Jase stalked toward her, backing her into the counter as she turned to face him fully. He leaned close, his mouth barely brushing hers.
“Wake me up if you can’t sleep. Then we’ll come downstairs.”
“You were sound asleep,” she told him. “I tried waking you up and you didn’t budge.”
“Get creative next time. I guarantee I’ll wake up with the right incentive.”
Bree’s eyes flashed in what he could only describe as a devilish look.
Jase grinned and swept an arm around her waist, pulling her close while avoiding the spatula she held. He kissed her deep, the taste of coffee she’d had still on her tongue. Shit. If he could get enough caffeine from kissing her, he’d give up drinking it altogether.
She pulled back slightly, her gaze on his mouth. “The eggs are gonna burn,” she whispered.
“I have more eggs.” His tongue darted out to lick her full bottom lip.
She pulled her head back again. “You don’t have more bacon and if that burns, I’m going to be upset.”
Jase relaxed his tight hold and straightened to his full height. “Only because it’s bacon.” He gave her a quick kiss before releasing her to get a coffee mug. He turned in time to catch sight of her lace panties as she bent to remove a cookie sheet from the oven.
Fuck the bacon, he thought as he put the empty mug on the counter. A knock at the kitchen door waylaid his plans to drag her back upstairs. He walked over and unlocked the deadbolt and let his brother in.
“Bad timing, man,” he said with a growl.
“Seems like perfect timing to me. Ooh, bacon.” Tim snagged a piece off the cookie sheet on the stove before stepping fully into the kitchen and grabbing the empty mug off the counter. “You using this?” He didn’t wait for Jase to answer before filling it.
“You here for a reason?” Jase asked.
Tim turned around and leaned against the counter, his face serious. “Unfortunately, yes. I actually need to talk to Bree.”
“About the break-in?” she asked. “On a Sunday morning?”
“We’re not actually sure. I need to you look at a picture for me.” Tim pulled his phone from his pocket.
“O…kay.” Bree turned off the stove and moved the omelets she had finished folding onto plates.
Tim pulled up a photo of a woman and passed his phone to Bree. “Do you recognize her?”
“Yeah, I do,” Bree said. Jase heard the surprise in her voice. “She used to be a neighbor. One house down, on the other side of the street. She and her husband moved four or five months ago. Sold their house to a younger couple with two kids. Her name was…shoot, it begins with a ‘J’, but it’s escaping me right now.” She handed Tim back his phone. “Why, what happened?”
“Her name was Jaelynn and she’s dead,” he said solemnly.
“Oh no! Was she in an accident?” Bree asked.
“She was killed.”
“What does this have to do with Bree, other than this woman used to be her neighbor?” Jase asked.
“I need to show you something else.” Tim swiped across the screen of his phone. “A letter was found with the body. It was addressed to Dr. Brianna Marks. We thought at first it was from the victim, but it doesn’t appear to be from her.” He hesitated a moment before handing his phone back to Bree.
She kept her eyes on him as she took the phone. Jase wrapped an arm around her waist, pulling her close to him. Polly whined low and moved to Bree’s other side, leaning against her leg. She finally looked down at the screen.
Written in bold, block print letters on a standard sheet of white paper was: HE SHOULDN’T HAVE CHEATED. YOU DESERVE SO MUCH BETTER.
“I don’t understand.” Bree handed Tim back his phone.
“You said you discovered your ex-fiance cheating on you and that was the reason you broke it off,” Tim said.
“Yes.”
