Page 10 of First Love

Chapter Four

Jasper

Bourbon tasted betterwhen in the company of someone as captivating as Amelia. She really had the most unusual eyes. I’d thought they were the color of honey earlier when I’d seen her outside the shelter, but in the lights over the bar, they were richer than that.

More like the color of the bourbon we were sharing.

“What?” She arched a blond eyebrow at me, her lips turned up at one corner. “You’re staring.”

“Shit.” I closed my eyes. “Busted.”

Her soft chuckle had me opening my eyes.

“Are you trying to figure out why in the world you invited a woman you don’t know into your home for bourbon?” She took another sip then held up the glass, her head slightly angled at it. “Really good bourbon actually.”

“I invite people I don’t know into the shelter on a daily basis,” I said. “After a good meal, they aren’t people I don’t know anymore.”

“It must feel good to help them,” she said.

“It does.” I took a sip of my bourbon. “But it would feel better if our world didn’t need homeless shelters at all.”

“But because we do live in a world that needs them, it’s good that there are people like you. People who are willing to extend a hand to those who need it.” Another sip of her bourbon disappeared. “What got you into that line of work anyway?”

“I designed an app that’s making me a shit-ton of money without much additional work. I needed something else to do with my time besides work on renovating this place.”

Her pretty eyes bugged. “So you’re rich, but you choose to spend your days with homeless people?”

“I don’t feel comfortable around other rich people.” I shrugged. “I’m just some guy who got lucky using my nerd skills.”

“That doesn’t mean you don’t deserve to be monetarily compensated for those skills that obviously the world needs and wants if the app is so successful.”

“I guess.”

“What does the app do?”

“It’s a book-reading app that creates curated reading lists based on user interests,” I said. “Then it allows people to join virtual book groups across the country. Some of the groups are hosted by the authors. Readers love those. We recently expanded the app to include reading progress trackers, a notes feature, lists of where authors are doing signings, that sort of stuff.”

“That sounds like fun.” Amelia swiveled on her bar stool. “Do you like to read? I don’t see any packed bookcases in here.”

I grinned. “That’s because I haven’t given you the full tour yet.” I lifted the bottle of bourbon, silently asking if she wanted another hit. When she nudged her glass closer to me, I added another finger of bourbon to it then did the same to my own glass. “We’ll make it a boozy tour.”

I picked up my glass and came around to her side of the bar. Sammy rose to his feet, stretching out his hind legs then his front ones. He pressed his nose into my leg then went over to sniff a line along Amelia’s jeans.

When she crouched to pet him and let him lick her face, I was actually jealous.

What is wrong with me today?

Inviting her over had been way out of character for me. Despite having money to throw around, I had zero confidence when it came to women. Probably because most of the ones I’d dated since making money on the app had only wanted me for those dollars. I wasn’t cheap nor was I hoarding my fortune, but I most definitely didn’t want to squander it on someone who didn’t, at the end of the day, actually love me.

Now I was standing here, coveting the attention Amelia was giving my dog. Another sign I’d stepped into territory I had no clue how to navigate. Something indescribable set her apart from anyone I had ever met. I couldn’t put my finger on what that something was, but it was powerful.

“You’ve seen the kitchen, the living room, the bar, and Sammy’s room.” I led Amelia back down the hallway where Sammy’s room was. “There’s a bathroom here.” I pointed to my right, giving her a chance to peek in. I loved how close she was standing behind me as she peered into the bathroom.

“Oh, that tub looks so inviting.” A blush tinged her cheeks, and I wanted to give her a full demonstration of what could happen in that tub.

Instead, I cleared my throat and followed Sammy into the master bedroom. “This is my room.”

She brushed past me to step into the room. “Nice to have a fireplace in here too.”