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She placed the phone against her chest and let the words wash over her.

“Always,” she said back.

* * *

The last week had been a whirlwind. Leighton Morrow had waltzed into Jamie’s life and taken her breath away. She’d taken her out, brought her a rose, been there for her when she needed support, and now they were on-and-off texters. Did she check her phone eight times more throughout the day than she ever had before? Possibly. Did she mind? Not in the slightest. On the flip side, she’d had a sobering punch in the face in regard to her father’s health that had her more worried than she’d ever been before. The combination of the two factors had her distracted and screwing up at work exponentially.

“James, did you leave this milk out overnight?” Leo called to her in the early morning hours from the walk-in.

She smacked her forehead. “Did I?” A wince. “I think I must have. How many gallons?”

“Eight.”

She shook her head. “Totally my fault. I’ll have more delivered this afternoon. Are we good for the morning?”

Another pause. “Should be.” He came around the corner with a patient hand outstretched. “Being in love is cool and all, but the milk, man. Don’t forget our milk.” He touched his chest as if the milk were his precious child left in the snow.

“I’m not in love.”

“But you’re grinning when you say it, which means you know it’s just a matter of time.”

“Too early to say, Leonardo.”

“See, you never call me that. That’s weird in love Jamie talking.” A pause. A grin. “But it looks good on you, boss.”

“I will screw my wayward head on tighter and focus on things like milk storage. Just a lot going on in here this week.” Just then her phone vibrated, and she glanced down to a good morning text with a heart from Leighton.A heart. She’d been underwater at her real estate business and hadn’t been able to get away for a few days. They hadtentative plans to meet up that night, and Jamie, for one, couldn’t wait to lay eyes on those beautiful brown ones. She had plans to kiss those lips and not stop. Their week of texting had brought them even closer, and she couldn’t wait to explore their new, more intimate dynamic.

How do you feel about lingerie?Leighton had asked mid-text conversation the night before.No wrong answer.

I love it when there’s someone to appreciate it, Jamie had typed back.Do you appreciate lingerie, Leighton?

Can’t answer. Too busy imagining you wearing it.

Jamie had sent her a trio of flames.What about reading?

I love to read. Especially on a lazy Saturday. Maybe we could read together one morning.

You’re giving me something to look forward to.

Us both.

She’d sighed happily and checked the clock.Four a.m. comes early. Night, Leighton.

Good night Jamie. Sweet dreams.

She could feel Leo staring at her as she typed her own good morning message back.

“So, are you hitting it already?” he asked.

The bar hadn’t opened, and it was just them in the room, but the question still caught her off guard. They’d talked about his love life before, his inability to settle down and preference to live alone, but never her own personal life. Maybe it was because she hadn’t had much of one.

“Wow. You’re really going for it this morning.” She considered the question and decided a guy like Leo, suave and unaffected, would likely have good advice for someone like Jamie who’d been out of the game awhile and didn’t want to seem needy to a catch like Leighton.

Leo shrugged. “Just checking in on you.”

Jamie smiled, because he’d always been one to look out for her, hadn’t he? “Not yet. But I think we’re inching our way there. We’ve kissed. We flirt.” She placed her palms flat on the counter. “I’m more than a little into her, Leo, and I don’t want to blow this. The problem is I get so nervous just thinking about us…together.”

He nodded. “So, it’s easy. You make the first move in that department.”