Free My First - Jason & Katie by Melanie Shawn

into him, becoming one with him. He knew that it was real.
    Standing there reminiscing had his jeans tightening by the second, and he decided that this wasn't the best time for a walk down memory lane. Nope, it definitely was not what he needed right now. He had to focus on his brother’s wedding, not on Katie Lawson.
    He shook his head. His head was on board with that plan, but his heart and the region below his belt had other priorities for the weekend. He just needed to work on keeping his head in charge.
    Jason had really thought he was prepared to see Katie again this weekend. As soon as he saw her standing at the trunk of his car, with her back to him, that shining golden hair of hers streaming down her back...well, all of his careful preparation had gone right out the window.
    He had always known that Katie had a powerful effect on him. He had just hoped that after ten years, some of her potency would have worn off. Unfortunately, that did not seem to be the case. If anything, the power of her effect on him had been amplified in her absence.
    Now, as Jason left Katie’s room to head over to Richard's for his fitting, he realized that there were two critical things that he needed to accomplish this weekend.
    First, be the greatest Best man he could possibly be. That was a given, that was job one.
    Second, get some closure in the Katie Lawson department.
    In the time that she had been AWOL, he had tried to go on with his life. He wasn't the kind of person to dwell in the past. He wasn't a “wallower” by any stretch of the imagination. But now that she was back he could see clearly what he had probably known in the back of his mind all along – he had some unfinished business with Katie.
    Damn, maybe that was why he could never seem to maintain a serious relationship, no matter his intentions. Why he seemed to lose interest in women as soon as they showed signs of wanting to settle down. Maybe, deep down, he was sabotaging his relationships because he was keeping the way clear for Katie.
    He shook his head. One thing was for sure, he needed to deal with this, and the upcoming weekend was probably going to be his only opportunity. He was sure that, come Sunday, Katie would be hightailing it back to San Francisco. That was her M.O., and who knew the next time he would see her?
    Yep, he decided. Whether Katie wanted to or not, she would be dealing with him, and it was going to happen this weekend.

Chapter Four

    Driving up to Mona’s Bridal Boutique, Katie took a deep breath and determined to put everything but wedding business on the back burner of her brain. She consciously refocused her attention and vowed to herself to keep it where it belonged.
    As she walked up to the door with Sophie and Aunt Wendy, she smiled as a flutter of excitement hit her. She was about to see her little Sophiebell in a wedding dress! What could be more special?
    As the group walked across the sidewalk and Katie enjoyed reveling in these new positive emotions, she suddenly felt a chill crawl down her spine. She stopped in her tracks. She felt the tell-tale tingle of goosebumps rising on the exposed flesh of her arms and the hair on the back of her neck stood up.
    Someone was watching her. She was sure of it.
    She spun slowly and looked around her, but she did not see anyone looking her way. In fact, she didn't see anything out of the ordinary at all – just a brightly lit block of the Harper's Crossing downtown street, populated with the kinds of people you might expect to see there. A mom and her two little ones were crossing the street. Mr. Anderson, who owned the Sweet Tooth Candy Shoppe, was sweeping up in front of his store. Some teenagers were hanging out in front of Dick's News Stand. Various other patrons of the quaint little shops lining 10th Street were shuffling up and down, each involved in their various errands.
    The one thing they all seemed to have in common was that none of them was paying a lick of attention to Katie,