Page 22 of I'll Carry You

She didn’t look at him as she tried to clear the coffee from her lungs. At last, she gave him a tense smile. “I may never taste anything again, but I’m fine. So what are you up to?”

“Just came to take a picture of the space I parked in yesterday. I don’t think it was marked clearly, and my lawyer wanted me to...” He trailed off as though he sensed he sounded self-indulgent. “It doesn’t matter.”

She wiped her mouth, checking her blouse. She’d dripped coffee on her shirt. A ticklish feeling spread to the back of her neck. She’d also worn a lower-cut top in case her date with Brad went in that direction. And,yup, Jason had noticed, too. His eyes cut from her boobs back to her face.

Great.“I-I was on a date,” she explained, as though she needed an explanation for why she’d dressed in a more revealing outfit.

“Were?” Jason checked his watch. He had more scruff on his face than the day before and it was sexy.

Oh, God. She was doing it, wasn’t she?Fumbling over her attraction to this casual-sex indulgent, just-passing-through stranger.Very bad. Stop it now.

“Yeah, well, it turns out when you kiss a stranger in the middle of the street while the whole town watches, the guy you’re dating doesn’t take it so well.” Jen flashed him a grin. “What can you do?” Travis came out of the kitchen and started cleaning the bagel toaster. The look on his face made it clear he had been intently listening.

Jason rubbed his well-defined jawline. Such a good jawline. She focused on his eyes as he said, “I’m so sorry. Want me to...talk to him?” He grimaced as he finished the sentence awkwardly, as though he knew it couldn’t possibly be a solution, but he felt obliged to offer anyway.

“No, it’s fine.” She released the words in a rushed breath. “He was a jerk anyway. And now I know.” Okay. Enough. Before she made a bigger fool of herself. She straightened, then reached behind the counter, helping herself to a plastic to-go container and a paper cup. She slid the éclair into the container and poured her coffee into the cup. “I’m going to take my dessert for one home. Maybe there’s some cheesy movie about a prince masquerading as a pauper in flannel at Christmas on.”

He smiled, and that hint of a dimple made her pulse do things it really shouldn’t be doing.

“In light of costing you a date, can I get you a drink?”

She popped the top onto the cup. She had a drink. Coffee. Something to sober her up, reminding her of her single-mom life and to move on. Her eyes darted to Travis.

Travis gave her a hard look, one she understood well.Go.

“All right.”Mistake.“Where to?”Mistake, mistake.

Jason looked over at Travis. “Where’s a good place for drinks? I went to some dive bar called The Bench the other night.”

“You should try Yardley’s.” Travis turned away again, but not before Jen caught the glimmer of furtive laughter in his eyes. “Just a short walk.”

She grabbed her coat again and slipped the boxed éclair into her purse. Grabbing the coffee, she called out a thank-you to Travis, then started forward, Jason a few steps behind her. No way in hell was she going back to Yardley’s fifteen minutes after one date with a new one.

Though she would pay to see the look on Brad’s face if he heard about it.

“I would offer to drive, but my car’s still at the impound lot.” Jason fell into step behind her. “I had someone drop me off in town.”

“It’s really not far.” Jen pointed down the block to Yardley’s, coffee cup in hand. The frigid December air was doing nothing to her cheeks. She examined the cup, her tongue still feeling scalded. Then she tossed it in a nearby trash can. She shouldn’t have wasted the cup.

She glanced at Jason. “Get your family situation figured out?”

“Not really.” Jason didn’t look at her, as if doing so would breach some cryptic code known only to him. “Things have actually gotten a bit more complicated.” He glanced in a shop window displaying a Christmas train setup. “They go all out on Christmas here, don’t they?”

“Yeah, it’s sort of a thing. Especially this year. You know. Parade of lighted boats on the lake, carriage rides, tree lightings. There’s even a couples-only baking competition in a few weeks, as cliché as it sounds.” One that she’d have to watch from the sidelines. “But you’ll probably be gone by then.” She hoped he’d correct her.

“Probably.” Jason rubbed the back of his neck. “Speaking of Christmas, I feel like I should apologize about that whole kiss last night.”

Was he purposely avoiding eye contact with her? He seemed embarrassed. No, that wasn’t it. “You didn’t make it happen. It’s fine.”

“But it ruined your date tonight.”

“Probably better in the long run.” She gripped the strap of her purse. “I don’t have a ton of time to waste on dates that aren’t going anywhere.”

His brow furrowed. “So dates with you are for serious contenders only?”

She grimaced, realizing how it had sounded. “I mean . . .” She bit her lip, trying to think of a better way to put it. Then she defaulted to her comfort zone. “Not all of us are experts at finding random partners the first night in town.”

Now the corners of his lips twitched. “Who says I’m an expert?”

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