account from them and from my parents. I never asked for the money and have put most of it away into a bank account. I figured I’d start saving for Brynn’s education now.”

He cupped my cheek, placing a soft peck on my forehead. “That makes sense, but I want you to know, it wasn’t my parents sending those transfers.”

My eyes widened. “What? But the transfers said Mercer on them. I just assumed…”

“You shouldn’t assume, Piper.” Jaron winked.

A thought came to me. “They were from you. Weren’t they?”

“Let’s pay for this stuff and get out of here. Then we’ll talk on the way home.” He grabbed the cart from me and wheeled it to the nearest checkout.

This was something we should have talked about before. If I would have known that it was him sending me funds, I wouldn’t have been so worried about actually spending the money. I loved his parents, and I loved my own, but they struggled just like the rest of us. I didn’t want them thinking I was taking advantage. I knew it didn’t make sense when they wanted nothing but the best for their granddaughter.

While Jaron paid for the groceries, the hairs on the back of my neck tingled. I looked around me, but found nothing out of the ordinary. It was early afternoon, so the store wasn’t overly packed. But that familiar tingle didn’t go away.

“Piper, what’s wrong?” Jaron asked.

“I don’t know.” I continued putting the items on the conveyor belt but that feeling of being watched wouldn’t go away.

“Babe.”

I met his gaze then. “I feel like we’re being watched.”

Jaron stood up taller, his dark eyes moving around the vast room.

“Not to butt in or anything,” the young cashier said softly. “But you probably are being watched.”

Our heads whipped around.

“What the hell are you talking about?” Jaron demanded, his voice rough.

“She’s been in here before.” She nodded toward me. “I’ve seen other women whispering about her. They would point. But you never noticed,” she told me.

“I was more worried about other shit,” I mumbled.

“Our city is getting bigger, but it still has that small-town mentality,” the cashier continued, still ringing through our items. “There was a woman who would ask us about you. Apparently, she saw you at Rouge, picking up two guys.”

Jaron’s dark eyes shot to mine, his jaw clenching.

“She’s talking about Cyrus and Sammy.” I rolled my eyes but appreciated the jealousy rolling off of him just the same.

“Still hate that shit,” he mumbled. “We need to go.”

“Thank you for the information,” I told the cashier.

She nodded. “One last thing. The mayor has been asking about you two.”

“Fuck.” Jaron paid for the items and tossed the bags into the cart.

I thanked her and grabbed the stroller, following Jaron out of the store. The mayor. I hadn’t seen him since Jaron’s trial. Not in person anyway. I had seen him on TV and in the newspaper. He’d lost weight but it was like as soon as