Cinnamon.
My nose tingles.
“That’s it, baby girl. Wake up.” He thumbs my bottom lip, tipping my mouth open slightly, letting the cinnamon bite my tongue.
I bite down instinctively, chewing to get the burning sensation off my tongue, and blink up at the face in front of me. “You didn’t have to shove the whole piece of gum in my mouth.”
He laughs breathily. “I thought your fainting spells were getting better,” he murmurs, holding my cheeks in his hands.
“Me too.” I lean into his palm, looking up at him. “I guess I can’t blame the stress on a wedding.”
He helps me sit up until my back is resting against the chair in my living room, and brushes my hair back gently.
“We’ll find out who is doing this. I promise.”
As much as it scares me, I’m worried about what will happen when my stalker’s identity is discovered. Jensen won’t rest until I’m safe, and we’ve already paid the price for that once.
I kick at one of my shoes that came loose when I fell, and my foot struggles to right it until his fingers circle my ankle, steadying it. He slides my heel back onto my foot easily, andI don’t breathe until his hand falls away.
I wish he would have left it there.
“Did I scare the flower boy away?” I ask with too much hoarseness in my throat, trying to stand. This time, when he reaches for me, helping me up, he doesn’t let go as I peek over his shoulder.
There’s a broken porch rail lying a few feet from me, and flowers scattered everywhere.
“No, but I scared him thoroughly.” He nods to where the kid is cowering next to his van in the driveway. “He didn’t hurt you, right?” He asks me under his breath, wrapping his arms around my waist to support my weight.
“No, he’s just a delivery guy.”
He nods against my head, and I lean into him, sighing deeply. “You can probably let me go now.”
“You’re still pretty unsteady. I probably shouldn’t.”
A laugh bubbles up out of me, and I feel his smile against my hair. “I don’t think I’ve been taking all of this seriously enough.”
He pulls back to look me in the face, suddenly. “Why?”
“I accepted that I had a stalker, but it’s hard to remember to be scared when you’re around.”
He looks at me earnestly. “Are you flirting with me?”
I knock his shoulder with my palm. “Shut up, I just fainted.” I smile bashfully towards the floor.
He tips my chin up, forcing me to look up at him. “I don’t want you to be scared, but I am worried. I’d like to be around even more… If that’s okay with you?”
He’s asking to be with me more so he can protect me. Nothing else, Olive.
But as his thumb rubs little circles under my chin, my recentfainting spell becomes a distant memory. The words on my flower card don’t ring so clear… When we’re together, I’m always sucked intohim.
He’s waiting for a response, but I can’t stop staring at his mouth, inches from mine. I know kissing him wouldn’t solve any of my problems, and it might actually make things worse… But I bet it’d be fun.
“Whatever is happening in your head right now, I want to revisit later.” His deeply spoken words draw my gaze upward. “Malec’s here.”
My first instinct is to pull away from him, but I meet the resistance of his muscles wrapped around me, reminding me that I’m a single woman now.
I don’t have to hide this from anyone. I don’t have to justify who I’m receiving comfort from.
Especially when that person is Jensen Hayes with our years of history.
