Kickstart My Heart (Burgers and Brew Crue #1) - Lacey Black Page 0,60

her the fucking chair. I want to buy her everything she wants. I don’t care how much it costs.

I want to do anything and everything to make her happy.

Both of them.

Surprisingly, that only brings a smile to my face instead of scaring the hell out of me.

“I did like the chair, Lou,” I finally reply, my throat thick with emotion.

Lizzie just smiles at me. “It was pwitty.”

That all she says. She doesn’t beg for it. She doesn’t cry or throw a temper tantrum because it wasn’t purchased for her. She just grins, blonde whisps of hair blowing from the open window. I vow right then and there to go back and purchase that chair tomorrow. Even if this thing with Mal doesn’t progress, or even if it ends before it even begins, Lizzie will have that princess recliner.

Finding a parking spot at Walmart isn’t nearly as easy as it was at the furniture store, so we have to hike through half the lot to reach the doors. Mallory grabs a cart from the bay and meets me at the sliding doors. The moment we step inside, it’s chaos. Sighing, I remember exactly why I hate shopping on Sunday afternoons.

“Yeah, it’s a little busy,” Mallory mumbles, as we make our way to the bedding section. “Lizzie, do you want to ride in the cart?”

Her daughter shakes her head. “I want to walk with Walk.”

Mallory smiles before meeting my eye. “What can I say? I’ve got a way with the ladies.”

She snorts a laugh. “Oh, don’t I know it,” she replies, shaking her head.

There are a few other shoppers in the bedding aisle, but we’re able to browse the selection of sheets without much interruption. Mallory seems to be contemplating and considering all her options. She mentions thread count versus cost, before moving on to those beds in a bag. She finds a white, gray, and pink set in the size she needs, and I fucking love the way her eyes sparkle with happiness.

“This one look okay?”

I realize right there, even if it was the ugliest bedding in the world, I’d still tell her yes. Why? Because something as simple as new bedding makes her giddy with excitement, and I want to see that smile on her face every day for as long as possible. “It’s perfect,” I reply, returning her grin. Stepping up close as she mulls over the bedding, I whisper, “Your blonde hair and fair skin against that pink color will haunt my dreams tonight.”

Her face blushes its own three shades of pink as she nibbles on her bottom lip. I’ve seen the action a thousand times before. You don’t work behind a bar and not become accustomed to that particular movement on females. Ever since that Christian Grey book came out, women have been using their lip and teeth as a form of seduction, and while I’ll admit it can be alluring, I’ve since learned it’s not about the act.

It’s the woman.

I saw fifteen women nibbling their lip Saturday night alone and felt nothing.

But Mallory? One little bite, and suddenly I’m half-mast in the bedding aisle at Walmart, visions of her clamping down on that very lip while I slide inside her body.

“Do you, uh, is it okay if I grab a few other things while we’re here?” she asks, clearly flustered by my comment.

“Get what you need,” I state. One less trip she has to make.

We move through the store, grabbing toilet paper and a few cleaning supplies. Mallory also adds cereal, a gallon of milk, and some canned goods to the cart. When we reach the meat section, she heads over to the hotdog and lunchmeat section, Lizzie and I lagging behind.

“Well, if it isn’t Walker Meyer.”

That voice.

Way too familiar.

I glance over my shoulder and find Bethani, the crazy patron who wouldn’t leave me alone two years ago. She’s smiling widely, her makeup flawless, her lips a deep shade of purple. I’ll admit, she’s pretty, but I’m having a hard time recalling why I was attracted to her. She’s not really my type, if I have one. There’s only one reason I can think of, and it was because I was horny, and she was easy and willing. Plain and simple.

“Hi,” I reply, turning back around and trying to move away from the situation.

“Look, Amie, it’s Walker,” Bethani coos. Suddenly, the other woman is directly in front of me.

“Hey, Walker. How’s Jameson?”

I roll my eyes, unable to stop myself. “Why don’t you ask him?” I ask,