Page 53 of Claiming What's Mine

Smart ass.

“I'm doing good.” My voice wavered slightly as images of the other night flashed through my head. Swallowing the lump that had formed in my throat, I took a few steps back, pulling my carriage with me. “How are you?”

I was hoping that putting some space between us would make whatever was happening with my body stop. It didn't work.

The air around us was growing warmer and warmer, my ribs ached as I inhaled from the tightness in my chest. All the nerves in my brain were firing off, telling me to just keep moving.

Go! Go! Run around him!

Jayden Henry was nothing but trouble, and I didn't have time for that, I had a child to raise.

“I'm good, better now, that's for sure.” Jayden had this look in his eyes, one that said he was thinking about the other night too. I could see it, as if his pupils were tiny movie screens replaying our forbidden moment.

“What are you doing here?” I asked, highly aware of how space between us seemed to shrink.

“I'm buying food. That is what you do here right?” Looking around, he furrowed his brows as if he was in the wrong place.

Smiling, I laughed awkwardly. “You know what I mean. I'm surprised you're still here, I figured you would have left by now.”

“Why? I love this town, always have.” Jayden let out a sarcastic laugh.

“You haven't changed a bit, have you?”

Shrugging a shoulder, he twirled his thumbs around each other. “I wouldn't say that.”

Tilting my head, I asked, “So, are you here to stay then?”

“No, not exactly.” Looking down at his fingers, he fiddled with his nails for a moment. “Beth asked me to help with a few things after the funeral, so, here I am.” His eyes floated back up to mine, then over my shoulder.

Turning to follow his gaze, Bliss was standing slightly behind me, quietly reading the back of a box of granola bars. She wasn't paying any attention to him or to me, so I shouldn't have felt so neurotic over the fact she was there.

But I did.

Instantly, everything around me started to get fuzzy as he took note of my daughter. I couldn't breathe, and it felt like my body was starting to float. A cold sweat beaded up on the back of my neck, my hands were clammy and sticky.

Holding the carriage, I could swear that I was swaying as the sounds around me seemed to fade in and out. I never thought about him meeting my daughter, or what that would feel like.

I had once loved this man as a young girl, and those giddy feelings were still there, the butterflies were still there, but I wasn't a girl anymore, I was a mother. But that didn't mean I knew how to explain to my child who this man was.

Bliss was smart for her age, and if she felt something wasn't right, she'd speak up. I wasn't ready for her to start asking me questions.

Act cool, act normal. He's just an old friend, that's it.

“Well, are you going to introduce me?” he asked, arching a brow.

Clearing my throat, I wiped my hand on my thigh then placed it on her shoulder. “Of course, I'm sorry. Jayden, this is my daughter Bliss.” Bliss finally lifted her head, a little confused as she glanced between us. “Bliss, this is an old friend of mine, Jayden Henry.”

“Hey,” she said quickly with a soft smile.

“Hey,” Jayden said back, his lip quirked up at the corner.

Bliss put her attention back on me. “Can we buy these?” she asked, completely uninterested in the stranger.

Smiling with closed lips, I took the package of granola bars and set them back on the shelf. “Well, we need to finish up here, or she's going to fill this cart with a ton of stuff we don't need. It was good to see you.” Clenching the handle, I attempted to push the cart around him.

“Wait,” he said, holding out his arm to stop me from passing. “I'm in town for a little bit longer, maybe we can grab dinner one night, catch up on things? I didn't really get to talk to you at the wake.” Jayden winked as he bit his bottom lip, tugging it into his mouth.

The other night. . . Why the hell did I do that?

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