Page 80 of Simply Yours

Fifteen

CAITLIN

Tonight.

It had to be tonight.

Caitlin felt the weight of her emotions pressing against her ribs, making it harder to breathe as she paced the length of her small living room. She was going to tell Jason how she felt. Finally. The realization sent a tremor of excitement through her, quickly chased by the kind of bone-deep fear that made her fingertips cold.

Because what if he didn’t say it back?

They had been drifting toward something more for weeks now, maybe even months. It was in the way he touched her—not just casually, but with intent. In the way he sought her out, like she was the first person he thought of when something funny happened or when he needed to rant about his day. It was in the way helookedat her, and heaven help her, Caitlin had never wanted anything more in her life than for Jason Baird to love her the way she loved him.

And tonight was perfect.

He had planned a night under the stars, complete with a picnic and a brand-new telescope to watch the lunar eclipse together. Jason wasn’t the type to do things without meaning. He didn’t buy telescopes for just anyone. He didn’t make thoughtful, romantic plans unless theymattered.

She wrapped her arms around herself, swallowing down the nervous energy bubbling up inside her. This was it. A night drenched in moonlight, a confession whispered into the night air, and—if everything went right—the start of something neither of them would ever forget.

But first, they had work to do.

Jason had asked her to help him tackle his mother’s old sunflower garden—her beloved pride and joy before she passed. It had gone untouched for years, wild and overgrown, a ghost of what it used to be. Caitlin had memories of running through that field as a girl, the massive golden blooms towering over her, their heavy heads swaying in the breeze. She remembered plucking the seeds, the salt on her fingertips, the laughter ringing in the air. It had beentradition.

And Jason was bringing it back.

Something about that made her chest ache.

It felt like a gift, though she knew better than to think he was doing itfor her.

“Don’t be silly,” she murmured to herself, tucking her hair behind her ear. “This was his mother’s thing. He’s honoring her memory, not making some grand romantic gesture.”

And yet, she couldn't shake the feeling that it meant more than that.

A sharp knock on the front door startled her, making her heart stutter. She swore under her breath, pressing a hand to her chest before moving to answer it.

The second she opened the door, Jason’s easy, lopsided smile nearlywreckedher.

Gosh, he was unfair. All scruffy jawline and broad shoulders, standing on her porch like he had every right to take up space in her heart. He wore a simple T-shirt that stretched across his chest, jeans that hung just right, and that darnsmile—the one that made her stomach drop straight to her feet.

Her mouth went dry.

She wanted to say it right then and there.I love you, Jason Baird.She wanted to blurt it out, let it spill between them like something wild and uncontrollable, because how could shenotlove him? But no. Not here. Not now.

This wasn’t the moment.

She wanted it to be unforgettable. A baring of souls beneath the stars. The kind of moment that made timestop. And she had waited this long—what was a few more hours?

So, instead, she took a breath, pushed her heart down into the depths of her ribcage, andsmiled.

“Are you ready to go?” Jason asked, his voice warm, steady.

“Yes,” she said, and when he held out his hand, she didn’t hesitate.

She placed her fingers in his, feeling the roughness of his palm, the solid warmth of him. He gave her a slight squeeze, a simple gesture that sent a thrill up her spine, and she let herself believe—just for a second—that maybe this day would be as perfect as she imagined.

And she couldn’t have been more wrong.

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