Straight after work, Penny hurried along the high street in her charcoal pinstripe skirt suit and glossy grey heels. The door of the mini-supermarket swept aside and she headed straight for the reduced shelf. They’d usually done the second markdown by the time she arrived and she always wondered what she might have missed, even as she looked forward to what would still be there.
It wasn’t just the thrill of finding a bargain. She enjoyed the surprise of not knowing what she might have for tea. Especially if it was something she wouldn’t normally buy.
Like that beef and potato hotpot! She never bought ready meals at £3.99 a pop, but for £1.49 it would make a tasty treat.
Especially if I team it with some fresh cabbage, she thought, dropping it into her basket. And what about that strawberry sundae, down from £1.99 to 60p? Or was that too indulgent? Undecided, she scanned the other items.
A pack of mini pork pies would make a fun lunch tomorrow. Rejecting a pizza and a packet of past-their-best carrots, she glanced again at the sundae. Maybe she should treat herself.
She was about to grab it when a tanned male hand snatched it away. Affronted, Penny’s eyes followed the retreating hand and took in its owner: a tall man with a gleaming black pompadour and stylish beard. He was probably in his mid-twenties, maybe a couple of years older than her.
She guessed she must have given him an accusing look, because he smiled with a slight blush and said, “Sorry, were you abou.