They spent the next hour moving through the Prime Stock Trading Hub with easy purpose. Stan selected practical staples and higher-end ingredients with the same quiet efficiency he brought to most things; Maya and Sophie added their own preferences, fresh herbs, specialty cheeses, the particular cut of meat they both liked, a few bottles of the rice wine they had brought him the night before. Soft conversation and light touches threaded through the shopping: Maya's fingers brushing his when they both reached for the same item, Sophie leaning close to murmur a suggestion against his ear, the occasional shared glance that carried the lingering warmth of the morning.
