Hoyt’s face was still tense by the time he walked out of the shop. Concerned, Deirdre asked, “You alright?”

He wiped some light sweat off his face and said bashfully, “I’m so sorry, Miss McKinnon. The point was to buy you some clothes, but I ended up dragging you into our drama and made you watch all that… embarrassing stinker.”

“Nonsense,” Deirdre replied reassuringly and gave him a small smile. “There was nothing embarrassing about it. It’s what relationships are like, dramatic and complicat