“Just think about it,” Emma cajoles, leaping up from the table to fold me into a hug from behind. “You and me as a duo? We would slay.”
Jason regards me with hard eyes.
“Tell me you’ll at least consider it,” Emma begs.
When I hesitate for a beat, because I don’t want to disappoint Emma, especially after sleeping with her father, Jason’s eyes darken dangerously. Does heactuallythink I’m going to go on a date with someone else? There’s no way. I just told Jason I’m in love with him and I meant it. I’m devoted. Fully. Forever.
“No.” I flick a final, brief look at Jason. “I’ll block his number. He’ll get the hint.”
Some of the tension drains from Jason’s shoulders.
Meanwhile, Emma groans, flopping back down at the table.
I take the chair beside her, my whole body on high alert, pulses firing in my wrists, throat. Jealous. Jason is jealous and his reaction is making me feel sexy. Rejuvenated.
Owned.
That’s what I am.
“I was thinking we could order sushi again,” Emma says while scrolling her phone. “It was so good last night.”
“Your father has a fish allergy.”
Emma’s head pops up. “He does?” She looks between us. “How do you know that when I don’t?”
I duck my head to hide my red cheeks. “Oh. He told me last night. When I asked if he wanted to add anything to our order.”
“Oh.” She stares at me for another tick, before shrugging. “Pizza?”
“Sure,” Jason says. “I’ll put the order in.”
“Great.”
“Do you have an epi pen?” I ask out of curiosity, looking back at Jason. “Like, do you carry one, just in case?”
He winces. “It expired years ago. Haven’t renewed the prescription.”
I frown at Jason to let him know how I feel about his lack of self-care. “You should have one. Or two.”One for me, I mouth.
Affection dances in his eyes, his chest rising and falling. “I’ll call the doctor tomorrow.”
I give a firm nod. Tearing my eyes off him is nearly impossible, but I do it, staring straight down at the table.
“Working on anything interesting this week, Dad?” Emma asks, absently.
He picks his beer back up, taking a sip. “Well, I have a crew starting work on your place tomorrow. Other than that, there are lots of projects going on. I’m having a meeting with a client tomorrow about a remodel and I’ll probably be up late, trying to configure the layout he wants. Or the layout his wife wants, rather.”
I perk up. “What do you mean?”
“She wants to add square footage to the kitchen for a breakfast nook but doesn’t want to lose any of her living room. I can’t see how we’re going to make it happen without putting on an addition. Their budget is a little tight for that.”
I’m absorbing the design talk like a sponge. “Do you have the plans?”
Jason’s eyes twinkle. “In my office, yeah.” He thinks for a second. “Actually, I have a PDF saved on my phone.” He slides the device out of his back pocket, his thumb moving around the screen. There’s an eager fizz in my blood when he crosses to the table and sets the phone down in front of me. I scoot closer to the table and begin enlarging sections with my fingers, calculating measurements in my head, my mouth moving as I silently process my thoughts. “What if you eliminate this mud room and move it to north side of the house? That would give her extra space in the living room here…” I tap the screen withmy fingernail. “So maybe she wouldn’t mind losing a chunk to the kitchen if you move this south wall.”
Jason studies the plans over my shoulder and my nipples stiffen in response, so I cross my arms to hide the effect his nearness has on me. But God, he smells so good. Like pine and sawdust. “Damn, Shea,” he murmurs, stirring my hair. “That’s not a bad idea.”
His praise turns my bones to jelly.
