London Calling Read Free Page A

place.” They walked
another half block and she came to a halt in front of a 24-hour Duane Reade
drug store. “Do you mind if we stop? I need to pick up a few things. My
roommate is always using my stuff and she never replaces anything.”
    He glanced up at the sign. “Brilliant. They only let you
bring a thimbleful of shampoo on the bloody airplane.”
    Jenna walked with purpose, knowing exactly which parts of
the store she needed to go to, but quickly learned that Tim was on a different
schedule. He’d hardly made it into the hair care aisle before he started
picking up items and loading them into his arms.
    She traipsed back to him, fighting a smile. Even in the
obnoxious fluorescent lights of the store, he was heartbreaking—a good
twenty-four hours of stubble dotting his strong jaw and extending along the
contours of his neck. “I thought you were only here eight weeks,” she said,
nodding at the array of products in his hands.
    “Yeah, well.” He twisted his lips. “I like to take care of
my hair. Something my sisters taught me.”
    She caught herself staring at his gorgeous, thick locks. I’d
love to dig a hand in there sometime. “I think we’re going to need a
basket.”
    “I can manage that. I’ll find you.”
    She narrowed her eyes. “You sure? You might get lost.”
    “You can lead the search party.”
    She watched him walk away and stole more than a passing
glance at his butt, jeans slung low around his narrow hips making his shoulders
look absurdly broad. She felt the heat rush to her cheeks. She swayed, sensing
her rulebook becoming less relevant by the moment. Damn.
    A few minutes later, Jenna watched Tim make his way down the
toothpaste aisle. “You made it.”
    “I had a rough go, but I’m here.” He threw her a sideways
grin. “I asked the sales girl for Smarties, but the American version isn’t the
same as at home.”
    “We’ll go back and find you something good before we leave.”
Jenna perused the selection in the aisle. “I think my roommate used my
toothbrush. She won’t admit to it, but it was wet when I went into the bathroom
the other morning.”
    “Sounds like your flatmate needs a lesson in proper
etiquette.”
    She grabbed a purple one and tossed it in to the basket.
“You have no idea. She’s the worst. I can’t wait until our lease is up and I
can finally get rid of her.”
    They walked to the center aisle and made their way farther
into the store. “When’s that?”
    “Five months.”
    “And you only bought one toothbrush? That’s very
optimistic.” He looked at her with a smile so brilliant it left Jenna dazed.
“Why don’t you just kick her out?”
    “I’d love to, but I can’t afford the rent by myself.” She
stopped after a few more steps. “You don’t need to come with me. I had a
boyfriend who refused to be anywhere near this part of the store.”
    Tim looked over her shoulder and scrunched up his eyebrows.
“You can’t scare me. My sisters sent me to the market plenty of times for this
stuff.”
    She kept her lips pressed together. She didn’t want to blurt
out that he might possibly be the most charming guy she’d ever met. “I’ll be
quick.” She headed toward the spot where her brand of tampons was, at the far
end of what now seemed like an eternally long aisle. She felt his presence
behind her. Why did I decide to do this now? Why don’t I just tell him the
results of my last pap smear? She grabbed the blue-and-yellow box. “All
set. Let’s get you your sugar fix.”
    After ten minutes in line, they reached the cashier and
Jenna paid for her things first. He peered into her messenger bag when she
opened it.
    “What in the world do you have in there?” he asked.
    “Oh, supplies. I design jewelry. That’s what I really want
to do. The coffee shop is just to pay the bills. That’s why I can’t dump the
toothbrush-user. All of my money is tied up in my samples.” She held out her
arm to reveal a chunky, silver