Jason took a sip of his coffee, smiling at the sight of Logan at the counter. The man was so damn happy. And he deserved every second of it.
Hell, after everything the man had gone through, both before and after meeting Grace, he deserved peace.
“We’re shortlisting applicants today, Jason. You still okay to train whoever we hire?”
Jason dragged his gaze across the table to his friends and teammates. It was Blake who’d asked the question, but Aidan sat beside him, also awaiting an answer.
“Yeah, that’s fine. You guys are doing the searching and interviewing, so I’m happy to train.”
Aidan lifted his brows suggestively. “Should we hire a single woman?”
Blake frowned. “Are we allowed to ask that in an interview?”
Jason tuned his friends out, instinctively searching for Courtney. He’d been finding himself doing that more often lately. She was behind the counter, a dozen of her mugs lined up in front of her as she smiled for the camera.
A matching smile that was impossible to stop stretched across his own lips.
The woman was cute. And quirky. And a hundred other things that commanded his attention.
There was just one problem.
“Looks like whoever the new receptionist is, she’s all yours, Aidan,” Blake said, pulling Jason’s attention back to them. “Our brother over here has his eye on someone else.” Blake grinned. “What are you waiting for, buddy? Ask her out.”
When Courtney walked down the counter and slipped into the kitchen, Jason reluctantly focused on his friends. “I would, but…”
He stopped, not sure exactly how to explain it. Not when it barely made sense to him.
Aidan frowned. “What is it?”
“Sometimes it seems like she’s interested.” Like minutes ago, when he’d walked in and she’d blushed. “Then other times it’s almost like she can’t wait to get away from me.”
Both his friends raised their brows.
Just like the rest of his team, Jason was tall, standing well over six feet. He was big, too. And the world knew what he’d gone through. What he was capable of.
Was she intimidated?
Blake shook his head. “Why would she want to get away from you? You’re like a big teddy bear.”
“Who knows how to kill people,” Aidan scoffed
“Has killed people,” Blake added.
Jesus Christ. “Not helping, guys.”
Jason managed to turn the topic of conversation away from him and over to business. But when a few more minutes passed and Courtney still hadn’t returned, he frowned. The people with the cameras were studying the door she’d disappeared through, seemingly also wondering where she’d gone.
Pushing to his feet, Jason excused himself from the table and headed toward the end of the counter nearest the kitchen. He stood there a moment, listening, trying to isolate what he hoped to hear. A few seconds passed, then he found it.
Her heartbeat. It was thumping in her chest, hard and fast.
Not caring that he was only a customer and not supposed to enter this part of the shop, Jason headed behind the counter and into the back room.
That’s when he saw her. Standing in profile at the closed door of the small walk-in freezer. The freezer where Aidan had found her, trapped with Nicole’s body.
She looked at it like it was some sort of puzzle she was trying to solve as she fiddled with her necklace, a small frown marring her brows.
Jason walked forward slowly. She didn’t seem to see or hear him at all, confirming how intensely she was focusing.
“Courtney?”
Even though he tried to say her name as quietly as possible, she still jumped about a mile high before swinging her head around to face him.
For a moment, she seemed confused. Her mouth opened and closed multiple times, her eyes darting between his face, his chest, and the freezer.
“Are you okay?”
She wrapped her arms around her waist in a defensive gesture. “Yes. I mean, of course. I, um, just popped back here to grab some cakes we have in the freezer…for the shoot.”
It was the first time she’d spoken to him without freezing or rambling. Something told him she was too distracted right now. He scanned the freezer door. “Do you want me to open it?”
When her gaze shot back to the freezer, she nibbled her bottom lip. He tried not to focus on her mouth, but that small gesture was doing crazy things to his insides.
“Yes, please.”
He hated the fear mixed with frustration that coated her voice.
Moving forward, he tugged open the door. The freezer was narrow but deep, and he’d have to duck his head if he walked in. When she continued to stand there, not moving, he tilted his head. “Where are the cakes?”
Her relief was so thick he could almost feel it. Her body practically sagged. “At the back, on the top shelf.”
Crouching slightly, Jason walked inside the cool room, grabbing the three cake boxes before heading out. She immediately closed the door after him.
For a moment, he stood there, wanting to talk to her about what had just happened. He was about to do just that, but she spoke before he could.
“Thank you. I, um…don’t like the cold.” Lie. “It’s good to have another set of hands. I have Joey, but he’s busy. I have a couple others on staff, but they usually work when I don’t, mostly weekends.”
“Anytime, Courtney.”
She wet her lips. This time, his gaze zeroed in on her tongue as it swiped across her rosy-pink mouth.
His groin tightened. Fuck, but the woman affected him.
She took the boxes from his hands. For a brief second, their fingers touched, and a strange zing rushed through him.
Sighing quietly when she turned, Jason followed her out. They were just about to step back into the main shop when Courtney stopped and turned. “Is it okay if we keep this between us?”
His eyes softened at her vulnerability. “I won’t say anything, Courtney.”
Another visible wave of relief washed over her. Then she smiled. It was the first time she’d smiled directly at him—and it was radiant.
Damn, he needed to give her reason to smile at him more often. He made a mental note to do just that.
