Page 83 of Star Crossed
Wyatt rolled his eyes again. “Hello, I’m the same damn age. I even got a few minutes on you.”
“This isn’t ’bout my age,” Jules told him passionately. “You’re not the only one who’s loved. I’m not saying what you had with that bitch Tabitha wasn’t real, but you don’t own the patent on loving and hurting in this town. You were dead wrong ’bout Clay and Melody, and you’re wrong ’bout me. Even if it’s over now, what I had with Romeo was real.”
Wyatt glared after Jules’s passionate speech. “Don’t call Tabitha a bitch. I don’t care how dented you think your heart is, I’m not gonna sit here and listen to that.”
“I’m wasting my breath.” Jules turned to leave. “You’re the last person in the world I should be talking to ’bout love.”
“Look, Jules, I’m trying real hard to be understanding here. I’m not giving you shit over it being Wellings. A criminal. A guy who threw a fight.A championship fight.I mean, that’s just”—Wyatt shook his head, feeling completely lost that his own twin could get involved with someone that devoid of honor—“I don’t even know where to start with that. This whole fight thing’s so fucking illegal and immoral I can’t even wrap my mind ’round it. How the hell didja get mixed up with a fella like that?”
“Thank you for not giving me shit over it,” Jules said drily. “I really appreciate that.”
“I should call the gaming commission,” Wyatt reminded her as he leaned his elbow on the back of the couch. “I can’t believe I’m hesitating.”
Jules snorted, sounding as surprised as him by the reluctance to report the crime. “So what’s stopping ya?”
“I don’t know,” Wyatt told her honestly because he’d been asking himself that same question all day. Throwing a fight went against every fiber in Wyatt’s being. Just thinking about it made him furious. “I’m guessing it’s some kinda built-in, genetic loyalty to you that’s getting in the way. I’d rather him get away with spitting on the sport than hurt you, which is wrong. I shouldn’t let your feelings get in the way of a moral obligation. It’s really bugging me.”
“Is that really it?” Jules asked in surprise, her voice softening. “You’d protect him for me? I’m not all that inclined toward him myself right now, but knowing you’d do that means something, Wy Wy.”
He lifted his gaze to her, hearing the vein of hope in Jules’s voice. For the life of him he couldn’t figure out why it was his hesitance to call the gaming commission that’d finally broken through when he’d been trying to get her to come around all night.
Wyatt sighed. “Sometimes, Ju Ju Bean, I really wish you’d been a boy. It’d make my life so much easier. When it comes to stuff like this, you don’t make a lick of sense to me.”
A ghost of a smile tugged at Jules’s lips. “You want your birthday presents? I could use the distraction.”
“I guess.” Wyatt shrugged, still feeling confused.
Jules disappeared up the stairs and rather than try to figure out his hormonal twin sister, Wyatt went ahead and followed her up the steps. He dug the second present he’d gotten her out of his closet and placed it on the dresser as Jules appeared at his doorway with packages in both hands.
“Happy birthday to me,” he said, eyeing the bags tentatively. “Is there anything in there I’ll actually like?”
“Maybe.” She pointed to his bed. “Sit.”
Wyatt sat obligingly and then took the first package Jules handed him. He opened it quickly and efficiently, finding three T-shirts, each a different hue of blue.
“They match your eyes. Any color blue looks good on us,” Jules announced and then pointed to his T-shirt. “You should burn that old yellow thing.”
“It’s comfortable.”
“It’s ugly and it washes you out. You’re too blond to be walking ’round in that color.” Jules handed him another package. “I bought you two different pairs of jeans this year. The loose fit you usually wear and then something a little tighter in case you find someone to impress.”
“Okay.” Wyatt opened the second package despite Jules already announcing what it was. Not that it was much of a surprise to begin with. She bought him clothes every year. He pulled out the jeans, finding the tighter pair Jules mentioned, and pulled a face. “I dunno—”
“They’ll look good,” Jules said confidently. “Romeo wears these and say what you will ’bout the man, he looks fine in a tight pair of designer jeans. You’ll have women crawling you like you’re the only tree in sight after a forty-day flood.”
“I think I just threw up in my mouth.” Wyatt made a gagging sound, because the idea of Jules buying him jeans because she liked the way they looked on Wellings was so wrong. He tossed them onto the bed and then wiped his hands on his shorts for good measure. “Jules, sometimes, I swear—”
She laughed, the first sign of happiness lighting up her face. “You could get a woman if you wanted one.”
“I know that.” Wyatt couldn’t help a cocky smile. “And I don’t need designer jeans pinching my best assets to do it. I have a sparkling personality.”
“I wouldn’t go that far. Glaring maybe, but not sparkling.” Jules handed him another package.
Wyatt opened the package, finding more shirts and tossed them aside with disinterest.
“You don’t like ’em?”
“I’m sure I’ll wear ’em.” Wyatt shrugged, knowing he should be more grateful. If it wasn’t for Jules shopping for him, his closet would be empty. “Thanks, Ju Ju Bean.”
