Hand In Glove

Chapter 8

Chloe stuck to her list so the shopping experience went rather quickly. She smiled to herself noticing how out of place Ashton was in the department store.

He was quite intimidating to look at with his skull print black shirt, dark jacket, skintight pinstripe pants, his platinum hair cascading around his face. She could tell he made the salesclerks nervous with the way they glanced at him and then at each other.

He, on the other hand, was content to push the cart along while making pained faces as she loaded it up with various things. Things like pots and pans, a food processor, cutlery.

Ashton watched her and smiled to himself. She was like a kid in a candy shop. Before she placed each item in the cart, she would look at him as if asking permission.

After a while, Chloe realized he was starting to get twitchy and yawning constantly. She quickly checked her list and decided that they had enough for now. She could get the rest later.

"Okay, I think we're done here," she said with a satisfied smile. "I hope you're all right with all this?" she added, wincing a little, surveying the overloaded cart.

"Oh, no problem. It'll just make me work harder," he said, pushing the cart toward the cashier. It was a tall order when it was all said and done but he didn't even blink when the clerk summed up the total. He just reached into his wallet and paid for it without batting a lash.

"Now let's get out of here. I'm starving!" he said after loading up the car. The purchases barely fit into his sporty little Cooper. "What shall we eat, Miss Martin?"

"Oh, yeah, right... We don't have anything back at the house, do we? Well, I suppose one more night of takeout won't hurt us," Chloe said absently.

"Ugh, you're killing me." He slung his head back into his headrest. "I guess we'll have to go grocery shopping now," he said, horrified at the idea. "I don't think I can handle that tonight. Why don't we take this stuff back to the house and order some pizza or something?"

Noting his exasperation, she simply nodded and off they went. His mood seemed to drop on the trip back. He was quiet and his face rigid. She looked at him from the corner of her eye a couple of times and could tell that he was concentrating on something. Hopefully, he wasn't regretting his decision to hire her. "Did I do something wrong?" she asked, unable to stand the silence.

He scowled and shot her a sideways glance. "Chloe, just stop. I can't keep reassuring you. I have a lot on my mind. Please, just sit back and let me think," he answered sharply, keeping his eyes on the road.

Chloe sat quietly reprimanded the rest of the way, suddenly feeling unwelcome and self-conscious. She realized that she had required a lot of reassurance from him. It had been weak on her part. She would have to try harder to hide her insecurities.

At home, she hurried ahead to open the door with her shiny new key while Ashton carried in all the stuff, placing it down in the mudroom. She tried to help but he just shot her an impatient look. Feeling awkward, she stood watching quietly.

"Hey, you know what? It would be great if you could just order the pizza," he said sharply between trips to and from the car.

She couldn't help but frown at him. This was not the same Ashton she'd left with earlier. She wondered if someone had somehow replaced him with this new miserable impostor.

Frustrated, she called a familiar franchise and ordered the deal of the day. She didn't even bother to ask if he had any preferences. He obviously didn't feel like answering any questions right now.

The back door shut with a louder than necessary thud. Ashton threw his jacket onto the armchair in the living room and stomped upstairs as he had done earlier.