Jason (Blue Halo Book 2)

Jason grabbed Courtney’s arms to steady her. Her small, warm hands flattened on his chest, awareness trilling in his veins.

She yanked them back. He almost chuckled at her wide eyes.

“Are you okay?” he asked.

“I’m sorry! Yes, I’m okay, I was just”—she glanced over her shoulder for a beat then looked back at him—“distracted.”

When she didn’t offer anything more in the way of explanation, Jason followed her gaze. He didn’t see anything but an empty street. “Distracted by what?”

She gave a small shake of her head. “It’s nothing. My imagination has been way too overactive since… well, you know. What happened with Kieran.” Jason’s hands tightened a fraction at the mention of that asshole’s name. “Plus, I just had Mr. Suit come into the shop and stare at my chest for a solid thirty seconds. That was a bit off-putting.”

This time, it wasn’t just Jason’s hands that tightened. “Someone came in and stared at your chest?” Who was this scumbag and where could Jason find him to knock his damn teeth out?

“Yes, but he didn’t stay long. Not after I told him we were closing. Don’t worry, if he had, I would have thrown some coffee into his lap or something, you know, as an accident.”

Good. He was almost tempted to tell Courtney to let him know if the jerk returned, but only just stopped himself. They weren’t dating, so he couldn’t really ask her to do that. Not yet. “Did you walk to work?”

“Yep.” A thread of blond hair escaped her ponytail, and Jason’s hand twitched to reach out and brush it back. To graze that delicate skin of hers. Instead, he stepped to her side. “I’ll walk you home.”

For a second, she looked like she was going to argue. Her mouth opened, and those green and brown eyes shot from him to the path behind them and back.

“Really?”

Actually, he wanted to do more than that. But everything else would have to wait. “Yes. If that’s okay. I was walking to the shop and hoping to catch you.”

For a moment she looked like a deer caught in headlights. God, the woman was cute. “Catch me?”

Yeah, sounded kind of creepy like that, didn’t it? “Just to chat, Courtney.”

Her mouth formed a small ‘O’. She remained like that for another few seconds. Jason almost chuckled.

Then the word he was waiting for slipped from her lips. “Okay.”

His smile widened. As they started to walk, he matched his steps to hers. Even though they weren’t touching, her heat—her energy—bounced from her body to his. “Any grand plans for your Wednesday night?”

She scoffed. “If ordering takeout and eating it on the couch with Eddie counts as grand plans, then sure.”

Ah, maybe one day he would get an invite to a night like that. It would certainly be grand for him. “What kind of takeout does Eddie like?”

Her lips twitched. “Ha-ha. As much as I love Eddie, there’s no way I’d share my dumplings and pizza with him.”

“Dumplings and pizza?”

“Yeah.” She glanced up at him, a twinkle in her eyes. “I order a pepperoni pizza from Pizza Malloy, and some Asian greens and prawn dumplings from Popshaw. That factors in my vegetables, my carbs, and my protein. And sometimes, when I’m feeling extra indulgent, I also get some chocolate mousse from Perry’s Desserts.”

Jason’s eyebrows flew up. How the heck did the woman stay so tiny? “Three different deliveries?”

She nodded. “Yup.”

“And Perry will deliver you a single serving of mousse?”

“Perry loves me. The first time she came into The Grind, she asked me to put an extra spoon of sugar into her coffee. Then she told me that she’d never ask again because if she didn’t know about it, it didn’t exist.” She lifted a shoulder. “So, I’ve been putting that extra spoon in ever since. I also give her a free cookie. Which she doesn’t ask for but also ordered the first time she came in.”

He chuckled. Was that woman-logic or something? “Okay. But ever thought about getting Asian one night, pizza another, and just stopping for your dessert on the way home?”

She paused mid-step. “Jason, have you tried Popshaw’s dumplings? They’re a-mazing. And don’t even get me started on the pepperoni pizza. Also, if Perry doesn’t mind delivering the cups of fluffy heaven that melt on your tongue, then why make an unnecessary detour?”

He’d tried the mousse. It was good, but heaven that melts on your tongue? Nope. Kissing Courtney, on the other hand…

“I prefer Perry’s homemade hazelnut ice cream.” His voice was too gruff, but dammit, he couldn’t help it.

“Hm, I haven’t tried it.”

“Maybe it’s time to try something new.” He lifted a shoulder. “Life’s short. You don’t want to miss out on something that might be a game changer.”

