Page 51 of Major Love

And, most of all,why? Why would Casey – soldier-to-his-core, dedicated to his wife and child Casey – buy a bar in the firstplace, let alone do it up so that it could compete with any joint in Nashville?

If anything, it genuinely reminds me of Cash’s Bar – the beautiful bar that I worked on for over a decade.

It feels like a tiny piece of Nashville, right here in Phoenix Falls.

A stack of paperwork on the far side of the counter catches my eye and I’m about to walk toward it when the front entrance suddenly slams open.

I grab the bear spray out of my bag and whip around, ready to use it.

And that’s when I register who just walked into Casey’s bar.

Jason stands in the doorway, his broad chest heaving, with maybe five other guys behind him in similar various stages of shock.

His eyes slide across to the bear spray and his brow lifts higher.

“Sunday?” he asks. “What are you doing here?”

And it suddenly occurs to me thatI’mthe one who’s kind of… breaking-and-entering.

His eyes dip to the bear spray again and he warily asks, “You gonna spray me?”

My lips part as if I’m about to say something, even though I’m really struggling to comprehend what the hell is happening right now, when one of the crew rasps behind him, “Dude, I’m about to break my fucking wrists here.”

Without a backward glance Jason starts striding right for me, and my eyes widen as I backstep until I’m suddenly pressed against the counter. I startle and look down at it over the curve of my shoulder, before turning back to the gorgeous guy who’s narrowing his eyes on me.

The guys behind him heave their way inside, two of them carrying an enormous table, and they drop it with quiet grunts as they position it between two benches.

I quickly fumble for some words, starting with, “Okay, so this isn’t what it looks like…”

But thenI’mnarrowingmyeyes because, now that I think about it…

My eyes shoot up to Jason’s as he looms barely two feet away from me.

I take a small step forward and his spine straightens, increasing his height.

“What areyoudoing here?” I ask, my brow furrowing as I search his eyes.

His breathing pauses and those chiselled cheekbones slowly turn crimson.

And my jaw instantly drops.

“You’re working on this project?” I ask, and when he doesn’t deny it, I gasp in indignation becauseJason knew about Casey’s bar, and he didn’t freaking tell me.

I immediately spin around on the heel of my boot but Jason is faster and he grips his large palm around my hip.

The look that I shoot him is colder than the snow falling in the square, but he doesn’t back up a step, instead moving closer.

“Youknew?” I whisper up at him, eyes darting to the guys behind us, half of which are hauling in more furnishings, and the other guys… well, they’re just enjoying the show.

My eyes snag on the guy who I met in town only a few weeks ago and my jaw almost dislocates as all of the pieces fall together.

Beckett smirks and jerks his chin at me. “Hey, Nashville,” he says casually.

Jason searches my eyes, intense and calculating.

His deep voice comes out gruff. “How much do you know?”

I arch an eyebrow. “You first.”

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