Cease Fire (Blackbridge Security 9)

I grin with her use of we instead of responding singularly, as if we’re in this together, not just her on her own.

“I can tell you two are going to be amazing parents,” the woman says.

Jules freezes, her smile faltering as she holds out the jar of pickles. “Just this one please.”

I hand the woman some cash because despite Jules’s infuriating need for independence, I’ll be damned if any woman pays for something while I’m standing right beside her. I wouldn’t care if it was my boss’s wife. I’d still pay for her stuff.

“Thank you so much,” the woman says, taking the cash. “I’m going to throw a jar of pumpkin jam in for free.”

“Oh no, you don’t have to do that,” I say. I’ve always felt weird getting things for free. “I can pay you for it.”

The woman waves my money away. “It’s for the baby. Pumpkins are an excellent source of vitamins.”

We both thank her before walking away, the weight of the glass jars nothing compared to the heaviness that has fallen over Jules’s mood.

I breathe a small sigh of relief when she lets me tuck her right back into my side as we move through the rest of the booths.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m pissed at the way she reacted when the woman mentioned us being great parents because I know in her mind, she was thinking that she’s going to be a parent, not me.

But I’m also not going to miss out on the chance to touch her. Making this woman fall in love with me is a process and sometimes that means a couple of steps back. Moving forward all the time can’t be expected.

“I’m starting to get hungry,” she says as we pass a booth selling the most amazing smelling fresh bread.

“We can grab an early lunch. Have anything specific in mind?”

“I was thinking maybe we could—fuck.” She shoves me away, and I smile, thinking that she’s seen one more thing she can’t live without. “Fucking Jason.”

My eyes scan the midmorning crowd, looking for the man that just ruined my entire day. I could punch him in the damn face for what he’s done, but we’re no longer kids, and such acts of violence would probably be frowned upon by the people milling through the farmers’ market.

“I don’t think he saw us,” Jules says, flipping her hair to cover the mark I left on her neck earlier in the shower.

She didn’t have a problem with the juvenile blemish until now, but my cock is no longer hard like it was when the man selling us the peaches looked at it with a little smirk on his face. I stood a little taller then, taking pride in the possessive mark. I knew anyone who saw us together would know that she was mine, and she didn’t have a problem with it… until fucking Jason.

“Stop,” Jules hisses, a fake smile on her pretty face when I raise my hand to get Jason and his wife Becca’s attention.

“They’ve spotted us. We have to say hi,” I say, striding to my brother, torn between blowing this situation wide open like an asshole, or starting the beginning of my own lies to my family.

“Oh, Jules!” Becca says, rushing to approach with her arms wide open for a hug. “I’m so glad to see you. I wanted to congratulate you.”

They squeeze each other in a genuine hug, rocking back and forth like women do.

“How are you feeling?” Becca asks, stepping back and pressing her hands to Jules’s stomach as if it’s no big deal to touch her without permission.

A rush of jealousy hits me in the chest. These women have known each other forever, but the thought of Jason hitting on Jules before Becca was in the picture irritates me right now. He could’ve kept that connection to himself.

“Just out looking around?” Jason asks as he gives me a quick bro hug. My brother looks between the two of us, and I can read the suspicion in his eyes. If he asks, I’ll fucking tell him the truth. I wouldn’t be able to help myself.

“Brooks was busy, so he sent this one,” she says, throwing a casual thumb over her shoulder to indicate me, “to babysit me while I got some shopping done.”

“Yeah?” my brother asks, a sly smile tugging up the corners of his mouth.

“Brooks is pretty protective,” Jules says, the lie sliding so easily off her tongue. She hasn’t seen or spoken to the man since the truth came out. “I had a major craving for fresh peaches.”

“Don’t tell Anders,” Jason chuckles.

A little laugh blooms from all of us, and that just speaks to how close we all are to Jules. Even Becca has heard the story about the peach ice cream and Anders’s chipped tooth because of it.