The Best of Winter Renshaw - An 8 Book Collection - Winter Renshaw Page 0,125

a whistle in my purse should he try anything stupid, and I taught women’s self-defense classes my sophomore year at UC-Berkeley. Plus, if he were a serial killer, I feel like he would’ve had ample opportunity to murder me Friday night when he stayed at my place—a little detail I have no intention of sharing with Mel in the immediate future.

Twisting my hair into a low chignon, I check my reflection one last time before reaching for a bottle of my Kai perfume and spritzing my pulse points.

“We’re going to the Brentwood farmer’s market today,” I tell her.

She makes a face.

“What?” I ask.

“Since when do you do shit like that?”

“Since never,” I say. “But we’re trying new things this week, things neither of us have ever done before. It’s a week of ‘yes.’”

Melrose sticks her finger down her throat, pretending to gag herself. Always so judge-y, this one. But I don’t take offense to it. Her idea of spending time with a man involves one at least twice her age, a sexy sports car, and a reservation at an exclusive LA eatery.

She may be my best friend, but we couldn’t be more different.

“All right, well … while you’re hanging out with your serial killer friend, I’m going to be lunching with Gram at The Ivy,” she says, teasing like I should be jealous. And then she cracks a smile. “Wish you could join us …”

“Next time.” I hit the bathroom light and head to my room, grabbing my things and stepping into a pair of comfy sneakers. The farmer’s market is only six blocks from here, so I’m walking. But before heading out the door, I text Isaiah and tell him I’ll see him in ten minutes.

He says he’s already there.

I smirk.

Those military boys and their punctuality …

“You stand out like a sore thumb,” I tell him when I find him.

“Why do you say that?” he asks.

“I don’t know. Can’t put my finger on it. You just do. You’re not a farmer’s market person, I can tell.”

“Should I have worn my flax pants and straw hat today?” he asks. We begin to walk, our arms bumping into one another every few steps.

“Smart ass.” We pass a flower stand and a bouquet of blue hydrangeas steals my attention. “Hold up. I want to buy some of these.”

“Want or need?”

“Blue hydrangeas are always a need.”

A minute later, I walk away with a beautiful bouquet wrapped in brown paper and Isaiah stops at a breakfast burrito stand for some wrap made with local, cage-free eggs, organic cheddar sourced from Northern California, and free-range chicken sausage.

We find an empty table next to a wine vendor’s booth and steal a couple of spots.

“So what is a farmer’s market person?” he asks.

I laugh through my nose. “I don’t know … maybe a Volvo-driving, organic-obsessed, Pilates-loving mom of four? Not to be, you know, stereotypical. I’m just going off of what I see here. There definitely seems to be some consistencies around us.”

He glances toward a parking lot behind us and I count at least eight Volvo XC-90s, most of which are polished black or glimmering white. A woman pushing a double stroller and wearing $90 yoga pants yells at her two older kids, telling them not to run off.

“See?” I point toward her. “Am I right or am I right?”

“You’re right.” He inhales his last bite of burrito and wipes his hands on a napkin. “So what kind of person am I?”

“What?”

“If I’m not a farmer’s market person … how would you categorize me? What box would you place me in?” he asks.

Sucking in a deep breath, I mull over my response. I promised him honesty, so honesty he’s going to get.

“You’re still a question mark, Isaiah,” I say. “At first glance, I’d put you in some kind of military category because you’re so serious and clean cut and stoic. But these last few days, I don’t know. I think there’s more to you than you’re letting on. You’re closed off. So closed off I haven’t even attempted to figure you out. I tried, too. Laid in bed one night replaying our day together, trying to see if there were any things I missed. Then I got a headache, so I went to sleep.”

He sniffs, shaking his head. “A question mark, eh?”

I nod. “Yup.”

“That’s a fair statement.”

“You ever going to open up? You know you can tell me anything. We’re still basically strangers. You probably don’t even remember my last name, so your secrets are safe