The Duet(33)

Logan gave me one last smile as he walked past our table toward the counter. I felt his eyes on me the entire time he was in the shop, but I didn’t want him to realize it. At one point, while pretending to text, he tried to take a sneaky picture in the reflection of the chrome cappuccino machine. He cursed when the flash went off. I tried hard to stifle a laugh.

After the bell chimed, marking his exit, I glanced back to Jason. “Your cousin seems nice,” I said.

“He is. He’s a really good kid, and apparently your number one fan.” He said that like it wasn’t a good thing.

“Jealous, Monroe?” I goaded.

His brown gaze met mine. “Maybe a little,” he said with a small smirk.

HOLD THE PRESSES, EVERYONE, JASON MONROE WAS KIDDING AROUND.

“Let’s just go back to the house, my attention is shot,” he said, scraping his chair against the concrete floors.

I agreed, and after thanking Marcy for allowing us a place to hangout, we pushed through the door. As soon as they saw us, the paparazzi swarmed forward. There had to be a dozen of them. As they rushed toward us, I took a step back against Jason as he wrapped a protective arm around my bicep, keeping me close to him.

“We’ll pose for a few seconds and then you guys need to back up,” Jason said, handling the paparazzi like a pro. They just needed a good photo of us and then they’d be on their way. Hopefully.

“What is the relationship status between you two?” one of the men asked.

“Ten,” Jason whispered in my ear, sending a shiver down my spine.

“Are you exclusive?” another chimed in and soon they were like a flock of squawking birds.

“Nine,” he whispered again, this time a little closer, his breath hitting my ear.

“Eight.”

“Are the two of you collaborating?”

“Seven.”

“How do you like Montana, Brooklyn?”

“Six,” he counted.

“Are you here to meet Jason’s family?”

“Oh, fuck it,” he said, wrapping an arm around me and pushing us through the crowd of photographers so that he could open his passenger door for me. As quickly as possible, I slid into the car. He rounded the front of it and then locked us inside as he pulled away from the coffee shop.

“I’d tell you I’m sorry, but I know it’s probably like that for you all the time in LA,” Jason said, giving me a sidelong glance.

I shrugged. “It’s worse because we’re together and they have no clue what we’re doing. They think we’re dating.”

Jason laughed and I shifted my gaze to look out the window. Was is that insane to think we were a couple?

I guess so.





We pulled up in front of his house, he killed the engine, and then he turned toward me.

“I think I know why we’re having a hard time getting started on the song,” he said, rubbing the stubble on his chin.

“Oh?” I asked.

“Yeah, I think we need to get to know each other a little bit better,” he began.

“I guess that makes sense,” I replied, trying to quell the excitement firing up inside of me. You’d think he’d just told me he thought I was prettiest girl in the world with the way my body was reacting. Take a chill-pill, heart.

“I have some work to finish up this afternoon, but if you’re up for it we can go on a ride tomorrow morning.”

That sounded like an invitation for a date, but I knew better. “A horseback ride?”

He smiled, “Yeah.”

“I can’t believe you’d want to go horseback riding with me. I didn’t even think you liked me all that much,” I admitted.

He shrugged and stared out through the front windshield. “Truthfully, I just need to take Jasper out on the trails, get him accustomed to the terrain out there.”

Liar. Liar. Fucking pants on fire. Okay, maybe that’s not how that rhyme went, but whatever. I wouldn’t call him out on his assholery this time.

“Lovely. Well enjoy your afternoon,” I said, hopping out of his Jeep. I didn’t bother waiting to see if he’d respond. He’d just turned a perfectly good morning sour with his inability to function as a normal human being. Even if he did want to go horseback riding with me, he’d never admit it. Gah! The man was grueling. I just wanted to shake him and learn all of his stupid dark secrets. I bet they weren’t even all that good, either.

I stormed through the front door, grunting a hello to LuAnn who was sitting at the kitchen counter. With enough attitude to warn away any bear within fifty miles, I pulled out the ingredients for a sandwich, practically ripping the lettuce to shreds as I positioned it on top of the turkey.