Three's A Crowd. (Now Published On Amazon)

Chapter Twenty-One

(Dedicated to pipermclean1885)

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Jasper

I yawned my way out of the bedroom the next morning only to find a vision of blonde loveliness sitting atop my kitchen counter dressed in white shorts and tank top with long, tanned legs dangling in my line of sight like some kind of sweet offering.

She stopped eating her cereal and stared at my bare chest like she had never seen a man before. I cleared my throat to get her attention away from my half naked body and she blinked and gave me one of her breathtaking smiles, her glossy pink lips curving to reveal straight, pristine white teeth. I wanted to take her picture again. It was almost worth getting in trouble again just to capture this moment. Almost.

Cole had definitely hit the jackpot and I could not blame him anymore even in my heart. She was perfect.

"Bourn giorno," her warm, honeydew voice greeted me in Italian as she resumed eating her cereal. She jerked her head over her shoulder at the coffee machine. "I brewed some for you and made green tea for Cole. I heard you guys talking," she explained when I raised my eyebrow to question how she knew we were awake.

Oh, yeah? What else did you hear, you little minx? I wanted to ask but kept my mouth shut and headed behind the counter.

"Thank you," I said gruffly after a moment.

She turned her head to look at me. "What did you say?" she asked me in a dramatic whisper. "Who are you and what have you done to Jasper Wells?"

I narrowed my eyes at her but could not prevent my mouth from quirking into a smile. "Don't get used to it," I told her, bringing my cup to my mouth.

She grinned at me. "Don't worry. I think I like you better when you hate me," she confessed, putting her cereal bowl away. "Maybe I'm a masochist or something."

A tense silence followed her words. I didn't think she meant to say that last sentence out loud. Instead of taunting her about it, I decided to take the high road which was so out of character for me, it was unsettling.

"I think it's safe to say now that I was mostly mad at you and wanted to hate you because I saw you first but he was braver than me and decided to keep you," I said so quietly, I almost wished she did not hear me. It was so hard to admit that. "I was the one who told him to be with you and I meant it until I actually met you. That's when I realised I made a mistake thinking I could go through with this."

Skye turned her head to give me a wide-eyed look, her eyes so blue and innocent. So full of emotions. She looked at me for a long while and then whispered, "No. It's not safe to say that. Ever."

I swallowed at her nervous tone and nodded, understanding her warning. She was with Cole. Of course. I knew that. Just because she found me attractive did not mean she wanted other parts of me. I turned to pour out Cole's green tea and she spoke again from behind me, this time in a less serious tone.

"I can't believe you decided to be mean to me and treat me like shit when Cole actually fell for me hard whereas all you did was perv at me while I was in a bikini."

I paused in the act of pouring tea and for some reason, my chest ached at her words. That wasn't the first thing I noticed about you.

"It's such typical guy logic," she continued lightheartedly. "I saw her first so I call dibs?"

Despite my mind protesting at her assumption that my interest in her was so shallow, I made myself smile at her.

Skye gasped. "Oh my God, is that a real smile?" she teased. "I don't believe it. Do it again."