Strut the Mall (Love at Westbrook Mall #4)

18. The Fancee Family

18

The Fancee Family

It was stupid to dress up for work. I couldn’t, for the most part. First of all, I was stuck in the neon-green monstrosity, and secondly, I needed supportive soles to last through the day. Mid-tier effort hair and makeup got the same sales results as doing myself up to the max.

From the second she spotted me, Cassandra was in full cooing mode, saying stuff like, “Ni-ni, you look great.”

“Thanks,” I muttered. All I’d done was iron my hair and give it a slanted side part for a volume boost. This was nowhere near full glam.

She hugged the door frame and wagged her brows. “Hot date tonight?”

“No.” Definitely not. Was it worth the thousand follow-up questions to tell her I broke up with my boyfriend? Also no, but she’d probably ask me about him if I didn’t divulge at some point. “Theo and I have parted ways,” I said.

She gasped and clutched some nonexistent pearls.

“It’s not a big deal,” I said.

“Oh, honey. Of course it is.” She hurried past the million gym shoes we needed to hook security sensors into at the shoe counter to lay her bony, nicely home-manicured hand on my shoulder. “What happened?”

“Nothing worth rehashing.” I shrugged and clipped the sensor on but missed the latch and stabbed myself on accident. Hissing, I shook off the sting. “Stupid thing pricked my finger. At least it’s not bleeding. Anyway, we had different priorities, so the new year is a fresh start for both of us. I’d rather not talk about it, honestly.”

“I hear you.” She narrowed her gaze and circled her pointer finger in my direction. “So, is that hairdo for you or some other fella you’re into?”

My jaw hung open. “I’m always cute.”

She patted my back. “Oh, sure. You’re always nice-looking. But you’re extra cute today. Thought maybe there’s somebody new.”

“Maybe there will be.” Fake or otherwise.

Besides, technically, this wasn’t for Zack. There was no way to guess when he and I would next cross paths. After all, he was in a different department, so his name wouldn’t be in my shift trade pool. I certainly wasn’t going to ask Shelby when he was coming in, because she’d probably think I had a crush on him. I didn’t. Still, she might try to set us up or block me for being stalkerish. It wasn’t worth the drama. I’d rather be surprised with his presence as usual.

I snapped a sensor lock shut. “This glam is mostly for me.”

Cassandra gave me a sympathetic pout and patted my shoulder. “Okay, well, if you need anything—”

“I know where to find you. At least until 9:30. Now, can you help me with these?” I gestured to the sensor project on the shoe counter.

“Sure thing.” She sidled up next to me and picked up a pair of shoes. “Tell me about the new boys you’re talking to.”

I pushed the box away. “You know what? I’m going to grab more sensors.”

“Oh, okay. Hurry back. I can tell you how my stepdaughter found her man on a dating app. You know, I met mine at a singles event. You never know where you’ll find a good match. Shoes are better in pairs. Sometimes, so are we.” She laughed.

Part of me shriveled up at the idea of getting love advice from someone over fifty, especially one who’d never been in a fully functional relationship. I knew how apps worked, and access to single men wasn’t some secret key to happiness. Besides, her ‘stepkids’ belonged to her boyfriend. They’d let her babysit, but ten years later still referred to her by her first name no matter how cheerfully she took on the role of ‘Meemaw’ for their kids. Not to mention, she was ‘accidentally’ flashing customers at Fancee’s instead of enjoying retirement. Was I really in a position to be pitied by someone like that? I got that she was trying to be nice, but I had my shit together. I didn’t need a rundown on ‘how to get a man.’ Theo and I had been broken up for less than a week. I needed some time to figure out what I wanted. Let me be single. Damn.

I dumped the remaining sensors on the desk and started carrying the tray to the warehouse to restock. I stopped short at the sight of a bare muscled back amid the racks.

A guy twisted his shirt off, the flex forming a winged ‘V’ down his tailbone and across his hips. He basically had a six-pack on his back. Not the bodybuilder, oiled-up kind, but he was thick. And half-naked. In a workplace, for some reason.

As soon as the hem of his shirt ruffled his short, cheap haircut, my heart slammed back into motion.

“Zack?” I balked.

He jerked around. “Nic?”

Nicole, you jackass.

I shook my head. It didn’t matter what he called me. “Why are you changing in the middle of the stacks?”

His ears flushed red as he glanced around and picked up the warehouse uniform shirt draped across a nearby shelf. “I didn’t know where the bathroom was, and this seemed pretty out of the way. It’s mostly guys anyway.”

This wasn’t a locker room. It was probably a health code violation. I rolled my eyes and turned around. “I’ll take you to the washrooms.”

“It’s fine, I’m almost dressed,” he said.

That wasn’t the point. “I don’t want to walk out for break and find you pissing in an alley just because it’s ‘out of the way.’”

He chuckled and walked up to me, still buttoning his shirt. Dark chest hair poked out from a light brown uniform. He arched an eyebrow at my stare. “Have I offended you with my nakedness?”

My cheeks heated. “N-no. You’re supposed to wear an undershirt. And a name tag. They can write you up for stuff like that.”

“Thanks for looking out for me,” he said, his gaze briefly dipping to my shirt before he did that looking into my soul thing Theo tried on occasion.

Well, I wasn’t falling for it. Especially with someone who didn’t even want to commit to fake boyfriend material in exchange for my services.

I bristled and marched off. “You should also wear deodorant.”

“I am.” He chuckled, his strides quickly matching mine so his aroma could confirm it. He hung back until we got to the door, at which point he rushed ahead to open it for me.

Damn. I glared. I was going to have to say ‘thanks’ again.

From the uptick of his lip, I was half-certain he enjoyed needling me to the point of irritation.

He tilted his head, his brown eyes glinting. “Ladies first.”

“Thanks,” I said.

Damn this man.