Page 26 of The Run Option

Jason walks over and takes his phone, then presses a few bills into his hand. “Thanks, man.”

The guy grins wide when he looks down at the generous amount of money and thanks Jason profusely. The sight increases the warmth building within me. I’m sure the amount was nothing to Jason, but it clearly meant a lot to the man.

“How do they look?” I ask when he returns to my side. He hands the phone to me without answering.

They’re not as bad as I thought, but none of them arethephoto. We need something believable.

“Maybe the photos we take will turn out better,” he says, confirming that he saw what I did.

I sigh. “I hope so.”

“Come here.” He draws me close to him again. His hand is warm in the dip of my waist, and I find it suddenly hard to breathe. “Look at me.”

“Don’t tell me what to do,” I say, but look at him anyway. His green eyes are crinkled at the edges. In my periphery, I can seehe’s holding up his phone, but it’s hard to think about that when he’s soclose.

“You like to be in charge,” he states.

“No, I just don’t like being told what to do.”

He chuckles. “That’s the same thing.”

“I don’t think so.”

“I think you’d argue with me even if I said the sky was blue.”

I glance up at the pastel sunset. “Well, it’s rosy pink right now, so–” I cut myself off when I realize I’m proving him right.

Laughter rumbles through his chest, making the hand I’ve rested there tingle.

“Stop laughing at me,” I say, though my lips are turning up in a smile of their own. “I don’t argue with everyone.”

“Oh I know,” he says, looking down at me with sparkling green eyes. “You reserve all that sass for me.”

An involuntary giggle bubbles out of me. “Notallof it. I have much more than what I show you.”

He makes a faux shocked face. “I didn’t think you could have any left over.”

I swat his chest. “Shut up. I’m not that bad.”

“I didn’t say any of this was a bad thing, did I?”

My breath catches as our gazes lock. Just as the world starts to slip away around us, a car horn blares, making me jump back. Jason’s arm falls away.

He clears his throat. “I think I got a few good ones, but we should go inside before we’re too late for our reservation.”

I nod, grabbing my bag from the nearby bench I set it on. Jason holds the door open for me, and I enter on shaking legs. The photos proved to be a good distraction, but now reality is setting in once again. I’m about to have dinner with my futurehusband.

Chapter thirteen

Jason Kingsley

My fiancée is breathtaking. I shouldn’t think of her as mine, even if legally we’ll belong to each other soon. But I can’t help it. She’s sitting across from me, and I’ve lost every line I could think of, every coherent thought. The dim light of the restaurant has created a soft haze over her. Her gray eyes are magnetic, shimmering like freshly polished silver. And her mouth…those berry lips are sure to haunt me tonight.

“So, I guess we should discuss our plan?” she asks, pulling me out of my awestruck reverie.

I clear my throat and shift in my seat. “Yeah, that would be good. Brock said our story needs to be airtight, so maybe we should start there.”

She nods. “That sounds good. How did we fall in love?” She says the last part of her question like the words are being choked out of her.

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