Page 61 of Romeo

Smooth I could dismiss.

Smooth could be explained away.

Jasper had a road name that practically came with a warning label. I could tell myself he knew exactly what to say because he’d had years of practice saying it to women. But he kept slipping something honest beneath the charm before I had time to protect myself from it.

I put my phone down, stared at it for about two seconds, then picked it right back up.

Me: What do you think I noticed about you?

Jasper: My devastating beauty.

A laugh escaped me and I looked around the empty shop, embarrassed at my reaction.

Me: Your ego

Jasper: Same thing.

My smile stayed this time.

Me: Your eyes.

His response didn’t come immediately, and I hated how much satisfaction I got from being the one who’d made him pause for once.

Jasper: Really?

Me: Then your smile.

Another pause, longer this time. I bit my lip, staring at the screen.

Jasper: Nothing about my legs?

I laughed again, my hand covering my mouth.

Me: I was trying to be polite

Jasper: Now who’s evasive?

My face warmed. Fair enough. There were plenty of things I’d noticed about Jasper Francis Alexander DuBois that didn’t qualify as polite conversation. The way he moved. The width of his shoulders. His hands.

Definitely his hands.

And there was absolutely no chance I was putting any of that in writing.

Me: Next question.

Jasper: No. We’re staying with this one.

Of course we were.

Me: I’m invoking my right to remain silent.

Jasper: Not one of the rules.

Me: There are rules now?

Jasper: There are when they benefit me.

I smiled despite myself. That was the thing about Jasper. Just when a conversation started feeling too serious, he shifted it enough to let me breathe. I wasn’t sure whether he did it intentionally.