Page 269 of Romeo

Jasper stopped before finishing.

I knew what he meant.

“No.” My throat tightened again. “He would have if you hadn’t been here.”

His eyes closed.

Just for a second.

Then he pulled me back against him.

I didn’t know how long we stayed that way.

Time had become impossible to measure. The parking lot slowly returned around me in pieces. The cold against the backs of my legs. The faint buzz of the security light. The rough fabric of Jasper’s shirt beneath my fingers. His hand moving over my back whenever another tremor went through me.

Eventually my breathing stopped hurting.

The shaking didn’t disappear completely, but it faded enough that I became aware of how tightly I was still holding him.

I loosened my fingers.

Jasper didn’t let go.

“You with me?” he asked softly.

I nodded against his chest.

His hand stilled. “Words, Fiona.”

“Yes.”

Only then did he ease back enough to see my face.

My keys were still somewhere on the pavement. Jasper found them without moving more than a few feet away from me, and even that small distance made every muscle in my body tense until he was back.

He noticed.

Of course he did.

His expression changed, but he didn’t mention it. He simply wrapped my fingers around the keys and covered my hand with his.

“Think you can drive?”

I looked toward my car.

The thought of staying behind the shop made my stomach twist harder than the thought of getting behind the wheel.

“Yes.”

Jasper studied me long enough that I knew he was considering arguing. “Granny’s house?”

“Less than ten minutes.”

His gaze dropped to my hands. They were still trembling, but not enough that I couldn’t hold the keys.

“I’ll be right behind you.” His thumb rubbed once across my knuckles. “If you feel dizzy, if your hands start shaking worse, if anything feels wrong, you pull over. Don’t try to tough it out.”

The edge of something familiar in his voice steadied me more than the instructions themselves.