Chapter 11

ELEVEN

JASPER

The past week had been a challenge. Not only was the honeymoon period over with a couple of my classes, which meant they were pushing me to see just how much it would take for me to crack, but the uncertainty between Austin and me left a bad taste in my mouth. Feeling ill at ease was never pleasant. Add in that we hadn't managed more than a handful of text messages, and it made everything feel so much more difficult.

But then he'd kissed me.

When his own concern had stared right back at me, the turmoil making life so unpleasant had immediately eased. Not quite disappeared, as a conversation between the two of us was overdue, but as I pulled up outside his home, excitement tumbled through me .

The previous weekend away had been incredible, close to perfect even. It was only the appearance of his high-maintenance ex that had abruptly put an end to the bubble of happiness.

A sweet grin lit Austin's features when he opened my car door, having arrived a few seconds before me.

"And who said chivalry was dead?" I said when I exited. "Thank you." Sweet gestures were a surefire way of making me swoon, and from the softness in his gaze changing to heat, I figured he knew as much.

"My pleasure." He reached out and took my hand, the connection pleasant and reassuring. "Be warned, Penny may pounce when she sees you."

I laughed. "Is that right?"

"She's been pining."

I side-eyed him. "After three weeks of knowing me, I would imagine that's a vast exaggeration."

He shook his head and stopped, angling to stand before me, hand still clasping my own. "Sometimes all it takes is one meeting to know there's a connection. Add in the next handful of times, and when you're left smiling, your heart hammering in your chest, already counting down the time until you'll see that person again, pining is a given."

Swallowing to clear the dryness in my throat, I fought hard to maintain my composure. "Penny does smile a lot with her eyes." The words came out breathily, not as flippant or even as jovial as I'd intended. But, in all fairness, beyond slamming my mouth to his, I was unsure how else to respond to his sweet words.

He nodded, his eyes searching mine. "She's lucky that you came back," he settled on.

While my heart flipped, my lips quirked. "I'm lucky that you've reminded me how good and right it feels to be here."

Apparently, those were the words he was waiting for. His mouth slanted over mine. His kiss demanding. Urgent. Our hands clung to each other, grasping for contact as he reminded me just how good this was between us.

And he was right.

That first moment we'd met, I'd sat up and taken notice. And now, clinging to him, not quite sure how I'd let go, I kissed him back with all that I had. His fingers threaded through my hair, and I groaned at the contact. Heat zipped through me, starting in the tips of my toes and continuing to race around until I had had no choice but to pull back and gasp for air.

Heavy breaths puffed out of me, and I pried my eyes open, reveling in Austin's flushed cheeks and own ragged breaths.

"Did you forget to breathe, or did I take your breath away?" Amusement danced in his eyes as he spoke, and I snorted, angling back a little so I could laugh louder and not right in his face. Grinning his ass off, he clasped my hand once more. "Let's go on in. I dread to think what she's doing to the front door. She'll know we're here."

Together, we headed up the wooden steps. Whimpers were audible from the other side of the door. "See?"

"Is she usually this excited?" I asked.

Austin shrugged. "This week is worse as I've barely been home."

I nodded in understanding, happy it was the weekend.

"Billy's picked up the slack. He's probably going to grumble at me for the fuss she's been making while I was busy leaving you breathless." Loud laughter followed his words, and I elbowed him, not even bothering to fight back my smirk.

"Sometimes remembering basic functions is difficult."

"Like breathing?"

"Especially breathing."

I rolled my eyes. "Is Billy here? I didn't see a vehicle."

"I expect he is. He usually parks off to the side of the house."

A small flip of nerves jostled in my stomach. I was curious about the man, but he was also the only person who had a relationship with Austin outside of work that I knew. Or would hopefully know as soon as we got the proper introductions over so my unease could settle down.

Austin was right. Amped up didn't come close to describing Penny's reaction to the two of us entering the house.

