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CHAPTER 37

Author: CupidValerie
last update Last Updated: 2024-12-04 20:44:35

The grocery store was busier than usual, with the hum of shopping carts and the soft chatter of customers filling the air. Rachel pushed her cart down the cereal aisle, checking her list. Dante wanted the chocolate-flavored kind, Damian insisted on the healthy oats, and Danielle couldn’t decide. Typical.

As she reached for a box, a familiar voice interrupted her thoughts.

“Rachel?”

She turned to see Max standing at the end of the aisle, his dark hair slightly tousled, and a warm, slightly surprised smile on his face. Dressed casually in a leather jacket and jeans, he looked every bit as confident and charming as she remembered.

“Max,” she said, her voice tinged with equal parts surprise and awkwardness. “Hi.”

“Hi? That’s all I get after you ghosted me?” he teased, walking closer, his eyes sparkling with mischief.

Rachel felt a flush creep up her cheeks. “I didn’t ghost you. Things… got busy.”

Max arched a brow. “Too busy to reply to a single text?”

She sighed, placing the cere
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