Page 37 of Simply Yours

This wasnotthat.

This was something entirely different—something that curled her toes and made her breath hitch.

A noise she didn’t recognize rumbled from deep in her throat, and before she even realized what she was doing, her hands fisted in the front of his shirt, pulling him closer. Jason didn’t hesitate. He angled his head, parting his lips to deepen the kiss, and everything else—her nerves, her doubts, the entire world—vanished in a haze of warmth and the intoxicating scent of him.

She was lost.

Utterly, wonderfully lost.

Caitlin stood frozen, her mind a swirling blur of thoughts and sensations. The kiss, the one that had just happened, still reverberated through her lips, a hot, electrifying echo that refused to fade. She couldn’t believe what had just transpired between them.Was this real?Her head buzzed as though she were standing at the edge of a cliff, her body trembling with the lingering charge of his touch.

“Wow.” The word escaped her mouth on a breath, but it felt like it came from someone else entirely—someone who couldn’t quite grasp the depth of what had just occurred. She glanced up at him, Jason, and found him standing there, just as shell-shocked as she was.

He looked at her with wide, slightly dazed eyes, like he had just stepped out of a dream, his hand still hovering near his face as if he wasn’t sure where to place it anymore. He was breathing hard, his chest rising and falling in shallow, uneven gasps, his gaze locked onto hers in stunned silence. The two of them were like two tornadoes that had collided, both reeling from the aftermath of something powerful and life-changing.

Neither of them moved, both caught in the quiet aftermath of that kiss, unsure of what to do next, as if a stiff wind could knock them off their feet at any moment. Finally, Jason broke the stillness, his voice thick, almost uncertain.

“I’m sorry your sales were so bad today.” His words didn’t seem to match the weight of the moment. They were awkward and clumsy, as if he had no idea how to follow up with something meaningful after what they had just shared. “Uh,” he hesitated, his eyes flickering to her lips for the briefest second before he looked away, clearly flustered. “I need your cell number.”

Caitlin’s mind was a jumbled mess. It felt like every thought, every rational part of her brain, had short-circuited.Cell number?What was she supposed to do now? She opened her mouth, but no words came.

“My brain isn’t working,” she muttered, barely realizing she had spoken aloud.

Jason chuckled softly, but the sound was laced with that same unsteady energy, the kind that said he, too, was still processing what had just happened between them. “How about you give me your phone then?”

She nodded dumbly, handing him her phone without thinking. Her hand trembled as she placed it into his, her fingers brushing his palm for the briefest second. Caitlin had never been more aware of the pulse of her own heart than at this very moment. She clung to the wooden frame of the kissing booth as if it were the only thing keeping her grounded. She felt like a newborn lamb, weak, unsteady, and on the verge of toppling over. Her knees were jelly, barely holding her upright.

“There,” he said, his voice barely above a whisper as he handed the phone back. But his eyes didn’t leave hers. Instead, they scanned her table with sharp intent, his brow furrowing as though something had caught his attention.

Without another word, he stuck his fingers in his mouth and let out a sharp, ear-piercing whistle that sliced through the heavy air. Caitlin blinked, startled, as a van in the distance began backing toward them. She watched, dazed, as Jason jogged over without so much as a glance back at her. The whole situation seemed like a fever dream, her heart still thrumming in her chest as if it couldn’t quite catch up with the intensity of everything that had just happened.

Good gravy.

Was she drooling?

She hadn’t meant to, but as she watched him stride off, every inch of his body radiated confidence—too much for her to process. The way he walked, his long, purposeful strides, the way his jeans clung to his thighs, the subtle flex of his back muscles...

Why was she staring so much?She felt like an idiot, her mouth dry, her cheeks heating up. No one had ever made walking look so sexy, and—oh, the boots. The boots, the jeans, the man who wore them... it was like a dream she wasn’t sure she deserved to be a part of.

And then, just like that, Jason turned back toward her.Of course, just as I’m wiping a blob of drool off my face – nice move, Caitlin… smooooooth.

“Caitlin, Sister Mary-Hazel needs some help loading the bread in the van,” he called, his voice cutting through her haze of lustful thoughts.

“Huh?” She blinked, still a little out of sorts. “The bread?”

“All of it,” he said, his tone firm, as though it were a done deal. “Every loaf. They’re having sandwiches Friday at the orphanage, and I’m donating the ham for it.”

Caitlin’s brain tried to process what he’d just said, but it couldn’t quite catch up.He did what?He had donated her bread? Without even asking her?

Her stomach dropped.

She had been planning to sell those loaves—use the money to get her baking hobby off the ground. But in front of the nun who was now giving her the warmest, most grateful smile, she couldn’t very well say that. Not without looking like the most selfish, greedy person on the planet. So, she nodded. She didn’t even know if she could manage words, so she settled for silence as she moved to load the bread into the van.

The next thing she knew, Sister Mary-Hazel was wrapping her arms around her in a tight hug, whispering, “Bless you, child.” Caitlin froze, a lump rising in her throat. This was the kind of thing she had always wanted to be a part of—this was good, this was pure—but it felt so foreign now. And yet, she didn’t have the heart to protest. She couldn’t, not with the nun beaming at her like that.

Once the bread was loaded and the van had pulled away, Caitlin turned back to Jason, who was still standing there, his arms crossed over his chest, his expression unreadable.

“That was sweet of you to donate the ham,” Caitlin said, her voice tentative. She was still shaken, the kiss still too fresh in her memory, making everything feel a little off-kilter. She had no idea what to say to him now, especially with the way he was looking at her.

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