Page 10 of Off-Limits Mate

“Yeah,” I say, rasping around the burn of the acid in my throat.

Moments like this wouldn’t happen if Jasper and I had…. anything.

The path is so predictable. Jasper would break my heart, because there’s no way that I could do anything with the man I’ve had a crush on since I was twelve and not get my heart broken. Jasper isn’t built for the things that I want in a relationship. Then, I’d be devastated, and Nolan would try to kill him, and then… Nolan would lose his best friend in the whole world. Because I couldn’t keep it in my pants.

That’s never going to happen.

The resolve hardens in me, and for a fleeting moment I feel sad, but I’m not losing Jasper. I never had him.

Nolan passes me some water, and I sip it.

“So,” he says in the voice that he usually reserves for telling me I need to go to the dentist. “Jasper and I were talking.”

“That’s good. Interesting that you could hold a conversation, but glad to hear you’re communicating outside of just grunts,” I say. I can’t help it. I’m a little sister. Being a little sassy is what I do.

Nolan rolls his eyes. “Jasper offered to help you rebuild some of the stuff in the house.”

“No,” I say automatically. It’s just one word, but inside, I’m practically screaming. No. No, no, no. That’s a terrible idea, and I absolutely could not think of something that I would rather do less.

Nolan gives me a look.

I need to think of a reason. “They’re not even done with the whole sewer line thing. We need to wait for that to finish before we can even start remodeling inside, remember?”

Nolan shakes his head. “We can get some stuff done. The kitchen, the bedrooms…”

“But what if the whole thing explodes again?”

He raises his eyebrows. “That’s not going to happen.”

“I’m sure Jasper doesn’t want to spend his visit just like… building shit,” I say. My protests are getting weaker and weaker, but I’m trying. “He’s not going to be here forever. Don’t you two want to hang out?”

Nolan sighs and leans back. For the first time, I notice that my brother, who usually is the life of the party and entirely happy-go-lucky, looks… a little worn.

“I’ve been helping the Alpha and the enforcers with some stuff, Amara. I can’t hang with Jasper all day, and he knows that. Come on. This is a good solution, and it gets you back into your house faster.”

I bristle. “You don’t think I can do it on my own?”

“No. I didn’t say that. I do, however, think that it’s going to take you around a million years to get it done, and Jasper can help…”

“No,” I say flatly. “It’s my house. I want to do it alone.” And even if I did accept help, I wouldn’t want it to be him.

“Amara,” Jasper rumbles, leaning forward. “I’m not asking. I’m telling you that I’m going to help you rebuild your house. So you can either tell me what you want, to make sure that it’s still your house, or I’m going to choose what I want it to look like.”

Nolan gives Jasper a funny look, but doesn’t say anything.

My jaw, however, is practically on the table. “Are you kidding me?”

Jasper shakes his head. “No.”

“Why the hell do you want to spend your time away from your fancy-ass job rebuilding my house?” I practically shriek.

“Doesn’t matter. But it’s happening either way. You can either be part of the process or walk into a fully remodeled house,” he says darkly.

I look at Nolan for help, but he just shrugs. “It needs to get done, Amara, and I know how much being here bothers you. I’m busy, and I want you to get back into the house that you love. This is between the two of you,” he says, looking at us. With that, my brother stands. “I’ll be back tonight. Let me know what you decide,” he says with a sharpness that’s pretty uncharacteristic of my normally very easygoing brother.

He walks away from the table, leaving Jasper and me glaring at each other.

I narrow my eyes and look at him. “You’re being annoying.”

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