Page 43 of Unexpected Temptation
Jaylen looked over at her after he slid into the truck.He smiled and reached for her hand.
“Don’t be mad at me.”
Amelia turned her head and narrowed her eyes at him.
“I can pay for my own things.”
“Baby, I know that.But it makes me feel good to take care of you.”He watched her anger mellow a bit.He raised her hand and kissed the back of it.“You won’t take that from me, will you?”
Amelia looked at him with suspicion when his mouth twitched.
She snorted.“No, I won’t take that from you.”
Jaylen grinned and tugged her over enough to press a hard kiss to her mouth.
“Thank you.”
Amelia could see the mischief in his eyes, shook her head, and chuckled.
“You’re welcome,” she said with a hint of sarcasm.
Several blocks down, Jaylen pulled into the parking lot of the grocery store and parked.The outside was plain white and showed signs of age, but otherwise it looked clean.They had softened the stark color with pots of colorful flowers on either side of the doors leading into the store.
Jaylen seized her hand and walked with her.They grabbed a cart and started moving up and down the aisles.
Amelia noticed that a few women in the store stopped and stared, just as they had in the restaurant.They made her feel like she was taking their toy away from them or something.
She wasn’t going to feel bad about it.If Jaylen had wanted any of them, Amelia wouldn’t have been there because Jaylen would be married to one of them.
That thought made her stomach twist in pain.Fate had a way of working that boggled her mind.Her sister’s bet with her friends, Amelia leaving home, and Jaylen finding her and wanting a relationship, still astonished her.It seemed everything worked to get her there, and she wasn’t going to question it.
“I should have made a list.”
“I didn’t realize there was so much,” Amelia said, wide-eyed at the many aisles of food that took up the majority of the store.On one side were bins of fruit or vegetables, and on the other, meats and bread.The bright lights displayed the specials or sale items more clearly.The place looked larger inside than it had out, and it had so many more choices than she thought a country store would have had.
Jaylen chuckled, and he dropped some cans into the cart.They would take a few more steps, as Amelia pushed the cart and Jaylen walked beside her with a hand on her back.
Amelia realized the last few days that he hadn’t gone very long without touching her in some way.She wasn’t used to being touched and at first felt strange, but at that moment she soaked up the affection she’d craved all her life.
“Well, if it isn’t the handsome Jaylen off his mountain.”
Amelia and Jaylen turned toward the voice.
Jaylen stiffened.
Amelia felt a ball of desolation build in her stomach.The woman in front of her was gorgeous.Tall with dark red hair, bright green eyes, and a body men dreamed about.She was by far the most beautiful of all the women who had been attracted to Jaylen in the town so far.
Her gaze tracked back to Jaylen, and she saw a bit of anger, but he also looked uneasy.
“Hello, Mary Ann.”
The woman moved her cart up alongside theirs.
Jaylen glanced down at Amelia and tightened his arm around her.
“Amelia, I’d like you to meet Mary Ann.Mary Ann, this is my ...fiancée, Amelia.”
Amelia bit back a gasp and stayed quiet.
