Chapter Thirteen

I smile in response and begin to murmur quietly along to the song that plays, trying to ignore the tension that falls between us. Hopefully, we get to the store soon, so I have something else to focus on. "Sorry to drag you everywhere with me," I say after a while.

Adrian drums his fingers on the armrest, looking out the windshield as we slowly begin to be joined by other cars. "I don't mind, it's my job, after all."

"Of course, it is," I say flatly, suddenly wishing I hadn't said anything.

Sensing that he said something wrong, he corrects himself. "But you seem like someone I'd want to hang out with, anyway," He moves away from the armrest to run a hand through his hair before returning it to the exact spot it was in before as if proving his point.

So, he's definitely touching me on purpose. I don't pull away from him. It makes me feel a little bit better, but he's not wrong about what he said. I'm just a job to him, so even if we developed a little crush on each other it's still irrelevant. I should really get the thought of anything else out of my head.

As if on cue, the song changes to Special by Ashnikko. I press the volume control on the steering wheel to turn it up enough to sing along to without outing myself as a mediocre singer. I can always count on Ashnikko to boost my ego, making me feel a little better.

Adrian seems unfazed by the profane lyrics as he continues to give me directions, guiding me towards an upcoming exit. By the time the song ends, we're pulling into the plaza of Whole Foods and I'm thoroughly reminded that I'm a bad bitch by my favorite artist.

I pull into a parking space and turn the car off, allowing Adrian to exit first. Once I'm alone, I grab my purse and reach for my lip tint, checking my reflection in the vanity mirror as I pass it over my lips. My door opens as Adrian waits for me, but I take my time perfecting the coral lipstick before stepping out of the car.

As we grab a cart and begin shopping, I notice Adrian has gotten quiet as he follows me around with the cart, eyes frequently scanning the store and the people around us. Since this is the first time we've been in public together in such a busy place, it's interesting to see how much his demeanor changed. I wouldn't say that he looks especially secret service esque, but he seems overly suspicious of the shoppers around us.

I mostly ignore him as we go throughout the store, taking my time as I add things to the cart. Since we live a good hour away from a decent store, I make sure to get enough groceries for two weeks worth of meals. Luckily, I know how to cook fairly well, considering how many culinary shows I've watched in my lifetime. It's one of the few mundane things that I enjoy, though I tend to take it a little over the top, of course.

"Do you like to cook?" I could hear the wheels of the cart behind me, but Adrian's voice surprised me. I was almost expecting him to remain silent and stoic the whole time.

I open the doors of the cooled shelves to reach for some oat milk. "Sometimes. It keeps me busy if I get too bored. Besides, it isn't like I have a personal chef to do it for me right now."

Adrian glares at a man who walks very closely by our cart, and he casually moves it in between me and the other shopper. The stranger doesn't seem to notice, choosing his milk and then moving on.

"I can always come to cook for you whenever you don't want to. I'm pretty good at it, too," Adrian offers, continuing to follow me to the cheese section of the aisle. I notice that he keeps to the outside of the aisles, using the cart as a shield against anyone walking past.

I raise m brow, intrigued by his offer. "Is that so? Why don't you cook for me tonight then?"

He smiles at that, watching me closely as I continue putting more things into the basket. I can feel his eyes watching more than just my selection of groceries as we move to a different section of the busy store, and more than one time I turn quickly enough to catch his gaze lingering on my ass from the corner of my eye.

"That sounds like a challenge," He says, reaching above me to grab a bottle from the shelf above me. "I'll make it a surprise then."

As he reaches above me, his chest presses gently into the back of my neck. His body is so warm, and I'm momentarily enveloped by the smell of spearmint and pine needles. I breathe in deeply, trying to memorize the scent. Even with clean clothes, it lingers predominantly on his skin, leading me to believe that it's probably not a cologne after all.

Adrian withdraws with his item in hand, placing it into the cart with the rest. His slightly raised eyebrow tells me that he knew exactly what he was doing, leaving me to stare up at him incredulously. This man might be the death of me.

He smirks at me before redirecting his focus onto the other shoppers, gesturing for me to lead the way.

I make quick work of the remaining items on my mental list, finishing off with laundry detergent. Adrian makes an expression that he doubts I know how to launder my own clothes, and I resist the urge to shove him into a display of a new brand of kale chips.

We load the groceries onto the conveyer belt and I pay for it with my credit card before we head back to the car. Since the seasons are starting to change, the sun has already set despite it only being 7 pm. With dusk falling, I notice that Adrian sticks close to my side as we load the groceries into the trunk. Once the cart is empty, I begin to go to the drivers' side of the car to let it warm up while Adrian returns it to the corral.

Adrian quickly reaches out to warp his fingers around my elbow, drawing me back to him. "Stay beside me after sundown, okay?" His voice is deep and very close to my ear.

"Fine," I shiver involuntarily but blame it on the temperature. It got even colder since we went inside the store, and I wrap my arms around myself.

Adrian pushed the cart into its place with one hand before swiftly removing his jacket and placing it on my shoulders. "It's just going to keep getting colder until around April, so make sure to always bring a jacket with you. This isn't Florida, you know."

His scent clings to me as I stick my arms into the coat, pulling it closer to me. I keep forgetting how big he is, and his jacket falls around my knees. Thanks to his body heat, it's almost as warm as a blanket straight from the dryer. I resist the urge to burrow inside of it and have hm carry me to the car.

"Okay."

He pauses at the passenger side of my G-wagon and holds out his hand. "Let me drive, please. You can warm up on the way back,"

I open my mouth to protest, but something about the way he asks makes my retaliation die. I have a feeling that he won't be denied his request this time, so I dig the keys from my purse and hand them over. The jet-lag is catching up to me anyway, so taking some time to rest in the heated passenger seat might be nice. It would give me time to play around with the extensive control settings, too.

Adrian opens the door for me and makes sure I'm secure inside before rounding the hood to thedriver side. I notice the way he keeps his attention trained on the pedestrian in the parkinglot around us, assuming that anyone and everyone could have ill intentions towards me. I hadn't noticed anyone giving me particular attention or following us during our shopping experience, so I assume that Adrian is just doing his job thoroughy.

He starts the car without a word and makes quick work of exiting the lot. He remains silent until we get back onto the interstate, his dark eyes darting continuously from the side and rearview mirrors.

I watch his face in the street lights as he drives, studying his expressions closely. The last time that he acted this paranoid, there seems to have been a good reason for it. Is he actually that intuitive, or just that pretentious?

I cross my arms and lean back into my seat, pulling his jacket closer. Maybe the reason I don't notice so much anymore is because of Adrian. Considering how alert he always is, I don't feel like I have to pick up the slack like I've needed to in the past with other bodyguards. I haven't felt genuinely uneasy since I've met him, even when it became apparent that I really was being targeted by those three men at the vineyard. Combined with the comforting scent that envelopes me, I feel as relaxed as ever.