Jamie set her jaw, resolving to do what was best for Poppy, even if it meant facing Clayton after last night. The way he’d hugged her—really hugged her, like he wasn’t ready to let go—had sent a warmth running through her, one she wasn’t prepared for. And then he’d said it.I’m going to miss you.She’d frozen, her pulse stuttering, because it felt real.
And real scared her.
Jamie said goodbye to Nolan and called his brother.
“Miss me already?” Clayton answered, his voice laced with amusement.
“Hardly.” She rolled her eyes. “I just spoke to Nolan. Poppy barely slept last night—separation anxiety from her puppies, he’s guessing.”
Clayton’s tone shifted. “What do you need?”
“Can you take her? Just until tomorrow? I have to study and she needs to be with them.”
“Be there in a jiffy.”
As much as Jamie hated being apart from Poppy she knew this was the right call for both of them. She needed to focus and Poppy needed her puppies. But once this was all over, then what?
Thirty minutes later Clayton buzzed up to the penthouse. When Jamie opened the door she found him standing in the hallway with the twins, all three grinning. Her heart did that annoying little skip it had started doing whenever Clayton was around—not that she would acknowledge it.
“Girls!” she said, sweeping the twins into a hug before stepping back to let them in. Poppy went bananas, running in circles around them.
“They insisted on coming,” Clayton said, leaning against the doorframe like he had all the time in the world. His eyes flicked over her, lingering for half a second too long. “And who am I to say no to my girls?”
Jamie rolled her eyes, ignoring the way his deep drawl sent a ripple of warmth through her. “Oh, sure. Like you put up a real fight.”
He smirked. “Maybe I just wanted to see you.”
But before she could come up with a witty comeback Charlotte let out an impressed “Wow!” as she took in the penthouse. “Your house is so nice!”
“It’s Shorty’s,” Jamie replied. “I’m staying here until my exams are over.”
“Then what?” Emily asked, ever the direct one.
Jamie shrugged. “Then I’ll have to find my own place.”
Charlotte turned to her father, bright-eyed. “We have room at our house, don’t we, Daddy?”
Clayton’s smirk deepened. “We sure do, honey.” He shot Jamie a slow, knowing look. “Big ol’ ranch, lots of space. You’d fit right in.”
Jamie scoffed. “I’m a city girl, remember?”
Clayton stepped a little closer, his voice dropping just for her. “I don’t know. Think you’d look real good on the back of a horse.”
Jamie’s pulse spiked. He was teasing her. Flirting.
She crossed her arms, cocking a hip. “I’d rather ride in a sports car with the top down, thanks.”
Clayton tilted his head, studying her like she was a puzzle he was dying to figure out. “Is that so?”
Jamie held his gaze, refusing to let him see the way he was getting to her. “That’s so.”
Charlotte and Emily, oblivious to the tension crackling between them, were already exploring the living room.
Charlotte flopped onto the couch. “I think you should come stay with us.”
Jamie laughed, trying to shake off the way Clayton’s stare still burned into her. “I don’t think that’s a good idea, honey.”
Clayton chuckled. “Can’t blame her for trying.”
