Page 90 of Simply Yours

If Jason had a flaw, it was that he was loyal to a fault. If he made a promise, he kept it—even if it cost him. And she didn’t want to be a mistake. A regret. Something he looked back on and wished he had done differently.

She had spent too many years watching Matthew do the same thing—jump in, swear he was all in, only to backpedal and pretend it had never happened. The only thing Matthew had ever stayed true to, was the one person he refused to talk about.

And then there was Luke—sweet, thoughtful Luke, who would probably fall head-over-heels for the first woman who gave him the time of day. He was a mix of both of them, caught somewhere between Jason’s fierce protectiveness and Matthew’s restless unpredictability.

The Baird brothers were a mystery—a complicated, tangled mess of loyalty and secrets. And now, here she was, slipping right into the middle of it.

“What are you thinking?”

Jason’s voice was a low whisper beside her, his breath warm against her skin. Caitlin turned slightly, finding his eyes still heavy with sleep but sharp, assessing.

“Nothing,” she lied, swallowing past the lump in her throat.

Jason didn’t buy it for a second.

“Don’t lie to me,” he said, a slow, knowing smile pulling at his lips. “I can read you like a book.”

She arched a brow, forcing a smirk she didn’t feel. “Okay, hotshot, what am I thinking?”

He didn’t hesitate.

“You’re scared. Waiting for something to go wrong.”

The words landed like a punch, knocking the air from her lungs. She blinked rapidly, looking away, but it didn’t matter. He had already seen it.

“No, I’m not.”

“Catnip…”

“Jason, don’t.”

His hand found hers, strong and sure, the ring on her finger pressing against his skin.

“Sweetheart,” he murmured, his voice soft but unyielding. “Our ‘something wrong’ already happened. And we made it. We made it.” His fingers tightened around hers. “I meant it when I said our forever starts now.”

Her heart twisted painfully, torn between wanting to believe him and needing to protect herself. “Stop,” she whispered, voice cracking. “I’m trying to be gracious. To give you an out if you’ve made a mistake or?—”

“To heck with gracious,” Jason interrupted, heat flashing in his eyes. “I’m done being gracious. Done doing everything that’s expected of me. I’m grabbing life with both hands, and the rest of the world can be darned.”

She stared at him, stunned into silence.

“Jason…”

“Now, I just need to know,” he continued, holding her gaze with a quiet intensity that made her breath hitch. “Do you love me? Do you want to marry me? And can you think of a good excuse…” He hesitated just long enough to let a mischievous spark dance in his eyes. “For going into the ER with a snakebite and coming out pregnant with my kid?”

Caitlin choked. “JASON EDWARD BAIRD!” and burst out laughing wildly at his rambunctious side that was starting to reveal itself the more comfortable he got with their relationship.

His grin was wicked. “I know, right? I can’t think of a good reason either. That was a heckuva snake.”

“I nearly died and you’re making jokes?.”

“Vicious trouser snake.”

“Oh my gosh—stop.”

Her horrified gasp was drowned out by laughter—wild, breathless laughter that made her stomach ache. Jason was grinning at her, all devilish charm and roguish teasing, and suddenly, the fear—the anxiety that had been suffocating her—began to loosen its grip.

“You’re a mess,” she told him, shaking her head.

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