I Wish You Were Mine (Oxford #2)(48)

Jackson waited until her suspicious gaze returned to his and then gave her a wide grin.

Jo’s eyes narrowed further. “Are you smiling right now?”

He reached out and nudged the coffee toward her. “Come on. You know the other guys won’t be in for hours. You think I don’t notice that you and I are always the first ones here on Mondays?”

“Well, you, me, and Cassidy,” she pointed out, picking up the cup and giving it a skeptical glance. “You really got this for me?”

“Thought it might be fun to join the competition to be your favorite. I’ve stayed out of the fray until now, because let’s face it, it’s not even a fair fight. But do me a favor—take a picture of Cole and Lincoln’s faces when they roll their asses in here and see that I’ve beaten them to the punch.”

She shook her head. “You know you guys are going to kill me with caffeine, right?”

He shrugged and reached out to take the cup from her, but she batted his hand away. “I’ll choke it down.”

“Enjoy, darling.”

“First a smile, then a ‘darling’? What is going on with you right now, Burke?”

“Just wanted to join your fan club.”

“Uh-uh,” she said, giving him a studying look. “I’m thinking you’ve recently joined another woman’s fan club.”

Jo’s comment immediately made him think of Mollie, which in turn made him smile.

The receptionist gave a knowing chuckle. “Oh, man, Burke. You’re in trouble.”

“Hell, you think I don’t know that?” he grumbled good-naturedly.

He was in trouble. He and Mollie had spent the weekend together. In bed, mostly. But there’d been other stuff too. Bingeing on Breaking Bad episodes. Gorging on delivery food. They’d even gone to the gym together, and it had felt surprisingly…normal. Hell, everything about the weekend had felt normal.

Which he supposed, made sense. He and Mollie had always been comfortable around each other.

But the sex part…that had felt right too. More than right. It had felt f*cking fantastic. They hadn’t been able to get enough of each other. If anyone had told him just a month ago that he’d be having the best sex of his life with Mollie Carrington…

Jo shook her head and smirked. “Must have been some weekend. Shouldn’t you be buying her coffee?”

He’d already brought Mollie coffee. Of course, she’d been fresh out of the shower and warm, damp, and naked, which meant the coffee was cold by the time she’d gotten to it, but still…

“You said Cassidy’s around?” Jackson asked, jerking his brain away from the memory of naked Mollie before his stirring cock turned into a full-blown erection.

“In his office,” Jo said, attention already back on her computer.

Jackson started to head that way, but Jo’s voice stopped him. “Hey, Jackson.” He turned, and she lifted her cup. “Thanks.”

Jackson gave her a wink, which made her roll her eyes. “Just what this office needs. Another charmer.”

Cassidy’s door was open, and he glanced up at Jackson in surprise. “Burke. You’re in early.”

“Not really. I always get in around this time.”

“Huh. How come I never see you?” Cassidy asked.

Because I usually head straight to my office like an antisocial jackass. “Got a minute?” Jackson asked, ignoring the question.

“Sure, come on in.”

Jackson sat down, depositing his laptop on the floor before leaning forward and clasping his coffee cup between both hands. “I’ll do it.”

Cassidy frowned. “Sorry?”

“The interview. For the magazine. I’ll do it.”

Cassidy leaned back in his chair, folding both hands over his trim stomach as he studied Jackson with cool green eyes. “You’re sure?”

“Yeah.”

“Why?” Cassidy asked.

“Shit, I don’t know, man. Do we have to talk it out?”

“I just want to make sure you’re not feeling pressured into it. Your job is safe either way, and—”

“Boss, do I strike you as the sort of man who could be pressured into something?”

“No, but you do strike me as an intensely private man who will make the interview process as painful as possible for Cole and Penelope.”

Jackson lifted a hand. “Best behavior, Scout’s honor.”

Cassidy’s eyes narrowed slightly as he gave Jackson the same skeptical look Jo had. “What’d you do this weekend?”

“Nothing out of the ordinary,” Jackson said, keeping his voice casual.

“Ri-i-ight,” Cassidy said, dragging the word out. “So if you’re positive about the interview—”

“I am.”

“All right, then. I’ll tell Penelope and Cole the good news as soon as they get in.”

“Great.” Jackson picked up his bag and stood. “Also, I was thinking for my next piece, I could do a look at the way different sports shape your body. Thought I could feature you in the section on scrawny soccer players.”

“Oh, absolutely,” Cassidy deadpanned. “Just make sure you get a nice selfie for the part about bulky, no-neck football players—”