the habit so they could run together. By the looks of his body, Zeke did a lot of running. She had only caught a short glimpse at the airport. Her focus had been on the way his light blue eyes darkened the longer he stared at her. His blond hair had just the right amount of wave to it, and Stella longed to run her fingers through it.
Pushing off the sofa, Stella closed her laptop, and set it on the coffee table. She padded to her bedroom to change out of her comfy clothes. She wasn’t as vain as some women, but she also wasn’t one to go out looking like she just crawled out of bed. She pulled her long, black hair into a low ponytail, brushed some foundation on, then dressed in jeans and a beige sweater. Since she was only going for groceries, she left off a necklace. Stella had a large collection taking up two standing jewelry boxes in her walk-in closet. She began collecting them in college, and it was rare to see her without one. She had picked up a couple stunning new pieces while on vacation.
After getting the reusable shopping bags out of the pantry, Stella drove the short distance to the closest grocer, not wanting to travel half an hour to the Farm Fresh Market. She would grab what she needed for lunch, then go to the specialty market one day after school since both were in the same area. Stella loved to cook, but doing so for one person got tedious. She often made large batches of food and froze the leftovers. But the market had small, prepackaged meals that were perfect. All the ingredients were included in the box, and she didn’t have to measure or worry about if she had the right spices. As she drove, Stella thought about Zeke. They had briefly touched on favorite foods, but you could only eat so many steaks – Zeke’s favorite – or enchiladas – Stella’s favorite.
Stella chose a cart and stowed the shopping bags on the rack underneath, then pushed it to the produce section. She was scanning the spinach when she felt someone step close behind her.
“Hello, Beautiful.”
Chapter Four
Stella closed her eyes, begging whatever goddess was listening for strength. She schooled her expression before turning to face her boss. “Bradley.”
His megawatt smile faltered at her frosty greeting. “Did you get my flowers? I had hoped to deliver them myself, but your neighbor said you were running late. Did something happen to delay your homecoming?”
Stella grabbed the cart and turned it so it was between them. “I didn’t realize I was on a schedule. Not that it’s any of your business, but I had lunch with someone upon my return.”
“Excuse me, I need to get to the lettuce.” An older woman pointed behind Stella.
“Sorry.” Stella turned and chose a bag of spinach instead of shopping for the loose variety. She tossed it into her cart and moved out of the woman’s way. “I’ll see you tomorrow, Mr. Calhoun.” Using Bradley’s last name always pissed him off, but Stella was past the point of caring. Before she could get two steps, he gripped her arm.
“Stella—”
“Let go.” Stella jerked her arm out of his hold. She lowered her voice, not wanting to air their dirty laundry in the produce section. “I have made it clear I have no intention of going out with you again. Stop emailing, stop sending flowers, and for the love of Bast, stop interrupting my class for no good reason.” Stella grabbed her purse, then left her cart where it was, rushing out of the store. She checked to make sure he wasn’t following, and when she made it to her car, Stella locked herself inside.
“Damnit!” In her rush to get away, she’d left her reusable bags underneath the shopping cart. Thankfully, they were inexpensive and could be replaced. She didn’t make much on a teacher’s salary, but having tenure, she made more than the younger ones just starting out. She was frugal with her money during the year to save up for her vacations. The only things she splurged on were get-aways and her vast array of beaded necklaces. The trip to Egypt had cost a pretty penny, but she and her mom had gotten a two-for-one deal, so splitting the cost had helped. Still, she hated spending money when she didn’t need to.
Stella was pissed that Bradley had ruined her shopping. She could either wait for him