Page 134 of The Way I Hate Him
She folds her hands together. “Really? Because it seems like maybe you’re looking for my sister.”
Jesus, nothing gets past these siblings.
And I’m not going to stand here, bullshitting her when clearly that’s the reason I came into the store.
“Is she here?”
Aubree shakes her head. “Nope.”
Dammit.
“Okay . . . well, I don’t want to bother you.”
“The least you could do is buy something now that you’re in here.” She smirks, and I have a feeling she’s about to milk this moment.
But she’s right. I’m in here, so I might as well buy something. “What do you want me to buy?”
“From the looks of the dark circles under your eyes, I’d assume you’ve gone through a decent amount of alcohol over the past week or so. Maybe replenish with some almond vodka. And that shirt, it’s nice and all, but an Almond Store shirt might look better on you, especially the light blue one. Oh, and you can’t come into the store without purchasing a few bottles of almond extract, some cookies, and on an unrelated note, maybe hire someone to clean the apartment upstairs since you destroyed the little sanctuary that Cassidy and Mac used to sleep in.”
Shit. How could I have forgotten about the apartment upstairs? That’s the reason Hattie’s now living with Ryland, right? Because the place she used to stay in is destroyed.
I pull on the back of my neck and step forward. “You’re right. I’m sorry about the mess—”
“Oh, don’t worry, I know you’re not entirely at fault, but Ryland doesn’t have the time to clean it up given the fact that he’s raising a child, coaching the best baseball team in the state, and teaching, but you know, since you’re strolling the streets of Almond Bay at three in the afternoon, it seems like you might have a little more time on your hands.”
I haven’t spent that much time with Aubree, especially since she’s grown up, but Jesus, is she straightforward. Just like Hattie.
“Yeah, I can do that.”
“And purchase those other items, right? Because I do have a business to run, after all, and it’s all about the bottom line.”
“Put whatever you want into a bag, and I’ll buy it.”
“Risky, I might ring you up for five hundred dollars’ worth of items.”
“I really don’t care, Aubree.”
She tilts her head to the side, studying me. After a few seconds, she says, “You like her, don’t you?”
No use in hiding it. I nod. “Yeah, I do.”
“Interesting.” She moves away from the counter and walks around the store, grabbing vodka, almond extract, and a bag of almonds. After picking out a shirt, she pauses and says, “Are you a large?”
“Yeah.”
Then she goes back to shopping, even grabbing me a cookbook, something I know I probably won’t ever use. “This should do it.” She brings everything back to the counter and starts packing it up in a brown paper bag. “You know, if you like her, you should probably ask her out. I heard Ryland wouldn’t necessarily chop off your dick if you did.”
“She won’t answer me.”
Aubree glances up, a hint of surprise in her eyes. “Hmm, that’s interesting as well.” She taps away on her iPad and then turns the screen toward me. Two hundred fifty dollars.
Yup, Aubree is a sly one.
I pull out my wallet and stick my credit card into the card reader.
“She’s been a little lost lately,” Aubree says. “Stuck in Cassidy’s room. Not saying much. I think she needs to have some fun.”
The chip reader beeps at me, and I remove my card. “Receipt?” Aubree asks.
