Page 20 of Off-Limits Mate

He looks away. “Sorry. It’s cute. I didn’t mean to go through your stuff.”

“Oh,” I say, the moment clearly lost. “Uh. That’s ok.”

“It was a long time ago,” he murmurs.

“Yeah,” I sigh as I take the picture from him. “It was.”

When Jasper leaves, I sink down on the bed, the picture in my hands.

The picture definitely was something I made a long time ago. My feelings for Jasper, though? They’re not. Unfortunately, I have just as much of a crush on Jasper Rayburn now as I did then. And now, just like then, that’s all it’s going to be.

A crush. From a silly little girl on her brother’s best friend.

The next day, Nolan walks into the kitchen looking… suspicious.

I raise my eyebrow, looking at him over my yogurt. “Playing secret agent today?”

He’s wearing all black, down to his tennis shoes. He shrugs. “Alpha has me running an errand at a neighboring pack.”

“And he asked you to cosplay as a spy or…”

“Just grabbed some clothes, kid,” Nolan says.

The kid makes my hackles go up. “Seriously? I’m not a kid.”

He ignores me and looks at Jasper. “Might not be back until tomorrow. You good?”

I roll my eyes. “We’re going to burn your house down. For fun.”

Jasper nods. “I got you, man.”

I’m not sure what kind of communication is going on between the two of them, but it feels… weird.

“Anyway,” I say, breaking the tension. “That was weird. Nolan, you’re being weird. This whole situation is strange, and I’m out.”

I put my yogurt in the sink and walk to my office. I have a full day of work ahead of me, and I’m glad to sit down to it. Work keeps me from remembering that Jasper found my childhood picture of him. That I wrote Mrs. Amara Rayburn on. Ugh.

I sink into the day. Before I know it, the light is getting dim, and my stomach rumbles.

The house seems quiet. Idly, I wonder if Jasper is gone. I creep out of my room, heading for the kitchen.

The second I see him at the kitchen table, though, I realize Jasper didn’t leave. He was just… sitting.

“Okay. Nolan decided to play James Bond. You’re here… what? Plotting?” I say.

Jasper turns. “Sorry. I finished setting your new fixtures and just got back.”

“Oh.” That takes some of the steam out of my ire. “Well. Thank you.”

“You’re welcome.”

Well. This is still awkward.

I drift to the fridge. There’s a bottle of wine in here, and if I’m going to spend the whole night tiptoeing around Jasper, then I’m going to be a little buzzed while I do so.

“What’s that?”

I wave the bottle at him. “The worst white wine you’ll ever have.”

---