Page 46 of Bulletproof Love

I slide it over my head, refusing to argue with that logic. It’s cozy and soft on the inside, even if it’s cheesy as hell. “Thank you, that was really nice.”

“Maybe you can bedazzle it when we get back home.” He smirks again and this time I give his arm a light punch.

“Or maybe I’ll bedazzle you some more. I had fun with the glue gun.”

We head outside and I’m immediately assaulted by a blast of snowflakes to the face. It feels like the temperature dropped a few degrees while we sat inside eating. There’s a light layer of snow over Damon’s Chevy, and covering the parking lot from what I can see in the dim lighting.

Jasper wraps his arm around my waist as I almost slide on the slick ground. “Damn heels.”

“I got you.”

He opens the car door for me before hurrying around the front to the driver’s side. I pull the sleeves over my hands and rub them together. “Heat, please.”

Man, I’m really missing California right about now. Jasper starts the engine and turns the dial to blast the heater. I steal a glance at him, warmth spreading through my chest as I picture us cruising down the Pacific Coast Highway. Salty air would whip through the open windows while he drives with one hand on the wheel and the other resting possessively on my thigh, our favorite music blasting through the speakers, louder than the crashing waves.

The little daydream almost warms my frozen limbs. “Can you check the GPS while I dust off the windshields? I know we’re about halfway, but I want to make sure there’s no road closures.”

He uses the back of his shirt sleeve to clear the windows while I check. He’s right, we’re about halfway to the city. Once he’s back in the car, I let him know. “No closures, but I doubt they’ve got the plows out yet.”

The car fishtails as he backs out, making me lunge for theoh shithandle, white-knuckling that thing. His low laugh fills the car at my reaction as he straightens the wheel. Only then does my chest loosen enough to take a breath. “I’ve had enough adrenaline for one night. Wiping out in a snowstorm is so not on my winter bucket list.”

“Don’t worry, Trouble. I can drive in the snow.”

* * *

If only Irecorded him twenty minutes ago.“Don’t worry, Trouble. I can drive in the snow.”Right. That’s why I’m staring at a utility pole halfway down a ditch.

“That pole literally has a smiley face spray painted on it,” I say. “How ironic.”

He slides back in the car after assessing the damage. “I’m going to push the car to a safer spot. We should be able to run it for heat, but driving’s out until they plow and salt.” He roughly pulls a hand through his long hair, grimacing. “Fuck, Damon’s going to kick my ass.”

“Should I call him?” I offer, trying to redirect him from his self-loathing.

“Nah, he’s probably still riding.”

“What about a tow truck?”

“Not necessary. I got it.”

I huff, clicking my phone off to save battery. “You’re seriously planning to push this massive hunk of metal back onto the road by yourself? I know you’re built, but you’re not exactly The Hulk.”

“All I heard was,I’m built.”

How is it that he can make me go from wanting to kiss him to wanting to throttle him in less than three seconds?

“Jasper, I’m serious. I’m not turning into a human popsicle because you’re too stubborn to admit you need help.”

“A Falin flavored popsicle… I could eat that,” he teases in that low voice. I scowl and cross my arms. “I’m kidding! Alright, I’ll head out there again and if I can’t get it up the hill, you can call a tow.”

Satisfied with that compromise, I nod. “I’ll climb in the driver’s seat and put it in neutral.”

“Mmm, I like a woman who knows her way around a stick shift.”

As he heads back into the storm, I call after him, “Don’t slip on ice and break your neck.”

Sliding into the driver’s seat, I mutter under my breath, “Freaking stubborn ass infuriating man. There’s no way he can actually—What the hell?”

The car rocks beneath me as it lurches backward. My jaw drops. Is he seriously managing to push this entire car by himself? It rocks again, and this time I definitely feel it moving.

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