For a second her gaze heated, then just as quickly, she faced forward and her feet started moving again.

Another chuckle he barely held in.

Were her thoughts in line with his? That they could be a game changer? Because he was almost certain of it.

Conversation remained light for the rest of the walk. And even though Courtney had insisted there had been nothing behind her, he kept his gaze peeled, constantly watching in case of any threats.

When they reached her apartment stairwell—bypassing the elevator, of course—he held the door open for her, trailing up behind. The apartment building was fairly new, but it didn’t have nearly the level of security that Jason would have preferred. As it was, the door Courtney had just opened at street level remained unlocked during the day. And the complete lack of any alarm system, even at night, left her prey to intruders.

At her door, Courtney turned to face him, fiddling with the key in both hands. “Thank you for walking me. It was lovely to have the company.”

Some of her earlier confidence seeped away.

He took a small step closer, her scent of coffee and gardenias washing over him. “Courtney, I wanted to say something.”

She became completely still. The hall was silent, bar the pitter-patter of her heart.

“Sometimes,” a lot of the time, “I feel your nervous energy around me.”

Another slight increase in her heart rate, this time accompanied with a shift in her breathing. “You make me nervous,” she said quietly. So quietly, her words barely met his ears.

“Why?”

She almost looked like she was going to laugh. “Have you seen yourself? You look like you belong on a magazine cover and you have these dimples in your cheeks when you smile that make my tummy do this weird flippy thing.”

Okay, now the woman was just pumping his ego. “So… I make you nervous because you like me?” He already knew the answer, but he wanted her to confirm it. He needed the words.

Her multicolored eyes remained glued to his. Intense. Watching. “Yes.”

Good. It meant he wouldn’t feel like an overstepping creep when he did this…

Another small step forward. Her eyes widened. Then he bent and pressed a kiss on her cheek, right beside her ear. He was tempted to take her lips, so damn tempted, but that would come.

His lips lingered as her heart pounded loudly.

When he finally lifted his mouth, it was only a fraction, and only so that he could whisper into her ear, “I like you too, Courtney Davies.”

Courtney pushed the door to her apartment closed, narrowly stopping herself from sinking to the floor.

Okay, it hadn’t been a kiss on the lips, but holy smokes, she swore she felt his lips all over her.

Every. Single. Limb.

And then his warm breath against her ear… Argh, could a brain short circuit from a kiss? Because it sure felt like it.

A low meow at her feet pulled Courtney out of her thoughts. Sighing, she bent down, patting Eddie’s head. “Sorry, buddy, I know you’re hungry. Mommy’s a bit distracted.”

Very distracted.

Straightening, she pulled out her phone and made the three separate calls for dinner before feeding Eddie. Then she headed to the shower, thoughts of Jason—of his touches, his kiss—skittering through her mind like a TV show on replay. Lord, she was obsessed.

She’d just thrown on her sleep clothes when her dumplings, pizza, and ice cream arrived, almost at once. And yes, she’d taken a chance and gone with the ice cream.

She studied the tub. I’m trusting you, Jason. This better be good.

Ha, even if it wasn’t, just looking at the stuff would make her think about him… so totally worth it.

Popping the ice cream into the freezer, she grabbed some food before dropping onto the couch with the remote.

Time to become a couch potato.

She flicked through the channels, trying to find something to hold her attention. Trying and failing. Damn Jason and his too-sexy-for-his-own-good lips. The man was robbing her of her nightly entertainment. Even The Office, a show which never failed her—because really, who didn’t love a bit of Dwight in their life?—almost felt like watching paint dry.

It was official. The man was ruining her.

Taking a bite of pizza, she pulled out her phone and texted Grace.

Courtney: I need something to watch. Something super interesting.

Grace’s response was almost immediate.

Grace: Hm, Logan and I just finished a season of You. That was good.

Was that the show about the cute “normal” guy who turned out to be a homicidal psychopath? Eh, no.

Courtney: Anything else? Anything less homicidal?

Grace: Lol. The Office?

Courtney almost laughed. Her friend shared her love for the show, but where Courtney loved Dwight, the dorky, intense paper salesman, Grace loved the budding romance between two of the main characters, Jim and Pam. To be fair, the way Jim treated Pam on the show was what dreams were made of. It definitely far exceeded anything Courtney had experienced in real life.