She all but bowled me over as she raced through my legs, did a loop, and continued squeezing through my now parted legs four times. Austin pulled away as she attempted a fifth lap, scooting down and showing her affection. I followed suit, petting her and totally not making smoochy baby noises at her.

Austin grinned at me, and I rolled my eyes and shrugged, not caring too much that I hadn't held back. Penny was an awesome dog and deserved all the loving.

"Come on." Standing, Austin held his hand out to me and tugged me up. Hand in hand, we headed to the kitchen where the sounds of a radio played.

Billy had the oven door open and a dish in hand when we entered. His smile was warm and welcoming, taking me by surprise. From his stern face and reaction to Rupert last weekend, I was expecting a gruffer welcome, possibly one filled with suspicion.

"Hey," Austin said. "Smells great in here. "

"You better believe it," Billy said, his voice deep and friendly. "Give me a second." He turned and placed the dish in the oven as we headed further in the room, Austin releasing my hand to tug off his tie.

A moment later, Billy turned back, his eyes on me. "A proper intro is needed, I think. We never got the chance last weekend." He extended his arm for me to shake his hand. I did so immediately. "Good to finally meet you, Jasper."

Ease settled through me at his genuine friendliness. "You too, Billy." I released his hand before saying, "And it really does smell good in here."

Kind eyes peered back at me. "Well, I made enough for the two of you, even enough for seconds."

"Thank you. Sounds great."

He bobbed his head and turned his attention to Austin. "I'm heading out. I've put the timer on the oven for you. I also reached out to a couple of contractors. Both are able to come this weekend, one first thing in the morning, the other on Sunday morning so you can walk them around and then make your decision."

As Austin placed his jacket on the table, he nodded. "That sounds great, thanks. I'll get it sorted out and then let you know what I decide. Plans this weekend?"

I listened in interest, trying to get a better read on Billy as he caught Austin up with his plans. He really was a good-looking guy, toned, fit, looked around the same age as Austin. But he really didn't look like a cop. I would never have picked that out as a past career for him, but then again, he broke every stereotype imaginable for that of housekeeper slash dog-sitter slash… heck, I wasn't sure what else. But regardless, he seemed to be relaxed, to like his job, and be super-efficient.

"Right, it was nice meeting you properly, Jasper. No doubt I'll see you around, based on the moping that's been happening around this place." Amusement danced in his eyes.

"Well, I'm not quite sure I'd say moping," Austin said, drawing my gaze to his. The grin looked good on him, and I forced my feet to remain in place and not walk into his space and kiss the hell out of the man. Austin's gaze searched mine, and he lost a little of his grin under my scrutiny. I wondered whether he felt the pull as much as I did.

"And that right there is my cue to leave." Billy's voice cut through the invisible thread tugging me toward Austin. He chuckled.

Pulling my gaze from Austin's, I saw Billy had already moved, keys in hand. At the door, he waved over his shoulder, and I remembered my manners enough to call out goodbye to him, Austin's delayed reaction similar to my own .

Alone, I eyed the oven, then flicked my gaze to Austin. "Is that timer just an alarm, or does it turn the oven off?"

Heat flared in his eyes, and the gulp that followed sent my nerves flying high. "Unfortunately, it's just an alarm."

"Typical," I said with an eye roll before laughing lightly.

"I'm due a new oven," he said, stepping into my space. "That feature needs to be a new priority."

I chuckled. "It would prove useful."

"You think?" Warm breath brushed across my skin when he spoke, the contact making goose bumps break out over my body.

"Uh-huh, definitely." I wet my bottom lip, far too aware of his closeness and how easy it would be to get lost in this man. I wanted that desperately, but—

"Shall we grab a drink, a ball for Penny, and talk about last weekend?" He beat me to it.

