“What brought you here today?” she asks, her hand sliding from my arm.
“I was working,” I answer, omitting the part about my job being to watch her, as we stop at a fruit stall. I reach for a couple of apples, extending one toward her. Her fingers brush against mine—brief and electric—as she takes it from my hand. The way her breath stutters for a second before she schools it, I’m certain she noticed it, too.
“If you’re working… don’t let me get you into trouble.”
“Too late,” I reply smoothly with a flirtatious smirk. She rolls her eyes, but doesn’t try to hide the faint trace of a smile pulling at the corner of her lips.
Lost in her deep chocolate eyes, I’m already in a world of trouble.
The market feels different now. Not safer—I’m not stupid—but I somehow feel safer with this giant man beside me. I walk with him, my tote bag hooked over my arm, pretending my pulse isn’t skidding from the alley.Or maybe it has nothing to do with the alleyway anymore…
Jagger keeps his distance, walking with me but not too close. When people bump into us, he angles himself subtly between them and me; a barrier I didn’t ask for.But I’m not exactly rejecting it, either.
He is different from what I expected him to be. Quieter, maybe. Less sharp around the edges. Although he’s still alert, his blue eyes never stop scanning over the crowd of people surrounding us. Yet, somehow, it’s like the chaos and noise stand him down instead of winding him tighter. He still takes up space aggressively, but at his size, it’s probably difficult not to.
I try not to stare at him, but I fail miserably. The sunlight in his hair accentuates the natural blond highlights, making itappear lighter than it looked in the hospital. His sleeves are pushed up, and those muscular, tattooed forearms of his are very distracting. Catching me looking up at him, he beams a broad, knowing smile down at me.
Focus, Blake.
“You always this quiet?” I ask, mostly because the silence is starting to feel too intimate.
He glances at me, one corner of his lips lifting. “Only when I’m behaving.”
I scoff playfully. “That’s comforting.”
When we stop at a bread stall overflowing with loaves dusted in flour and seeds, I cock an eyebrow at him. “Do you always interrupt potential kidnappings? Or am I a special case?”
He puts down a loaf of bread and glances at me with a—far too adorable—half-smile.
“Special case,” he answers flatly. “Do you attempt to get kidnapped often?”
“I try to pencil it in on Tuesdays,” I deadpan. “I find it’s good for character development.”
“That’s a bold strategy, Doc,” he teases. “I might not be available next Tuesday.”
“I’ll be sure to coordinate with you going forward.”
We pass a stall draped in turquoise, saffron, and deep wine-red scarves, the fabric fluttering gently in the soft breeze. The vendor’s eyes flick between us, lingering with mild amusement.We look like a fairy and their friendly giant.He smiles at the two of us, and I realize that he thinks we’re a pair.Together.It’s ridiculous. I’ve known Jagger for less than a couple of hours. Yet, walking beside him feels so comfortable in a way I didn’t see coming.
The air is sharp and clean, with oranges and lemons permeating the air, when we stop at a little fruit stall. I pick up a grapefruit, turning it over, inspecting the skin for soft spots.
“You are very serious about your produce, Doc.”
“I’m a doctor,” I reply. “I take most things seriously. I like to know what I’m getting myself into.”
He steps close and bends down until his face is inches from my ear, like he’s telling me one of life’s big secrets, before whispering, “You do know that fruit is notoriously untrustworthy, right?”
When I glance over my shoulder, my face is mere inches from his. “You’ve been hurt by a pineapple, haven’t you?”
“I don’t really like to talk about it.” He nods solemnly. “But… avocados.”
A loud and unfettered laugh surprises me, billowing from my lungs before I can stop it. It’s so relaxed, it barely sounds like my own. Jagger stares down at me with a smile tugging at his lips. “There it is.”
“What?”
“The part that you keep tucked away.” Heat creeps up my neck and over my cheeks as I drop my gaze out of embarrassment. With his finger beneath my chin, he lightly eases my face up. His soft eyes bore through me ashe tucks a strand of hair behind my ear. “It looks good on you.”
Fuck… heisas charming as he thinks he is.
