Page 22 of The Coppersmith Farmhouse (Jamison Valley 1)
At six o’clock on the dot, Maisy arrived with a huge plastic tub in her arms. She informed me it was her “babysitting kit” that she had used all through high school.
“You look hot!” she said. “All ready for dinner?”
“I’m not going.”
She smirked. “Right. That’s why you’re all dressed up. Sweet necklace, by the way.”
“Maybe I want to look cute when I tell Jess to take a hike?”
“We’ll see how that works out for you,” she said.
Roe came skipping into the entryway. “Hi! Are you Maisy?”
“Yep. And you must be the beautiful Rowen I’ve heard so much about.”
Rowen smiled as her eyes landed on the tub. “Did you bring me a present?”
“Well . . . it’s not a present. But it’s totally full of fun stuff we can do together. As soon as your mom leaves, we’ll dig into it, okay?”
“I’m not leaving.”
Maisy’s mouth formed a mischievous one-sided grin.
“Mommy, can I show Maisy my room?” Rowen asked.
“Sure, baby girl. How about we give Maisy a tour of the whole house?”
“Yay! I’ll give the tour,” she shouted and led us around for the next twenty minutes.
“I don’t think dinner is such a good idea,” I said from the top step of the porch.
Jess’s foot had just landed on the bottom step.
Maisy was keeping Rowen inside. I didn’t see any reason to introduce her to Jess since I was getting rid of him and he’d never be here again.
Not responding to my declaration, Jess assessed my body from top to toe. As his eyes lingered on my curves, my temperature started to rise. I shifted my weight back and forth between my feet, and my fingers pulled at the hem of my shirt.
I could feel the burn of his gaze on my legs. When he met my stare, his eyes were heated. My outfit was definitely a success.
My belly fluttered as we stared at each other and I fought to pull my eyes away from his.
He was still wearing his sheriff garb and was no less breathtaking. Who would have known a tan, colorless shirt could look so good?
What would he look like without the shirt? The mental image made me shiver.
“You’re going,” Jess finally said, breaking the heated moment. “Even if that means I have to pick you up and carry you to the truck.”
“You wouldn’t dare,” I hissed.
“Try me.”
My hands fisted on my hips. “I’m not going.”
Jess jumped up the steps and came right into my space, forcing me backward. Then he bent down so his nose was centimeters from my own.
I was expecting him to order me again or actually pick me up and carry me away. So his voice, gentle and soft, caught me off guard.
“Georgia, give me a chance to show you that I’m not the asshole I’ve been this week. Please?”
