Page 35 of Rescued By My Best Friend's Brother

Josie answers the door. “Hey, Jasper! What’s up?” She looks well-rested, better than she’d looked the other day.

“You look like you got the sleep you wanted,” I say, stepping past her to get inside. I normally don’t come out here, Josie always comes to the main house to visit Lily or me. Josie hasn’t changed too much of the little home but did add a few things here and there to make it hers. A flashy painting and a few of her strange adornments she finds at antique stores.

“I did! How’s Lily doing with my absence?” She follows me inside.

I glance around but don’t see Elena. She must be in her room. “She’s doing good. She sure misses her aunt, even though it’s only been a day or two.”

“Awe. I love that sweet girl! She really is my favorite niece.”

I glare at her and raise my brow. “In the words of my daughter, she’s your only niece.”

Josie touches my nose quickly, like any annoying aunt would do. “But still my favorite!”

I roll my eyes. “Is Elena here?” I know she is. I saw her car outside, so she must be.

Josie crosses her arms over her chest and smacks her lips accusingly. “Jasper. I know that look. Has that little crush you had on her come back?”

I sigh. “Don’t start, Josie.”

She clutches my shoulders. “Look. If it had been years ago, in college, or even high school, I’d be all for it. But Elena has been through a lot. Her ex is a scumbag, and she has nothing. I love her, and I want the best for her, but I also want the best for you, and I don’t think Elena is the one to give you that at this point in her life. She is overcoming a lot right now.”

I shrug her off. “I just need to talk to her about the babysitting paperwork. I gave it to her to sign.” I know I am lying, but I just don’t want to hear what she has to say about Elena and me. If I listened to every piece of advice that had been given to me, I’d be unhappy, living someone else’s life.

“Oh. Okay. She’s in her room.” Josie grabs her purse and keys. “I have to get going if I want to grab some coffee before my hair appointment.” She pauses at the door. “Just be careful. I love you both, but that doesn’t mean you need to love each other.” She points to her eyes with two of her fingers and then jabs them towards me.

I groan. Could she be any more annoying and cliche? “Got it, Josie.”

I turn my back to her, showing her I am done with the conversation and walk across the kitchen to Elena’s door. There are only two rooms here, and I already know which one is Josie’s, so this one has to be Elena’s. I knock. Silence. I knock again. Silence again. I open the door and find Elena asleep on her bed, laptop open beside her. I quietly walk over to her bed and shut the laptop. I set it on her nightstand and peer down at her.

She seems so tranquil in sleep. Her lips partly open as her chest rises and falls. Strands of hair spring free from her ponytail, falling across her face. I climb into the bed, lying beside her. This is probably what it would have felt like if she had stayed in my bed until morning. It is moments like these that urge me to create more with Elena. Although I had many crushes in middle school and high school, my crush for her lasted the longest, it never really went away. I trace her lips with my fingertips and push the strands away from her face. If only I could wake her with a kiss. Would she mind it?

Her eyes flutter open and stare into mine. She doesn’t seem startled by my presence. In fact, she seems even more relaxed, as if it comforts her to see me in her bed. I move my arm, so I can rest my head on it. “Did I wear you out last night?” I inquire.

She closes her eyes again and tucks her hands under her head like a pillow. “Mhmm.”

“Do you want to sleep some more?” I ask.

“No, but I do like you lying here with me.”

I scoot a little closer to her, our legs intertwining. “So, does this mean you want to try things out with me?”

“Can I ask you a question?” she says, her eyes still closed. “You don’t have to answer it if you don’t want to, I’m just a little curious.”

Something in my stomach twists, and not in the butterfly’s kind of way. I know this will be a difficult question, one I may not answer. Why else would she tell me that I don’t have to answer it?

“Sure. Go ahead.”

“What happened to your ex-wife, Caty?”

The words ring in my ears, the same words so many others have sent my way. Even Caty’s family doesn’t know her whereabouts. They have asked this question a million times,

Elena opens her eyes, and I can see the flecks of green and brown in them. I want to tell her everything, but I’m not sure where I should even begin. I have all this buried inside, I don’t know exactly how to put it all in words.

“I need to show you something,” I say.

Chapter Twenty-One

Elena

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