Page 12 of Jasper

“I love food. Any kind of food, even rabbit food. I won’t deny it, and we are going to eat well. Plus, we need to get things for Thanksgiving dinner.”

“That’s over a week away.”

“So? If we don’t get a turkey, all the big ones will be gone.”

“It’ll just be the two of us. We don’t need a big turkey.”

“Says you. I eat enough for three grown men.” He did the pretend flip of his non-existent long hair and flounced off toward the vegetables.

Sloane laughed. The man was growing on her.

By the time she caught up with him, he was sorting through tomatoes. He’d pick one up, test it, then toss it down and grunt. It wasn’t like he was trying to find the best diamond in a sea of diamonds. It was just tomatoes.

“Not firm enough for you?”

“No. Soft and squishy will go bad faster, and I hate the way they taste all mushy. A good tomato should be like a woman’s breasts, soft but firm.” He turned, and she saw the devil in his eyes. He was enjoying himself a little too much.

Several women standing around them giggled. Jasper smiled at them, which only made them giggle harder.

“Am I right, ladies?”

“Yes.” The bolder of the three pushed her cart over. “I’m Helen.”

“Robert,” Jasper introduced himself. At first, it threw Sloane, but then she remembered he’d told her only his friends called him Jasper. That was fine with her.

“Nice to meet you, Robert.” Helen’s eyes slid to Sloane.

“I’m Sloane,” she said and sidled a little closer to Jasper. It was just to get a better look at the woman, not to stake a claim. She barely knew the man, after all.

Uh-huh.

“Hello.” The smile wasn’t so warm when aimed Sloane’s way. She wanted to snort at the ridiculousness of it. “You two new in town?” Helen continued, dismissing Sloane and settling all her attention on Jasper.

“We are.” Jasper finally found three tomatoes worthy of his high standards and put them into the clear plastic bag. “We’re looking after a friend’s place while he’s away. Sloane and I needed a bit of a break from city life, so this worked out for everyone involved.”

He made it sound like they were together or something. And she suspected he did it on purpose. Maybe he wasn’t too keen on having all the single females in town hounding him.

“Oh, you’re both staying there?”

Sloane slid her arm through Jasper’s. “Yes, ma’am.” She gave her a big, toothy smile. Helen probably wasn’t past the thirty-year mark, but at twenty-three, Sloane knew she could pass for a teenager when she wanted to. Jasper didn’t look a day over twenty-five but was probably closer to Helen’s age. Still, it never hurt to let the cougars know to keep their paws to themselves.

“Did you want a ham for dinner as well as turkey, sweetheart?” Jasper grinned down at her, and she realized she was right in her assumptions. He didn’t want clingy women chasing him while he was here.

“I like ham more than turkey. You know this.”

“Then we’ll have both since I’m a turkey man. My grandma had the best recipe for baked ham. I don’t think I’ve ever cooked it for you.”

“You haven’t, but Thanksgiving is the time to share family recipes, anyway. Keeps family close to our hearts, even when they’re far away.”

“See why I love this woman?” Jasper asked and pulled her close. “Best decision I ever made to ask her out.”

Laughter bubbled up and spilled out. He was insane, but then so was she for going along with it.

They said their goodbyes and continued down the aisle.

“Thanks for that,” Jasper whispered by her ear. It sent a little shiver down her spine.

“You’re welcome. Now, do you really want a hamanda turkey?”

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