Page 15 of Bravely Yours

I didn’t even realize he had stepped into the kitchen behind me until he spoke. He held Nora in one arm and was unloading groceries and placing them on the island with the rest.

I sighed as I grabbed the milk and turned to the fridge. “On top of being hounded by my dad, I’ve got you reminding me too?”

He chuckled. “I offered to do it for you.”

There were moments when I regretted giving him my phone number. But mostly, I’d enjoyed the few texts we’d shared about fantasy football and who I should update my roster with.

“I updated it during lunch today.”

As we continued to put the groceries away and I preheated the oven, we chatted about tonight’s game and made guesses about who would win.

My phone vibrated on the kitchen island, interrupting the conversation. As I held it up and read the message, I let out a huff. This was starting to get annoying. At least it wasn’t Drew texting me. That was my fear when the first message had come through last week. But it was obvious it was a wrong number. Or scammers.

“Everything okay?”

I glanced over at Jay, who was leaning back against the island, Nora still nestled in one arm, his brows now furrowed.

“Yeah, just random texts from a strange number.”

“Same one as the other night?”

I nodded. “But it’s weird things. Like this one.Good running into you at the gas station.I didn’t even get gas today.”

“Hmm. Have you messaged back and let them know they’re texting the wrong number?”

“No.” I shook my head. “My dad was telling me a fewmonths ago about wrong number text scams. I bet that’s what this is, and you aren’t supposed to text them back.”

He stared at me for a long moment, his jaw working like he wanted to say something else, but a moment later, he straightened and wandered over to turn the TV on while I turned back to preparing dinner.

I tried a new recipe tonight, one that I’d seen on Instagram, and I was pretty sure it was a hit, since Jay asked for seconds.

“Meatball sliders are my new favorite thing.” He wiped his mouth with his napkin. “Can you teach me how to make these? The guys at the house would love ’em.”

I raised an eyebrow at him. “I thought you didn’t cook.”

He shrugged. “I don’t. But I think I could learn.” That smirk of his curled his lips. “You know, with the right teacher.” He shot me a wink.

My stomach fluttered. God, I was being ridiculous. How the hell did one wink from this guy cause such a reaction? Was I that deprived of male attention?

Yeah, I absolutely was, but when my gaze locked onto his again, the smirk was gone. He was laser focused on my mouth, and I swore the attraction wasn’t one-sided.

I ran my tongue along my bottom lip. Jay tracked the movement, and maybe it was my imagination, but I was pretty sure he let out a subtle groan.

Excitement coursed through me and butterflies took flight in my belly. Was he going to kiss me?

His phone rang loudly from the coffee table, startling us both and breaking the spell we’d fallen under.

Glancing at it, he said, “Sorry, I have to take this. It’s my sister.”

He had talked about the younger one a bit over the last week. She attended the University of North Carolina in Asheville, commuting from their parents’ house.

He hung up and sent me a sad smile. “Sorry, I have to go. Izzy needs a ride home from a party.”

I nodded. From our conversations, I’d gathered that his sisters depended on him a lot. I was an only child, so I couldn’t really relate, but it was super sweet that he made them a priority and was sure to be available when they needed him.

But a few minutes later, when I shut the door behind him, sadness and disappointment washed over me.

It was probably for the best that we had been interrupted, though. Nothing good could come from pining over my young next-door neighbor.

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