Ovaries go boom.
He sat Jack down on the ground as Cam opened the driver’s-side door, yelling something at his friend, but I had no idea what he said. Jase straightened again, dropping his hands to his hips. He squinted as he stared into the truck.
Jase was absolutely gorgeous. You couldn’t say that about a lot of people in real life. Maybe celebrities or rock stars, but it was rare to see someone as stunning as he was.
His hair was a mess of rich russet waves falling into his face. His cheekbones were broad and well defined. Lips were full and could be quite expressive. A hint of stubble shaded the strong curve of his jaw. He didn’t have dimples like Cam or me, but when he did smile, he had one of the biggest, most beautiful smiles I’d ever seen on a guy.
He wasn’t smiling right now.
Oh no, he was staring into the truck with a searing intensity.
Parched as I was, I took a sip of the sweet tea as I stared through the windshield, absolutely enthralled by all the baby-making potential on display before me. Not that I was in a hurry to make babies, but I could totally get behind some practice runs. At least in my fantasies.
Cam eyed me and made a face like I’d lost my damn mind. I might have. “Dude, that’s his drink.”
“Sorry.” I flushed, lowering the cup. Not that it mattered. Wasn’t like Jase and I hadn’t swapped spit before.
On the other side of the windshield, Jase mouthed the word shit and spun around. Was he going to run away? How dare he? I had his sweet tea!
In a hurry, I unhooked my seat belt and pushed open the door. My foot slipped out of my flip-flop and because Cam just had to have a redneck truck, one that was feet off the ground, there was a huge difference between where I was and where the ground was.
I used to be graceful. Hell, I was a dancer—a trained, damn good dancer—and I had the kind of balance that would make gymnasts go green with envy. But that was before the torn ACL, before my hopes of dancing professionally ended when I came down from a jump wrong. Everything—my dreams, my goals, and my future—had been over in an instant.
And I was about to eat dirt in less than a second. There was no stopping it.
I reached out to catch the door, but came up short. The foot that was going to touch the ground first was connected to my bum leg and it wouldn’t hold my weight. I was going to crash and burn in front of Jase and end up with tea all over my head.
As I started to fall, I hoped I would land on my face, because then at least I wouldn’t have to see his expression.
Out of nowhere, two arms shot out and hands landed on my shoulders. One second I was horizontal, halfway fallen out of the truck, and the next I was vertical, both feet dangling in the air for a second. And then I was standing, the cup of tea clutched to my chest.
“Good God, you’re going to break your neck,” a deep voice rumbled. “Are you okay?”
I was up close and personal with the most perfect chest I’d ever seen and I watched a bead of sweat trickle down the center of it and then over the cut abs, disappearing among the fine hairs trailing up from the center of his stomach, forming a line that continued under the band of his jeans.
Cam hurried around the front of the truck. “Did you hurt your leg, Teresa?”
No. I was fine. More than fine. I hadn’t been this close to Jase for a year and he smelled wonderful—like man and a faint trace of cologne. I lifted my gaze, realizing that my sunglasses had fallen off.
Thick lashes framed eyes that were a startling shade of gray. The first time I’d seen them, I had asked if they were real. Jase had laughed and offered to let me poke around in his eyes to find out.
He wasn’t laughing right now.
I swallowed, willing my brain to start working. “I have your sweet tea.”
Jase’s brows rose.
“Did you hit your head?” Cam asked, stopping beside us.
Heat flooded my cheeks. “No. Maybe. I don’t know.” Holding out the tea, I forced a smile, hoping it didn’t come across as creepy. “Here.”
Jase let go of my arms and took the tea, and I wished I hadn’t been so eager to shove it in his face, because maybe then he’d still be holding me. “Thanks. You sure you’re okay?”
“Yes,” I muttered, glancing down. My sunglasses were by the tire. Sighing, I picked them up and cleaned them off before slipping them back on. “Thanks for . . . um, catching me.”
He stared at me a moment and then turned as Jack ran up to him, holding out a shirt. “I got it!” the little boy said, waving the shirt like a flag.
“Thanks.” Jase took the shirt and handed over the tea. He ruffled the boy’s hair and then, much to my disappointment, pulled the shirt on over his head, covering up that body of his. “I didn’t know Teresa was with you.”
A chill skated over my skin in spite of the heat.
“I was out showing her the town so she knows her way around,” Cam explained, grinning at the little tyke, who was slowly creeping toward me. “She’s never been down here before.”
Jase nodded and then took back the tea. There was a good chance that Jack had drunk half of it in that short amount of time. Jase started to walk toward the barn. I was dismissed. Just like that. The back of my throat started to burn, but I ignored it, wishing I had kept the tea.
“You and Avery are coming to the party tonight, right?” Jase asked Cam, taking a sip of the tea.
“It’s the luau. We’re not missing that.” Cam grinned, revealing the dimple in his left cheek. “You guys need help setting it up?”
Jase shook his head. “The newbies are in charge of that.” He glanced over at me, and I thought for a second that he’d ask if I was coming. “I’ve got a few things to take care of here first and then I’m heading back home.”
A small hand tugged on the hem of my shorts, causing me to look down and into gray eyes that were both young and soulful.
“Hi,” Jack said.
I grinned. “Hi to you.”
“You’re pretty,” he said, blinking.
“Thank you.” It was official. I liked this kid. “You’re very cute.”
Jack beamed. “I know.”
I laughed. This boy was definitely Jase’s little brother.
“Alright, that’s enough, Casanova.” Jase finished off the tea and tossed the cup into a nearby garbage can. “Stop hitting on the girl.”
He ignored Jase, sticking out his hand. “I’m Jack.”
I took the little hand in mine. “I’m Teresa. Cam’s my brother.”
Jack motioned me down with his little finger and whispered, “Cam doesn’t know how to saddle a horse.”
I glanced over at the boys. They were talking about the party, but Jase was watching us. Our gazes collided, and like he’d been doing since I’d started at Shepherd University this past week, he broke eye contact with distressing speed.
A pang of disappointment lit up my chest as I returned my attention to Jack. “Want to know a secret?”
“Yeah!” His smile grew big and broad.
“I don’t know how to saddle a horse either. And I’ve never even ridden one before.”
His eyes grew as wide as the moon. “Jase!” he bellowed, spinning toward his brother. “She’s never ridden a horse before!”
Well, there went my secret.
Jase glanced at me, and I shrugged. “It’s true. They scare the crap out of me.”
“They shouldn’t. They’re pretty chill animals. You’d probably like it.”
“You should show her!” Jack rushed up to Jase, practically latching himself to his brother’s legs. “You could teach her like you teached me!”
My heart lurched in my chest, partially at the proposition of Jase teaching me anything and partially due to my fear of those dinosaurs.
“It’s ‘taught,’ not ‘teached,’ and I’m sure Tess has got better things to do than ride around on a horse.”
Tess. I sucked in a breath. It was his nickname—he was the only person who ever called me that. I don’t even know why he called me that, but I didn’t mind it. Not at all. While Jack demanded to know why I had told him my name was Teresa and Jase explained that Tess was a nickname, I was sucked back into the memory of the last time he’d called me by it.