Appreciation that he understood the importance of us talking this out warmed me. The concept was pretty alien to me, too, never having been in a situation where feelings, especially involving an ex, were needed to be discussed to clear the air. But I'd been brought up in an open and honest family, where some stuff simply wasn't sacred, even though I'd wished some things were when I was thirteen and had walked in on my parents going at it. The conversations that had followed had been the stuff of nightmares. I shuddered internally at the memory.

Both my parents had been full of love and offloading angst and frustration. And on the whole, it had worked. They'd been happy and in love, so who was I to question it?

"That sounds good."

He peppered me with the barest of kisses and pulled back, heading to the fridge. "Beer, wine, water…?"

"Water's great, thanks."

He nodded while I pulled off my own tie and undid a couple of my buttons.

"We'll be fine on the back deck and throw from there to keep Penny happy rather than worrying about getting changed or muddying ourselves up." He led me out, placed our drinks down, and picked up a ball and ball thrower.

Penny immediately turned into a bopping, bounding, jumping creature in her excitement, drawing a laugh out of me.

We leaned against the railing, side by side, his arm brushing mine.

"I'm sorry for Rupert, his behavior, and what he said." As Austin spoke, I turned my gaze toward him. "He's a jerk. And I wish like hell he hadn't targeted you." Intense eyes peered back at me as he continued. "When you left, which I don't blame you for," he hastened to add, "it seemed like you may have believed what he said. I'm not going to lie, the thought of you hurting and letting his words carry weight has been difficult for me to keep my mouth shut about." Austin placed his hand on top of mine as I held onto the railing. "But I need you to know you're the best thing that's happened to me in a really long time."

There was the punch. The hit of his words took my breath away and made it difficult to get my thoughts together and know what to say.

After only three weeks of knowing each other, it was already clear we cared for each other. I wondered for a second if I was being na?ve, rushing into my reaction for him rather than pulling back, which surely would have been the sensible thing for me to do.

Glancing at his hand, I considered our ease, liked that we were so comfortable. The thought had me turning my hand palm upward so I could hold his properly. Returning my gaze to his, I smiled. "He was a jerk," I agreed. "I know you warned me about him, but"—I shook my head in both wonder and amusement—"whatever did you see in that guy?"

Wide-eyed, Austin seemed unsure whether he truly needed to answer or not. I took it easy on him and snorted.

"You don't have to answer that, but I'll admit, what he said pissed me off, maybe made me question what you saw in me," I admitted. He made to speak, but I squeezed his hand and continued before he had the chance, "I'm not in need of an ego boost, honestly. I know who I am, and I also know I like you, a lot. Maybe I don't quite understand why I feel so comfortable so fast," I said, pausing with a small shrug, "but I don't need to question it."

Penny reappeared, dropping the ball on the wooden deck, giving us both a reprieve from the heavy conversation. A ball throw later, and Austin turned back to me.

"This is new between us," he said, and I nodded, waiting for him to continue. "I know that you're smart. I know that you're hot." He grinned, and I smirked. "I also know that you make me laugh, and I'm really enjoying spending time with you."

"I feel like a bit of a dick laying all of this out there like this," I admitted.

He bobbed his head, amusement in his gaze. "The whole time I was talking I had my own little mantra going on in my head."

"Yeah? What was it?"

His grin was kind of shy, not a reaction I expected. " Something to do with hoping I didn't sound like a dickhead and wishing like hell you didn't laugh in my face."

The flip in my stomach was instant, and my breath caught. After taking a few steadying breaths, I reached out to him, my thumb brushing his cheek. "So we're on the same page." When he bobbed his head, a smile flittered to my lips. "I'm good with that."

The beeping of the oven filtered out to us. He looked down at Penny, who wagged her tail and panted, the ball at Jasper's feet. "Can you throw her the ball a couple more times, and I'll handle the food?"

"Gladly." I took the thrower from him and snagged the ball, my eyes watching him leave before returning my attention to Penny, who danced out onto the lawn, her focus intent on the ball.