Page 271 of Romeo

Granny went pale.

Her hand reached for me immediately, and the moment her fingers closed around my arm, I wanted to fold into her the way I had Jasper. Instead, I stood between them, still holding Jasper’s hand because letting go felt impossible.

“What man?” Granny asked.

“I don’t know his name.” My voice sounded far away. “The man from the gas station. The one I told you about.”

Granny’s mouth hardened.

I knew that expression.

Her fear lasted less than a second before it turned into something else.

“I’m calling Georgie.” She turned toward the house.

“Granny—”

“And Frank. They can get the Sons over here.”

Beside me, Jasper went still.

Not dramatically. If I hadn’t been holding his hand, I might not have felt the sudden tension move through him.

“Don’t call them,” he said.

Granny turned back slowly. “Excuse me?”

Jasper’s fingers closed around mine before he answered. His voice stayed quiet, but the softness he had used with me in the parking lot had changed. “I’ll take care of it.”

My stomach dropped and I looked at him.

Until that moment, it hadn’t occurred to me that Jasper was going anywhere.

He’d just gotten here.

He’d held me behind the shop until I could breathe again. Followed me home. Walked me to the porch. I’d assumed he was coming inside.

“Jasper?”

His eyes came to me. The hardness disappeared so quickly that I almost wondered if I’d imagined it. “Baby.”

I tightened my grip on his hand. “You’re staying?”

It came out more like a question than I wanted.

His expression shifted.

That was enough. “No.”

I grabbed his hand with both of mine. “No, Jasper. Please.”

“Fiona—”

“I don’t want you to go.”

My voice cracked, and I hated it. Hated the tears rushing back when I had only just managed to stop them. Hated that my body was betraying me all over again despite being home safe.

But the thought of Jasper walking away from me made the dark beyond Granny’s porch feel too close.