Rol ing over, I hugged the pil ow next to me. It smel ed like Jared, and I took in a deep breath. His scent was incredible—like line-dried laundry, soap and something else…the way it smel s when it’s about to rain?—I couldn’t put my finger on it.
The only rooms upstairs were his bedroom and a closed door to what was likely the master bath. The far wal beyond the end of the bed wasn’t a wal at al , only a metal railing.
I heard Jared’s voice speaking to someone else in French downstairs. His company’s voice was distinctly female. They argued in hushed tones, and in my limited knowledge of French I thought I heard Jared reprimand the woman for waking me.
This piqued my interest, so I tiptoed to the railing to steal a glance at the woman below. When my fingers met the metal bar, I saw that Jared and Claire were both looking up at me. I waved sheepishly and bit my lip, feeling foolish for trying to sneak up on celestial beings.
“Good morning, sweetheart.” Jared said, almost crooning.
Claire’s expression was the polar opposite of Jared’s. She glared up at me with ice blue eyes, as if she wanted to scale the wal with murder in mind. I recoiled, suddenly feeling out of place.
While avoiding her eyes, I noticed crisply folded bedding at the end of the couch. Jared had slept downstairs.
“If you’d like to shower, fresh clothes are on the dresser. You’l find everything you need,” Jared cal ed up to me.
On the dresser sat a neatly folded stack of clothes, and beside them a pair of boots. My eyes darted to the opposite side of the dresser where my toiletries sat. They were al from my dorm room.
“Where did you get these?”
“I had Claire bring them,” Jared explained, making his way up the stairs. When he reached the top, he pul ed me to him and kissed my neck.
I glanced down to Claire, who hadn’t ceased her death stare. It was clearly more than intimidation. If Jared hadn’t been near, I would have been afraid for my life.
“Don’t worry about her. She won’t bother you,” he assured me as he pul ed me away from the railing. “Did you sleep wel ?”
His face was positively lit up; I couldn’t recal seeing him quite so cheerful.
“I must have. I don’t remember anything after we sat on the couch.”
I ran my hands over his light blue t-shirt, letting my fingers glide over the perfect highs and lows of his chest and abdomen. He was incredible. I’d seen plenty of physiques like his on posters, commercials for exercise equipment and movies, but never in person; certainly never within my grasp.
Jared tightened his arms around me. “I was careful not to wake you. You’re so peaceful when you sleep.”
“You slept on the couch?” I said, letting my disappointment show through.
“I reconsidered…several times,” he said, his lips brushing my neck when he spoke.
“When did she bring my things?”
“Earlier. She’s been in and out a lot,” he frowned. “She’s not happy about our conversation last night. I assume it has something to do with that.”
Chuckling at my inevitably worried expression, he kissed my forehead. “Breakfast wil be ready soon. I’l wait for you downstairs.”
After my shower, I reluctantly crept down the stairs. Claire and Jared watched me approach the table with equal but conflicting focus.
“You’re beautiful,” Jared whispered before he kissed my cheek and pul ed out a chair.
Claire continued to glower as I sat across from her.
“Claire….” Jared warned. Her irritation turned to him, then. I felt a brief moment of relief.
“Thank you for bringing my clothes, Claire,” I whispered. As soon as the words left my mouth I thought better of it. Her icy blue eyes shot back at me and I sunk back into my chair.
Jared stared at her until she shifted uncomfortably. “You’re welcome,” she grumbled, looking down at her plate.
“Ham, mushroom, green pepper and cheese omelet…toast,” Jared pointed out each with his butter knife as he spoke, and then shoved a forkful into his mouth.
I stabbed the eggs and took a bite. He was an incredible cook.
Everything he had made for me was exactly the way I liked it.
“Mmmm…that’s good. I didn’t realize how hungry I was,” I hummed.
The fork clanged against my plate as I chewed the last bit of egg, and Jared rested his chin on his hand, amused at my shameless appetite.
Claire sighed in irritation. “You should be aware that Cynthia knows Nina spent the night here last night.”
With indifference Claire watched Jared’s face morph into anger.
“And how does she know that, Claire?” he seethed.
“I told her,” Claire admitted.
Jared slammed his fist on the table. I jumped, but Claire didn’t react. I watched them stare the other down, wondering if I should distance myself from the line of fire.
Jared noticed my growing unease and placed his hand on mine. “What exactly did you tel her, Claire? And more importantly, why?” he spoke through his teeth, working to keep his tone calm.
“You didn’t give me a choice, Jared. After what happened at the hospital, and last night, Cynthia needed to know what was going on. That’s what Dad would have done.”
“Dad’s not here.” Jared’s voice broke as he fought to keep his calm.
Claire crossed her arms. “Obviously, Jared, or you wouldn’t be insisting on going through with this. You’ve gone against everything Dad taught us, hours after he died. I tried to tel you, but you won’t listen....”
“You can go, now, Claire,” Jared snarled.
Claire’s stoic expression faltered at her brother’s stern tone. “Fine. Cynthia is waiting at Andrews. Maybe she can stop this before it gets too far.”
Claire shoved herself away from the table, grabbing her keys and motorcycle helmet. I cringed when she slammed the door behind her as she left.
The force of the door crashing into the door jamb caused the shelves on the wal s to tremble. I peered over at Jared, whose jaws worked under his skin.
“So she knows about us, so what?” I said, squeezing his hand.
Jared didn’t answer right away, and I could tel that he was trying to calm down before he spoke.
“This…complicates things,” he said in a low tone. “We should get you back. The longer she has to wait the more difficult it wil be.”
I stood and shook my head. “Have I missed something here? This is my mother we’re talking about, right? Why are you so nervous?”
Jared took our plates to the sink and then went directly to the coat stand.
He held out my coat and tried to smile, but it resulted in a twisted, pained expression. “Ready?”
Nodding, I twisted into my coat. I was glad when he took my hand and held it until we reached his SUV, and even more pleased that he didn’t release it for the entire drive to Brown, but he didn’t speak a word until we reached Andrews.
He put the Escalade in park and looked straight ahead, releasing my hand to grip his steering wheel.
“Aren’t you coming in?” I asked.
Jared shook his head. “I’m the last person she wants to see.”
“O…Okay,” I said, unsure of what to make of his behavior. Jared had admitted to standing up to my father once, but he wouldn’t face my mother.
I reached for the door, but Jared grabbed my arm and pul ed me to him with worry in his eyes. His hands cupped my face and he pressed his lips against mine with a sense of urgency. When he final y released me from the kiss, he leaned his forehead against mine, closing his eyes.