Page 115 of Is It Casual Now?

“Nothing.”

Siena narrowed her eyes at Jamie. “I don’t believe you.”

Jamie grinned broadly. “I was just thinking that this is nice?”

“Having someone cook you a meal?”

“Well, yes, that.” Jamie rolled her eyes. “I was thinking thatthisis nice.” Jamie waved her hand out to encompass the kitchen.

Siena looked around, very confused. “The house?”

“The family,” Jamie settled on that word. “My life growing up was fairly cold, and I was never really the accepted one. Definitely not the golden child like Jessie, but here… it feels so different. So welcome and warm.”

Siena frowned.

“My parents were hard, not just because they didn’t really like me but because I don’t think they wanted Jessie and me, ever. Dad wanted boys, not girls, and he got stuck with girls—two very girlie girls.”

“Ah.” Siena scooped the green beans out of the pot and added some butter and seasoning to them before mixing them up. Harley skidded back in for the silverware. “Don’t run with those, please.”

“Got it!” Harley chimed.

“We’re named after Jessie James.”

“Really?” Astonishment crossed Siena’s face.

“Yeah. Real clever, right?”

“You could say that.”

Jamie stood up straight, debating whether or not she wanted to help Harley finish setting the table. “He never really wanted us, and so he never really loved us.”

“Surely he did.”

“No,” Jamie answered simply. “I really don’t think he did. Mom did, but not Dad, and after a while she stopped fighting him on that.”

“I’m so sorry.” Siena touched Jamie’s arm lightly. “That’s really hard.”

Jamie shrugged. She’d talked to Jessie about it many times over the years, and they’d both dealt with it by cutting their parents off around their twenty-fifth birthday. Jamie had gone first, but Jessie had followed pretty quickly afterward. Their lives were much better that way.

“I think I just always assumed no one wanted me because of that.” Jamie snagged Siena’s hand before she started tobring the food into the dining room. “At least until I met you.”

Siena hummed, stepping right up to Jamie and pressing into her side. “You’re worth it.”

“Some days,” Jamie answered, tilting her head up to look into Siena’s gaze. “Other days?—”

“What happened to not talking negative about ourselves?” Siena teased. “It’s a bad example for Harley, remember?”

“I thought some days was a better answer than no days.”

Siena rolled her eyes before leaning in for a longer, deeper kiss. She curled her fingers around Jamie’s cheeks and held her still while their tongues tangled. Jamie’s breathing increased, her nipples hardened, and she tugged Siena sharply into her as she held on for dear life. Suddenly, Siena pulled away, but she stayed so close that Jamie could feel her breath on her lips.

“It’s better, I’ll give you that. But it’s still pretty negative.”

“Fine,” Jamie mumbled. “But if you’re going to kiss me like that every time I say something negative about myself, I might not want to stop doing it.”

“Sneaky.”

“Will it work?” Jamie moved in swiftly, nipping Siena’s lower lip and then sucking it.

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