Page 47 of The Sniper
“That’s so sweet.”
“She was five.”
“Oh.”I blinked, unsure how to react.
“Think I knew, even back then.”Jayden seemed to disappear into his childhood.His face softened, but little lines around his eyes appeared.
“You didn’t want them to be together?”I asked, coming around the bench.
His eyes lifted to mine.“It was my job to protect her as her big brother.I recruited Liam to help.”
Oh.
That was...cute.
I pressed my lips tightly together to stop my smile.
“You think it’s funny?”Jayden looked surprised, but there was a playfulness to his response.
I started chuckling.“That poor girl, having two big, buff, protective boys to contend with.”
“Buff?”Jayden took a step closer.
Oh boy.
He crossed his arms and lifted a brow as if waiting for an explanation.With one little move I could loop my fingers around those thick forearms and tiptoe up to kiss him.
I could have.
But I didn’t.
“She lived.Got the guy.And is now wearing his ring.”Jayden watched my mouth.“Now, Ms.Stallone, I know you came out here to say something, so let’s hear it.”
He’d broken the spell, and I knew it was on purpose.We couldn’t cross the line between the roles we played in life.I hired BHS to do a job, and he worked for them.
He’d said as much in the swimming pool.
That didn’t mean the attraction between us wasn’t real and growing by the day.
“Are you psychic?”
“Trained.Ask the question,” he rasped, and my body reacted, a shiver running down my arms.When I rubbed them, Jayden let out a soft curse, dropped his arms, and moved away.
“What do you need, Tiffany?”he asked from several feet away.
Or, as I like to call it, the safety zone.
“Do you think there’s a chance my thief could be one of my stalker-fans?”
His face darkened.“You have a stalker?”
“I mean...officially, no.”
“Show me.”
