Unbidden, her cheeks heated at the memory of last weekend after the football game, when she’d destroyed his t-shirt with her snot and tears. But Jack had seemed unbothered; he simply held her until she calmed. She’d apologized profusely, but he’d waved it off, telling her it really wasn’t a big deal.
“Even when you’re a crying mess, you look amazing,” Jack had said, reaching up to tuck an errant lock of blonde hair behind her ear.
“I have a boyfriend,” she blurted, stepping away from him.
Jack cocked his head to the side, brows drawing together. “Okay?”
“I’m just telling you. The deal…it’s not happening, Jack.”
“I didn’t say a word about the deal, Jessica.”
Her name on his lips lacked all the warmth he’d used minutes ago for her nickname, and Jessica felt that chill settle on her bones.Good,she thought.The sooner we draw boundaries, the better.
“I’m just letting you know.”
“Well, good. Thanks for that.” He shoved his hands into his pockets and nodded his head in the direction he’d been walking. “I’m just…gonna go.”
“Right, sure,” she said, moving to the right side of the path so he could pass her.
She walked away without looking back, gripping the hair at her temples in her hands and pulling.What the fuck, Daniels?
“Hey, Jess?”
Fuck.
Slowly, she turned toward Jack again, and each time she looked at him, even though this was only the third time since he’d walked back into her life, it became harder and harder to tear her gaze away. He’d always been beautiful, but these past three years had turned him into the kind of man dreams were made of.
“Yeah?” she croaked.
“It’s good to see you.” One corner of his mouth tipped up in a half-smile, then he turned and walked away.
“Do you want my number?” she blurted at his retreating form.
Jack stopped so quickly his shoes scuffed along the path, and he threw his arms out for balance.
And…what the fuck, Jessica? What in the fresh hell possessed you to ask him that?
This was a mistake, and she couldn’t take it back.
She’d never thought clearly with him around. The combination of Jack’s reappearance in her life and her fight with Silas had her mind spinning in a million directions but…
Kenzie and Aiden were completely gone for each other. She’d just texted Jessica and some Sofia girl a bit ago, freaking out because Aiden finally asked her out on a real date. Those two were finally going to stop dancing around each other, and Jessica couldn’t be happier for her. Kenzie was one of Jessica’s best friends, and Jack was one of Aiden’s. The way Jessica saw it, the chances that she and Jack would be spending some time together were high, whether she liked it or not.
Level-Headed Jessica decidedly did not, but Hopeless Romantic Jessica was jumping for joy.
Jack started toward her, stopping in front of her.
“Are you sure?” he asked. “You kinda just made a big deal out of telling me you have a boyfriend…”
“I…” She trailed off. She knew she should rescind the offer, but…she didn’t want to. Maybe that made her a bad person, but fuck it. It was only a phone number, right? That didn’t mean he’d use it, or that she had to respond if he did. “Yes, I’m sure,” she said finally.
Jack’s grin was tentative as he turned back to Jessica and, with shaky fingers, she punched her number in, fighting the urge to text herself from his phone.
Jack had no such compunction, and a moment later, her phone dinged in her pocket.
“Now you have mine, too,” he said, then winked and took off into the night.
Now, walking the same path she’d taken that night—only in reverse—Jessica groaned.
