Page 21 of Simply Yours

MY BROTHER JASON?

Yes.

Hello?

Hello?

Are you sure? Maybe he has a twin.

Six foot two, dark hair, incredible eyes, the stuff dreams are made of?

That’s me – not my brother, dork.

JASON BAIRD ASKED ME OUT- FOR ONE OF THE ‘Cs.’

You’re serious.

I don’t joke about Jason, and you know that

Yeah, you’ve been crushing hard on him for years. Maybe you are de-lu-lu?

Huh?

Delusional.

Hang on… I’m at work.

“Pizza Palace,” Caitlin began. “What can I get started for you this evening?”

“Why is my brother texting me?”

She nearly dropped the phone as she heard Jason’s question with not so much as a ‘hello’ or anything - and shoved it under her chin between her shoulder and neck as she typed frantically into her cell phone.

NO YOU DID NOT DO WHAT I THINK YOU DID – I WILL MAIM YOU AND YOUR NEXT *THREE* GENERATIONS, MATTHEW BAIRD.

LOL… relax.

“I’m not sure,” Caitlin hedged, keeping her tone as neutral as possible. A slight pause stretched between them, thick with unspoken words. “I guess because he’s your brother?”

Jason’s voice was smooth, a hint of amusement threading through it. “Did you tell him I asked you out?”

You did… didn’t you?

Her pulse gave an erratic kick.Why was he doing this?He never asked her things like this, never played this game of back-and-forth. She could feel the heat rising in her cheeks, even though he wasn’t here to see it.

“You know these calls are recorded,” she deflected, lifting her chin slightly as if that could bolster her resolve.

“Then maybe you should give me your cell number.”

The sheer audacity of him. Caitlin let out a slow breath, forcing herself not to react too quickly, not to let him see just how much he was getting to her. “Ask Matthew,” she said instead, keeping her voice even.

“I’d rather have our relationship be between us.”

Her fingers clenched around the phone. Herrelationship? Was he serious? Was this just Jason being Jason, throwing words around to mess with her, or was there somethingmorelurking beneath the teasing?

“We don’t have a relationship,” she reminded him, a sharp edge creeping into her tone.

A beat of silence. Then, smoothly, effortlessly, he countered, “Maybe we should start one.”

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