Page 41 of Simply Yours

Very.

Nicely done.

I guess we’ll see what happens this week.

I guess so.

??

Then he did the unthinkable – and winced.

Nine

CAITLIN

To Caitlin’s utter and complete surprise, Jason ended their string of text messages with a tomato emoji. Atomato. Of all the things.

It wasn’t a heart, or a winking face, or even a simple thumbs-up. No, the gruff, brooding man she’d spent far too much time trying to decipher had sent her a tiny, ridiculous, bright red tomato. It was so unexpected, so absurdly cutesy for him, that she had to laugh.

Because Jason? Being even remotely playful?

That was something special.

She curled her fingers around her phone, staring at the screen for a moment longer than necessary, replaying the entire conversation in her head. Every message. Every reply, reading so much into it like some overzealous girl. Every little hint of interest was hidden beneath his usual standoffish demeanor. And then that kiss...

Oh,that kiss.

Jason had cornered her, quite literally—roped her in with that slow, sinful smirk of his, lured her to the kissing booth like some kind of romance novel hero with a hidden agenda, and then completely and utterly ruined her.

That kiss had shattered every expectation, every cautious wall she’d tried to keep in place. It had curled her toes, thumped her heart against her ribs like a war drum, and flipped her stomach so many times she’d lost count. She hadn’t stopped thinking about it since.

Or worse… feeling it.

Her lips still tingled at the memory, like some kind of phantom sensation. She swore she must have licked them a hundred times today alone, chasing the lingering taste of him—the warmth, the firmness, the way he’d taken control like he knewexactlywhat he was doing.

Which, of course, he did.

Jason kissed like a man with a purpose, like he was staking a claim; like he was making a statement she didn’t quite understand yet. Andthatwas what rattled her the most.

Because Mr. Grumpy, No-Time-For-Romance, Responsibility-First,UnattainableJason Baird?

He wasn’t supposed to kiss like that.

He wasn’t supposed to make her want him like that.

Yet, he had.

And now she was stuck trying to function like a normal human being while her brain short-circuited every five seconds with flashes of that moment—the way he’d pulled her close, the way his breath had hitched just before their lips met, the way his hands had tightened around her waist like he wasn’t ready to let go.

And then… the tomato.

The absurdity of it made her laugh again, a soft, breathy sound of pure disbelief. Maybe Jason was more of a mystery than she’d given him credit for.

Or maybe… just maybe… she was starting to crack his shell.

Still grinning like an absolute fool, Caitlin sighed, reaching for the small jar on her counter. "How’s my pretty girl, Mary Dough?" she murmured, tipping a careful quarter cup of water into her sourdough starter before stirring in the flour. "You behaving yourself today?"

The starter, obviously, didn’t respond. But that didn’t stop her from preening over it like a proud mother.

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