Page 138 of When The Night Falls

Shaking my head, I walked into the shower and lowered the temperature. After a dreadful night, my body was feeble, so I sat on the beige tiles under the stream of cold water, reviving. I had obviously had too much to drink. Those last three shots of tequila hadn’t helped anything at all apart from offering a temporary relief from the panic I had experienced.

When I started shivering, I dragged myself out of the shower and dried myself with a towel. Then I put on my white satin robe and walked out. Jason and William were talking in the dining room, so I paused to eavesdrop, wondering if Jason was still angry with me.

‘Yeah, we’re quite compatible,’ William said.

‘I can’t believe I never tried to set you up with her.’

‘You should have.’

‘I would have if she hadn’t been so uninterested in dating. Plus, you weren’t really that interested in it yourself.’

‘I wasn’t until I met her,’ William said, and my heart throbbed.

‘I suppose that’s what happens when you find the right one.’ There was a smile in Jason’s voice.

‘Yeah. You sort of did set me up with her, though – by sending her to Disrepute. You know I often go there on Fridays.’

‘True.’ Jason chuckled. ‘But since you’re not one to have one-night stands, and since you already had Violet and Francesca, it never occurred to me that you might end up interacting, let alone actually sleeping together. Honestly, when she came home the next day, I was sure it had to be someone else – perhaps a colleague of yours or something. I definitely didn’t think it could be you, all things considered.’

‘She never mentioned my name?’

‘No. But, in hindsight, she did say you were really forthright and opinionated, so maybe I should have suspected at that point.’

‘Very funny.’

‘I’m actually not joking. Anyway, seems like you made up last night.’

‘I’m not sure. She was very drunk, even at the end. Hopefully she meant what she said.’

‘I’m sure she did.’

‘Don’t give her a hard time when she comes out, yeah? Please, Jase.’

‘I won’t. I can see why she would hide it from me.’

‘Yeah?’

‘Yeah. I’m only a bit upset because I really despised Sandra on your behalf. Safe to say I’m shocked it’s been Cara all along.’

‘Understandable.’

I blew out a breath of relief and went to the dining room. William had kept his word and had supported me, and I appreciated it immensely because, without his intervention, I was confident that Jason would have stayed angry with me for longer.

They sat at the dining table, where orange juice, coffee and a full English breakfast waited for me. I could have kissed Jason. This was exactly what I needed.

William appeared to have borrowed a pair of black joggers from Jason, and both brothers were shirtless. Had I not been so hungover, I would have appreciated the view more than I did.

They turned their heads to acknowledge me and, at that moment, I seriously wondered how I hadn’t realised that William was Jason’s brother when I first met him. While their hair colours were different, they had nearly identical eyes, although William’s were slightly more piercing and somehow darker, even if their irises were exactly the same colour. However, William’s eyebrows always formed a slight frown, as if he was sharply judging and examining everything he looked at. Jason gazed around with an innate desire to appreciate everything he saw for what it was. William’s jaw was also a little sharper than Jason’s, but even their noses and full lips were incredibly similar.

I was such an idiot.

‘Morning,’ I said and met Jason’s gaze. He smiled faintly.

‘Morning, love. How are you feeling?’ He pulled out the chair beside him. My chest ached at his tone. I didn’t deserve him. I hated that I had betrayed and disappointed him.

‘I have an awful headache.’

As I sat down, my eyes zoomed in on the paracetamol beside the glass of orange juice. My heart melted. Jason would make a woman the luckiest in the world someday.

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