Courtney: Yeah. I might just watch that. Are you coming to the shop tomorrow?

Grace came in most days, and Courtney loved it. Twice a day probably wouldn’t be enough. The woman was so damn calm that it almost evened out Courtney’s crazy.

Grace: Yes! I’ll pop in late morning. Is that okay?

Courtney: Girl, if you don’t, I’ll be hunting you down. I have a lot to tell you.

Okay, maybe not a lot in normal-person speak, but a kiss from Jason, even if it was just on the cheek, was a lot for Courtney. Especially when, on an average day, she struggled to even talk to the guy.

Grace: Now I’m looking forward to catching up even more. Enjoy The Office. X

Courtney: See you tomorrow. xox

She took another bite of her pizza, putting her phone down on the coffee table. She was two slices, three dumplings, and four episodes into The Office when she finally decided it was time to call it a night. She hadn’t gotten to the ice cream yet, but it could wait until tomorrow. She was stuffed.

Courtney had just packed up everything and gone to her room when her cell buzzed. She plucked it from the bedside table. When she looked at the screen, the phone almost tumbled from her fingers.

Holy Jesus…

Hey! It’s Jason. Did you end up going with the ice cream or the mousse?

How did the guy even have her number? Not that she was surprised he did. He was in the security business. They could get their hands on entire background checks within minutes, couldn’t they?

Courtney perched herself on the edge of the bed for a solid five minutes, just looking at the screen. She started typing a few messages, only to quickly delete the words.

Don’t overthink it, Courtney. Just message the guy.

Her fingers returned to the keys.

Courtney: Hey! You might be pleased to discover that I trusted your judgment and went with the ice cream. Although, it’s still untouched in my freezer because I went a bit too hard on the dumplings and pizza.

The second she hit send, she scrunched her eyes shut. Stuffing your face with takeout was hardly a turn-on.

Jason: Maybe I’ll have to join you when you start on the ice cream.

The fine hairs on her arms stood on end.

Courtney: How did you get my number?

Jason: I may have asked a certain friend of yours for it.

So, Grace. Not surprising. Not when Grace knew how infatuated she was with the guy. Permission wasn’t needed.

Jason: Is that okay?

Okay? Heck, she would have personally jogged it over to Blue Halo if she’d known he wanted it.

Courtney: Yes.

Jason: Good, so you’re not sick of me yet.

Could a woman get sick of a man like Jason? Ha. No.

Courtney: Not yet. And I guess you texting means you’re not sick of me either.

Jason: Impossible.

She smiled, despite knowing that wasn’t true. Not even a little bit. Not if her history with guys said anything. Cheating meant you were sick of someone, didn’t it? But then, something told her that Jason wouldn’t do that. Call it a gut instinct.

Eddie jumped onto the bed, sidling up beside her. She patted his smooth golden mane, considering how to respond. A second later, another message came through.

Jason: I’m glad we were able to clear the air on how we feel about each other.

Her hand paused mid-stroke, eyes temporarily shuttering, remembering the kiss.

Courtney: Me too.

Rising from the bed, she walked over to the window, about to pull down the blinds… but before she did, her gaze caught something on the lawn below her apartment.

Was that a person beside the tree?

Her phone dinged in her hand, but instead of looking at it, she squinted through the glass. Definitely a person. And for a second, she thought they were looking up at her. But now they were walking away…

She quickly gave herself a shake. She lived in an apartment building in the middle of town. Of course there were people around the place.

She shut the blinds and slid beneath the sheets, then looked back to her phone. Her heart immediately gave a little kick.

Jason: I’m really looking forward to getting to know you better, Courtney.

Jeez, there went her heartbeat taking off again.

Courtney: I’m not very interesting.

Jason: I doubt that.

Courtney: And I’ll try not to freeze up on you.

Or talk like a rambling idiot.

Jason: You’re perfect either way.

Oh, sweet Jesus. First he’d called her beautiful, and now perfect. So different from any other guy who’d been in her life.

Courtney: You should stop saying such sweet things to me. I don’t know if my heart can take it.

In fact, she was almost certain it couldn’t.

Jason: I can’t promise you that. Sleep well, honey.

She closed her eyes, elation filtering through her limbs.

Courtney: You too, Jason. X

She swore under her breath at the accidental kiss. Dang it. But then the next message from Jason came through.

Jason: Xox

Oh, Lord. She was in trouble.