Page 18 of Simply Yours

Someone had overheard.

Caitlin stood there, breathing hard, trying to scrub the memory from her brain. Right.Focus on what you’re doing,Caitlin, she thought in disbelief.

Work.

Normalcy.

Sanity.

With an exhausted groan, she pushed both hands through her hair, muttering under her breath as she forced herself back toward the register.

She needed a coffee—acleanone.

“Whatever…” Becky muttered behind her.

And possibly a priest.

Caitlin exhaled sharply, pressing her lips together as she turned away to keep from reaching for the smart-mouthed twerp. Her fingers trembled—just slightly—as she forced herself to focus, to breathe, to not let the weight of that last conversation crush her like an avalanche of disgust. She had barely dodged a bullet and barely managed to keep herself from unraveling right there in the middle of her shift.

Caitlin braced herself, straightened her uniform, and stepped around the corner, steeling her spine against whatever embarrassment or pity she might find waiting for her. But when her gaze landed on the man standing there, her entire world stuttered.

Jason.

She did a double take, pulse slamming against her ribs.

So did he.

For a breathless moment, time seemed to stretch between them, silent and charged. Then Jason’s lips quirked, slow and easy, curving into a smile that was so unexpected, so breathtaking, that it sent a bolt of warmth straight through her chest.

Oh, no.

This wasn’t just a smile. This wasthesmile. The kind that made your soul glow and that sent fairy lights dancing around your head and big, puffy hearts floating past as if the universe itself had conspired to make this moment magical. It was the kind of smile that could make angels sing in hushed, reverent harmony.

And she hated it.

I’m a weak woman…

Caitlin felt her heart lurch, a battle waging between logic and something far more dangerous—hope. She knew better. Sheknewbetter. Men like Jason didn’t just waltz in with grins that could light up the entire town without leaving something smoldering in their wake.

So, she did what she did best.

She frowned.

“Hey…” Jason spoke first, his voice warm, familiar, threaded with something she couldn’t quite place.

Keep him at bay,Caitlin thought.You do not need to end up hurt by some man flip-floppin’ like a fish on the banks of Ember Creek, girly.

“Pizza! Pizza! What can I cheese ya for?”

“Do you really have to say that?” Jason teased, his smile widening.

And just like that, her already fragile defenses wobbled. Because—oh, heavens—thatsmile. It wasn’t just a smirk or some half-hearted grin. It was full, unguarded, genuine. It was the kind of smile that could make a girl melt - and she waslava.

It wasdangerous.

“Every time,” Caitlin answered evasively, gripping the counter like it might anchor her to solid ground.

Jason tilted his head, studying her, and for a split second, she thought—no,felt—that maybe he saw through the walls she was so desperately trying to keep in place.

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