Chapter 9 #3
“Ah. I should’ve guessed. You’ve got a knack for gift giving.
” Jason’s voice was sweet as pie. “You’re very welcome, Joe.
It was my pleasure, really.” When I glanced back up at his face, Jason was drinking the coffee.
“This is good,” he hummed. “But I prefer it black.” He winked.
“You know, for next time you surprise me with thank-you-bean-juice.”
First knotting and now bean juice?
My heart did this wobbly thing in my chest. Which was not fucking fun, not when it was paired with the squirming, the pulse racing, and the way my skin felt too hot and tight to move.
I’d said thank you. I’d delivered the coffee. And now I needed out.
I jerked the door open as quickly as I could, in an effort to escape those sharp blue eyes and the way Jason seemed to see beneath my skin. Outside on the stoop, my heart continued to race. The door took an extra second longer to close than it should’ve.
Jason was right behind me.
Of course he was.
I barely got down the walkway—far enough to see the haunted house in the backyard again—before Jason’s arm slung over my shoulders, and that warm weight pulled me into his side.
“Let’s walk together,” he said, squeezing me tight. “Madison is probably champing at the bit to get back into the break room for a refill. I’ve gotta go relieve her. I’m assuming you walked? You always walk.”
“How do you know that?” I asked, melting instead of fighting him off like would’ve been wise.
“I watch you, obviously.”
A shiver coursed through me that had absolutely nothing to do with the chill in the air.
“You…watch me?”
“Every chance I get,” Jason said chipperly, like that wasn’t odd at all. Maybe I was just as insane as he was, because I was kinda…happy to hear that. Why? I had no idea. As we walked, the box in Jason’s other arm rattled. Donations. Like Madison said he was grabbing.
We walked in silence for a block. The grocery store was up ahead, his end goal.
I had no reason to linger, and yet I found my steps slowing down.
When I glanced to the side, Jason’s lips had quirked up and his eyes were dancing with mischief.
Deliberately, he slowed down, too. Just to make me aware that he knew what I’d done.
“I have a question for you.” Jason’s words startled me. “Because we’re friends now.” My cheeks went hot all over again and I ducked my head, turning my attention to the ground because it was safer.
Safer to step over the cracks and dodge leaves than let Jason beneath my skin. Again, I could smell snow in the air, but the sky remained blissfully clear.
“I still don’t need help,” I said immediately, before he could get his hopes up.
Jason snorted. “That wasn’t what I was going to ask.”
My brow furrowed, and against my better judgment, I lifted my head and met his gaze once more. There was something hidden in there. Something nurturing, something strong. Lingering in the swirling pale blue like a fireplace in the center of a winter storm.
“Would you like to spend Thanksgiving with me?” Jason inquired.
“W-what?” That had not at all been what I was expecting.
“You heard me, Joe.”
I paused in the middle of the sidewalk. A car drove by, the owner going so far as to roll down the windows and shout a hello our way. Jason waved back, grinning. I could tell his attention wasn’t on them, though. Because my skin was prickling, and his eyes barely left me.
“Times ticking,” Jason teased. “Thanksgiving? With me. Yes or no.”
“Why?”
He had to know I had no family out here. I mean…yeah, there was Baxter. He’d made sure to invite me over to spend the holiday with him, his husband, and his two kids—but…it wasn’t like it would be hard to stop by the bakery on my way to the truck and tell him I couldn’t anymore.
Jason paused, staring at me for a beat. There was a war on his face, like he was debating how much to share. “Because I know what it’s like to spend the holidays alone,” he admitted.
My heart twinged.
“I’ll come,” I found myself agreeing, voice rough. Maybe then I could ask him some questions of my own. Figure out why he’d said that.
“Great!” Jason squeezed my shoulder snugly and gave me a little shake. “Meet me at the store at six.”
“Six…in the evening?”
“In the morning. I have stuff to do, and you’re going to help me do it.” His eyes danced. “If you want to. If you have time to spend the day with me. I know it’s early. And that’s not most people’s idea of a holiday. If not, I can get you the address for dinner, no biggie.”
Oddly enough, I found that I didn’t mind. Not the waking up early part, or the idea that I’d be spending a whole day helping Jason.
“I’m coming.”
It was fine to take another day off from renovations, wasn’t it?
I mean…it was a holiday. I had some free time away from the farm…
and the kitchen appliances I’d ordered wouldn’t be getting here till after the Pie Festival.
Besides…I was genuinely curious what a Thanksgiving with Jason would be like.
He’s more than he seems.
Loud, no doubt.
Full of people.
Exhausting.
And yet…I still wanted to go.
What was wrong with me?