Page 54 of My Vigilante Valentine

I caught his eye, and my stomach did that annoying flip thing it always did when he looked at me.

Only now, it was worse because soon, we’d be holding hands and staring lovingly into each other’s eyes.

It was all in the name of catching a killer, but that didn’t mean I couldn’t enjoy it, right?

My life had gotten so weird.

“Morning,” I called out, probably a touch too loudly.

His eyes swept over the decorations, one brow lifting in silent judgment. “You’ve been busy.”

“Gotta sell the romance,” I said with a wink.

His jaw ticked, but I caught the ghost of a smile before he turned away.

A few of our regulars were watching this exchange with interest, and I couldn’t blame them. Most of them weren’t used to Jax, and the ones who were knew he rarely spoke to anyone—let alone engaged in my brand of peppy chitchat.

Especially not this early, and definitely not without having at least one cup of coffee first.

Looked like we were off to a good start with our show.

“The usual?” I asked, already reaching to the back of my quirky collection for the one mug I was convinced he’d never seen before.

He nodded, then did something completely unexpected. Instead of heading straight for his corner table to put down his stuff, he walked right up to the counter.

Like, right up to it.

Close enough that I could smell his cologne—something crisp and clean that made my knees go weak.

“You look tired,” he said, his voice low enough that only I could hear.

I blinked. “Um… Thanks?”

The corner of his mouth twitched. “I meant, did you sleep at all after last night?”

My cheeks warmed as the illogical side of my brain turned that into an unfounded innuendo, but then logic prevailed, and I caught his true meaning.

Oh. Right—in addition to how late they’d stayed, we’d also gone to the vigil, and that had been really hard.

My heart squeezed. He was checking on me.

“I’m fine,” I said softly. “Just... everything is kind of a lot right now, ya know?”

He nodded once, and then he reached across the counter.

I immediately ceased to exist as he trailed a delicate finger over my cheek, brushing back a loose strand of hair that’d escaped from my messy bun.

The touch was brief, barely there, but it sent electricity zipping through my entire body—and then straight into his.

How did I know that?

Because his blue eyes had darkened in a deliciously stormy way at the moment of impact, and it absolutely couldnothave been a simple trick of the light.

And judging by the way Wednesday nearly dropped the pitcher of water she was using to fill a coffee machine?

We weren’t the only ones who felt it.

I forced myself to focus on making his coffee, trying to ignore the whispers from the table of college students near the window.

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