Page 48 of Simply Yours

Neither of them moved.

Neither of them spoke.

For the first time since this ridiculous water fight had started, she didn’t want to break the silence.

Jason’s voice, low and teasing, sliced through the tension. “Did you get stung, Catnip?”

Caitlin flinched, her nose scrunching. “Caitlin,” she corrected, her voice tight.

He chuckled, deep and warm, his smile slow and deliberate. “I know what I said, my sweet littleCatnip.”

Oh my gosh. He gave me a nickname?

The realization hit her like a live wire, sending a jolt of something entirely too thrilling through her veins. Jason watched her reaction, his expression impossibly smug, as if he knew exactly what was running through her head.

“You should have bought some,” she muttered, her throat dry.

The space between them crackled with something electric, something that hadn’t been there before the water fight, before the easy teasing and the chase through the garden. Now, the air was thick and charged, leaving her unable to look away from him.

Jason tilted his head slightly, studying her like she was some kind of puzzle he was figuring out in real time. “Who says I didn’t?” he murmured. “The other plants are still in my truck.”

Her breath caught—that stupid, traitorous breath.

His words weren’t even remotely romantic, but there was something about the way he said them—calm and steady like he had already anticipated her reaction and enjoyed every second of watching it unfold—that made her stomach dip.

“Thank you for pulling me from the ants,” she said, forcing herself to focus. “I didn’t see them.”

Jason’s features softened, the teasing edge dimming just slightly. “Of course,” he said. His voice wasn’t just warm now—it was something deeper, something that settled low in her chest. “I didn’t realize you were going to kneel down. I don’t want you to get stung.”

The sincerity in his tone threw her off balance. He had been playing, laughing, chasing her only moments ago, but now… now he was looking at her like she mattered. Like she was more than just a fleeting distraction on a summer afternoon.

Caitlin swallowed, pushing against the sudden rush of emotion clogging her throat. She needed space. Air. Anything to keep herself from reading too much into this moment.

“I should get you a towel,” she mumbled.

Jason exhaled slowly, a small smile tugging at the corner of his lips. “Nah.” His voice was softer now, barely more than a breath. “Go get cleaned up. I’ll finish this.”

His gaze dipped, traveling over her, and her skin burned in its wake.

“The sun will help dry me,” he added, his voice thick, his throat working. “And I don’t need to be standing’ here, eyein’ how incredible you look right now.”

Her heart slammed against her ribs.

“Really?” she asked, the word barely more than a whisper.

Jason groaned, dragging a hand through his dripping hair. “Oh, gosh, you are killing me.” His laugh was rough, almost self-deprecating, and he shook his head. “I’m trying to take things slow and be polite—but yeah—you are hotter than sin right now. Please, for the love of my sanity, go inside and dry off.”

Caitlin’s lips parted, her heart racing.

Jason held her gaze for one more charged second, then exhaled sharply and turned away, muttering something under his breath that she couldn’t quite catch.

She should go inside. Shereallyshould.

But as she stood there, frozen in place, watching the droplets of water slide down his tanned skin, watching the muscles in his back shift as he moved, she realized something.

She wasn’t sure she wanted to.

“What happens if I stay?” she uttered, her voice raw with emotion and something else – and saw Jason’s back stiffen, almost like someone had shocked him with a cattle prod. His head slowly turned to look over his shoulder, meeting her eyes.

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