Page 7 of Tactically Tied

"Jami, over here."

Jami blinked and looked away from him. Jed wanted to punch the throat of whoever had pulled her attention away. He turned and saw Ryan Daniels. The very man who had been the instrument of everything Jed had wanted. The man who had made a cavalier dare that ended with Jami running away from home.

CHAPTERFOUR

Jami had spent the entire night running through her plan—what she was going to say to Ryan, how she’d pitch the idea of a marriage of convenience to him, all for the sake of her inheritance. It was rehearsed, foolproof. She had everything under control.

At least, she thought she had. Because then she bumped into Jed Winchester. And her carefully laid plan went right out the side of her head.

She hadn’t seen Jed when she'd walked into The Bean Barn. She'd been too focused on the cup of coffee. She'd traveled the world, including to Paris and Rome, but no one brewed a cuppa like they did at The Barn. She could just taste the smoothness of the beans the closer she got to the shop.

With her tastebuds distracted with anticipation and her mind mentally going over her well-crafted speech for Ryan, she had not been prepared for the one thing—the one person—who always threw her off her game. Here he was, standing right in front of her, holding his coffee like some sort of casual, rugged Adonis. His gaze locked on to hers, and everything—every single carefully constructed plan—fled her brain.

What was she doing here? Where was she, exactly? What was her name again?

Jed's eyes locked on hers and held her captive. His gaze didn’t just stop there, though. They drifted downward, settling on her mouth in a way that made Jami's breath hitch. It was like he was remembering that kiss.

That kiss. The one she'd given to him when she should have only been thinking about Ryan. The one he'd stolen from her, along with every thought of the boy she’d thought she was in love with. The one they'd shared when she came to the realization that no one would ever make her feel in those few moments what Jed Winchester had made her feel.

It had been the true definition of an amuse-bouche. A tantalizing taste, just enough to awaken her senses, to make her crave more. It had been brief, a fleeting moment on her lips, but it held the promise of something richer, deeper. Like the first bite of a meal so perfectly seasoned it left her yearning for the full course. In that single kiss, he’d made her feel what no one else ever had—a flash of heat, a burst of flavor, a taste of what could be.

Just enough to ruin her for anyone else, yet leaving her hungry for more. And judging by the way his eyes darkened, maybe he thought about it just as much.

Being this close to Jed Winchester—God, she hadn’t been this close to him since that day back in high school. Since that kiss. And now, her heart, her brain, her body were all in agreement: she wanted to get closer. Much closer.

Which was insane. This was Jed Winchester, her mortal rival, her sworn enemy in all things, food and life. She couldn’t just... kiss him.

But oh, how she wanted to. The pull between them was undeniable, like gravity or something even stronger. Was there something stronger than gravity? Obviously yes, since it's what she was feeling right now.

He opened his mouth, maybe to say something, maybe to bridge the electrified silence between them, but before he could, another voice broke through the spell.

"Jami, over here."

Ryan’s voice cut through the moment like a bucket of cold water.

Ryan.

The guy she’d been dating when she’d kissed Jed. No, scratch that—Jed had kissed her. And she’d gone along with it, heart racing, sparks flying, because it had been the best kiss of her life. Back then, and now. And there was no way she was going to admit that to anyone. Least of all Jed.

A wave of guilt washed over her, just like it always did when she thought about that night. She’d never told Ryan what happened. Never explained why she’d broken up with him or that Jed had been the real reason.

She snapped back to the present, tugging her hand away from Jed’s grip, but he held fast. His fingers were warm and firm around hers, and his eyes flashed with something dark, something possessive.

“Jami.” Jed's voice was low, rough around the edges, almost a growl. “What are you doing with Ryan?”

The question knocked the breath out of her. His voice held a tension that tugged at her, pulling her deeper into the memory of that kiss, of how right it had felt to be with him, even when it shouldn’t have. She couldn’t even form a response at first, her heart pounding in her chest, his grip grounding her but also igniting something dangerously close to desire.

“It’s... It's none of your business,” Jami finally managed to say, her voice breathless.

Her pulse pounded in her ears as she tugged her hand free from Jed’s grip, willing herself to stay calm. Her heart, however, was anything but calm. Jed’s question echoed in the air between them. Tension radiated from him like heat from the pavement on a summer day.

She opened her mouth, and before she could stop herself, the words tumbled out. “Ryan and I are getting back together.”

Ryan had left the table in the corner to come up to the two of them. “We are?” he asked, brows shooting up to his hairline.

Jami shot him a warning glance.

Ryan cleared his throat awkwardly. “I mean... we are. Yeah. Totally.”

---