Page 65 of After The Storm

“Tonight, we get to head to the Garden District and one of the nicest houses there. Jasper will take care of us.”

“Are you sure about this, Kate? Do you believe this Jasper should be trusted?” Roman asked, his expression full of worry.

She waved off his concern. True, Eve had gone against her explicit wishes when she told the cops about her being in trouble. And it was also true that she’d messed up when she called Kate last night, but Jasper was different.

“It’s okay. He’s good people. Not to worry. Jasper will handle things.”

“Handle things?” Roman asked in a curiously sharp voice.

Worried he thought she had insulted him by insinuating her friend could help her better than he had, she hurried to clear up what she’d meant. “Jasper knows a lot of people in town, and he knows his way around New Orleans society in ways I never could, and I live here. Don’t worry. He can be trusted to keep his mouth shut. Nobody is better with secrets than Jasper.”

For a moment, Roman said nothing, but the worry he’d worn on his face morphed into a grimace. Finally, a few seconds later, he asked, “So, you and this Jasper guy are close?”

“Yeah. We’ve known each other for years. Since middle school, to be exact.”

“How close?” he asked in a quiet voice. “I mean, you did say you loved him.”

Kate chuckled at his misinterpretation. “Oh, not that way. Jasper is like the brother I never had. He’s a huge manwhore. I’m not his type, but we’ve been close friends forever.”

“Why aren’t you his type?” Roman asked, taking a step toward where she sat on the bed.

The question was a valid one since Jasper seemed to have very few things he found unappealing in anyone. She’d seen him with every variety, shape, size, and color of woman, not to mention men, so that they had never gotten together would seem rather noteworthy to someone who didn’t know him.

But Kate knew the reason they’d never taken their friendship to a more physical level was the simple fact that for Jasper, true friends were few in his life, so he cherished the ones he had. Better to not mess up a good thing just for a roll in the sack, he’d say.

“I think we’ve been friends for too long, and for Jasper, I might always be that lonely girl sitting alone at the lunch table he met that first day. I was brand new to school and had no friends, and he walked right up and sat down in front of me to ask if I wanted to be friends.”

Roman sat down on the bed next to her and nodded. “I’m sure you’ve changed since then, though.”

Suddenly, she saw that look that said he was searching for something, and she understood why he was asking all these questions about her and Jasper. He wasn’t nervous about him possibly giving away something that could help people find them.

He was jealous.

Kate wove her fingers through his and squeezed his hand. “I’m sure I have changed. Thirteen was not my best year on this planet, for sure. But trust me, Jasper Carrollton has no interest in me in any way other than friendship.”

“It’s fine,” he said, staring down at where their hands sat on the bed between them. “I just like to know what I’m walking into with people. I hope we can trust him. That’s the more serious concern.”

“More serious than you being jealous that Jasper and I are more than friends?” she asked, struggling to keep the smile from her face.

He popped his head up and twisted his face into a scowl. “That’s ridiculous. I’m not jealous. Just curious.”

“Well, just curious, there’s nothing between me and Jasper. You’d care if there was?”

Kate waited for Roman to answer her question, wanting to hear him say something that would tell her she’d been right to think he was far more jealous than curious. She saw it written all over his face, but she wanted to hear him say it.

But he just shrugged and looked away as he answered, “It would just be something I should know to be able to work this assignment correctly.”

He could say all that mumbo jumbo about the assignment all he wanted. She knew better. He was jealous.

Never a huge fan of jealousy in men because it always made them seem weak and out of control when they exhibited that emotion, she found the idea of Roman being jealous sort of charming. The man never appeared weak and always seemed to have everything under control, as far as she’d seen, so in him jealousy came across as sweet.

And stubborn since he refused to admit he felt it at all. Typical Roman.

At five minutesbefore ten, they stood outside the stately home that had been in Jasper Carrollton’s family since the nineteenth century. Hidden by a large bush, they waited as a group of twentysomething males passed by before walking around to the back door. Kate knocked gently as Roman stared out into the backyard at the in-ground swimming pool and hot tub just a few yards away.

“Your friend has some money. This house is huge and comes with some nice amenities,” he said in a tone of appreciation.

Kate scanned the yard and a memory of her drinking too much and falling into the pool at one of Jasper’s parties flashed through her mind. God, she hoped he didn’t bring that up in front of Roman.

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