He let out a yelp and raised his hands as though he thought I'd punch him.
“Easy, boss. How could I help but overhear the other day when you were arguing with your old man?”
It did make sense; we'd been bickering loud enough to raise the dead. I wouldn't be surprised if Ken wasn't the only one who had heard.
Not that I intended to let the store shut down, but still. It wasn't good for morale to have such rumors flying about, and I'd best nip that in the bud right now.
“The store is remaining open; I assure you of that,” I said calmly. “You are not to tell anybody here about what you heard. Are we clear?”
He stared at his feet. “But he said you had to get married. And no offense, but...”
He didn't need to finish his remark. Ken knew my philandering ways; everyone in Grant City probably did. I hadn't much minded what any of them thought about it before, but now it was coming back to bite me in the ass.
Because convincing folks that I was marrying Sarah for real was going to be a very hard sell.
“I'll have a wife before the deadline. That's all you need to know.” I shoved him back onto the floor despite his demands for an explanation. “Now get back to work and do damage control. You hear anybody gossiping about it, shut it down fast.”
“Got it, sir.”
As he walked away, I tried to convince myself I was worrying over nothing. Dad's stupid contract didn't say anything specific about the bride-to-be, did it? All that mattered was I had a marriage license to my name.
A familiar female voice caught my attention from a nearby aisle. I followed it and found Macy and her friend Katie browsing the girls' toy section.
“Are you sure it would make a good present?” Katie picked up a doll and frowned. “It's kind of creepy. Its eyes make me feel like it's staring at me.”
Macy snickered. “Don't be a wuss. Your sister will love it, promise. And Asher owns the place, so he'll totally give you a discount.”
“I totally will, eh?”
She looked surprised to see me, but quickly put her hands on her hips and scowled.
“Asher! Where the hell did you go last night? You just vanished from the bar after giving your big speech. Rosa was furious. She screeched at us for hours.”
Katie sulked. “Yeah. She ran off those cute guys, too. I was so close to getting Mark's number.”
“You can tell Rosa the deal's off. I found a better way that doesn't involve marrying an illegal alien.”
Macy obviously wanted to know more, but Katie kept pulling her down the aisle to look at other toys. I watched them and wondered how much to let her in on.
I hated to admit it, but she was pretty devious. If I kept her out of the loop, she'd find a way to yank the truth out of me – and that could tip off dad in the process. Better to just tell her and get it over with now.
“Ooh, how about this digital makeover set?” Macy held up the box. “You just give it your picture and it shows you a bunch of different new looks. Comes with a free makeup kit.”
“But Olly's just eight years old.”
Macy shrugged. “Never too young to start learning how to look cute.”
“Must you really buy her a girls' toy because she is, in fact, a female?”
A new voice entered the fray. Soon as I saw Cole, Sarah's sister, lingering at the end of the aisle, my stomach felt a bit queasy.
For whatever reason, the two of them never got along. They didn't even know each other well, really – but whenever they met around town, sparks flew. Not the good kind, either.
Macy turned as red as her lipstick while Cole stood his ground, looking her over with a mixture of annoyance and disinterest. Katie, clearly embarrassed, shuffled away and hid herself behind a display of Baby's First 3D Printer boxes.
“W-what the hell are you doing here?” Macy stormed toward him and jabbed her finger in his chest. “Following me around town, I bet. You're probably just jealous 'cause a normal woman would never give a weirdo like you the time of day.”
He smirked. “And I'm glad for it, to be honest. You're doing me a favor by chasing off all the jocks and assholes.”
She sputtered. “First you steal our table at the club, and now you show up here, sticking your nerdy nose where it doesn't belong. I bet you're here to buy more of those lame playing cards, aren't you?”
People were beginning to stare. I stepped between them with a weak chuckle, hoping to diffuse the situation before Macy attacked the poor guy like a rabid honey badger.
“C'mon, sis. Maybe we can look for a gift over there? I've got some great ideas your friend's sister will just love.”
Cole glanced at me for a second. He'd seen me flirting with Sarah last night and didn't seem happy about it. I doubted when I announced our marriage that he would take it well.
“I'm here to grab a new Xbox game, if you must know,” he said. “I just happened to overhear you picking out a gift for your friend's sister. Don't you think it's reinforcing gender stereotypes to buy her dolls and frilly pink crap?”
“She's a little girl. That's what she likes, duh.” Macy thrust a “Watch Me Go” doll at him. “In fact, I bet you like this stuff too. You're really here for Susie, the real-life doll who pees when you feed her.”
“You should buy that thing
