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He grinned, his annoyance with Dana far outweighed by the tenderness he felt for Jess “Yeah, and she’s all mine”

“Ugh, when did you becoust

He shrugged “I have no qual I like the woman who shares my bed”

“No talk of beds” This time she shoved him

“What? Are you five?” He laughed because as hard as she shoved hied

She huffed and crossed her arain “She’s really good with him Does she know?”

“Knohat?”

“The rest of the story? Yours and Dana’s?”

“No”

“Huh I’ed to keep their mouths shut about it”

“Sometimes they knohen to be discreet”

“Apparently”

They both chuckled as the stall owner de at her, presu to insist on wearing it Cat sobered quickly as she turned back to hi to tell her?”

“I’ out all the problems he’d had with Dana Not yet Not until it was time for that conversation

Jess and Joey were h the small crowd around Dahlia’s stall, when Jess, as too busy yapping to Joey, was suddenly knocked back by a , either

The guy gripped her arize to each other, Cooper’s blood immediately overheated

Jack Devlin

And he was s down at Jessica

Cooper washis naently behind hiently pushing Jess and Joey behind him

“Cooper,” Jess said, surprised And annoyed

He ignored her annoyance and stared at Jack

Don’t you even fucking think about it

So flashed in Jack’s eyes If he were the old Jack, Cooper would have recognized that “soret But he didn’t know this Jack This Jack lifted his hands in surrender and stepped back “I was just apologizing for bu into her”

Cooper kept a tight lid on the desire to punch the guy, unable to speak for fear he’d say more than the current situation warranted

Jack’s gaze lad for you”

Choked with anger, Cooper stayed silent

His old friend gave him a taut nod of his head and just walked away

What the hell?

He stared after Jack, wondering if he’d aze ht of Dana

She was too busy watching Jack to notice Cooper watching her

“What was that?” Jessica was suddenly in his face, scowling at him

He glanced to his side to see Cat had Joey in hand His sister was visibly concerned “I’m fine,” he told her

“Cooper?”

Jessica stepped into hiet his attention He curled his hand around her wrist and brought her knuckles to his lips for a kiss “It was nothing”

“It was Jack Devlin,” Cat said

Jess’s mouth formed an O shape and sympathy he couldn’t bear to see lit her eyes “Coop,” she whispered

He pulled away, not wanting sy to her howbags and turned to his nephew for distraction “How about some ice cream from Antonio’s?”

“Yeah!”

He swung Joey up onto his back and the boy wrapped his arms around Cooper’s neck and held on

Relief h the crowds, his nephew’s chatter filling his ears, and helping hiht of Jack talking to Jessica

TWENTY

Jessica

The inn was a beautiful place to work It could be peaceful It could be busy and fun There were downsides—where customers were involved there were always downsides So as others So I couldn’t handle And I liked working with Bailey, although to be fair we actually saw less of each other now that I orking for her

Another downside

The biggest downside, however, the one that scaredvoice in my head that whispered that hospitality really wasn’t what I wanted to do with my life

Okay, so I knew that running an inn probably wouldn’t turn out to be a per only teeks into it that I didn’t have the passion for it that Bailey did was scary stuff Because thatabout what the heck I was planning to do with the rest of my life

Trying my best not to think about that, I was in the ht when my phone vibrated in my pocket

Cooper’s name flashed on the screen and with it came the butterflies

Still

I wondered if and when the exciteo away

I was hoping never, because it was a pretty aweso

“Hey, you” I smiled as I answered the phone inned, his annoyance with Dana far outweighed by the tenderness he felt for Jess “Yeah, and she’s all mine”