“Do I, though? What have I done to deserve better than the hand I’ve been dealt?” she asks, searching my eyes.
“Maybe I haven’t known you long yet, Greene, but Ifeellike I’ve known you for years.” I tuck a lock of hair behind her ear. “You deserve more. So much more. If for nothing else, for simply caring about others as fiercely as you do despite it all.”
We look into each other’s eyes for a moment; then an idea comes to mind. It may be a stupid one, but I can’t resist offering. “How about I join you on Thanksgiving?”
“What?” She gawks, raising her brows. “Jasper, I will absolutely not subject you to the Greenes.”
“C’mon, I’ll show you.” I nudge her. “I’m even better with parents than you are; just watch.”
“Is that a challenge?” Her mouth quirks.
“Nope,” I say firmly. “It’s a statement.”
“Last warning, Jasper.” She arches an eyebrow. “You can’t say I didn’t try.”
“I would love nothing more than to support you while you fend off your lame-ass parents,” I say, to which she bursts into laughter.
“Fine.” She sighs. “But won’t your family be annoyed you’re missing Thanksgiving with them?”
“Eh, my family is weird—we do a Thanksgiving brunch every year instead of a Thanksgiving dinner, so we should be done by noon. I’ll head over to your place after that to help you prep.”
She rises while my T-shirt barely covers her ass.Holy Hell.She peeks over her shoulder, catching my eyes lingering on her. “Thank you, Jasper.”
“Told you,” I can’t contain my wide grin. “You can hit me with whatever you’ve got.”
Work flies by. We forgo staying the night together again—her choice, not mine—so I’m not late to my parents’ home for Thanksgiving brunch. I offer to bake a pecan pie using my mom’s recipe for Greene’s Thanksgiving feast. She obviously dreads seeing her parents. Consequently, I’m going to make sure it goes a hell of a lot better than she anticipates. I finish baking the pie and putting it in the fridge. Funnily enough, I prepared a better dish for her parents than my own.
“Surprise.” An uninvited guest startles me after I shut my fridge. “Miss me?”
“Didn’t even notice you were gone.” I grimace.
“Jasper, I’m hurt. After all we’ve been through?”
I sigh. “What do you want, Kai?”
“Just wanted to catch up. She went to sleep early tonight, so I figured I’d stop by.”
I stride over to my couch, slumping into it with a beer in hand. “Cool.”
“Damn, you’re dry as hell, man.” Kai sits beside me. “I don’t know if I see what Iris sees in you.”
“The fact that she sees anything in me is shocking to say the least.” I sip my beer, gesturing it toward him. “Want one?”
“Come to think of it, I haven’t tried drinking as a guardian before…” He pauses. I shrug, handing him the bottle. To our utter shock, he grasps it, then slowly brings it to his lips, swallowing. Apparently, angels and ghosts are different from each other. Consequently, angels are able to touch objects if they choose, whereas ghosts can’t.
“Holy shit!” Kai exclaims excitedly. “I can’t believe I didn’t try this sooner!”
Despite my efforts not to, I grin like an idiot. This man really is something else. He takes a few more large gulps, finishing off the bottle.
“Damn, dude, drink your own next time,” I grunt, leaning back into my couch.
“I’m so sorry, man.” Kai smirks, wiping his lips. “I haven’t felt this way in so long. I didn’t think I’d ever feel this sensation again, honestly.”
“You only had one beer, Kai.” I roll my eyes. “There’s no way you’re feeling it that fast.”
“On the contrary, Jas.” He waves his finger at me. “I experience practicallyeverythingmore intensely now, so thismay or may not be hitting me harder than it would’ve during my mortal life.”
He stands, heading to my fridge to presumably grab another. I fixate on how this legitimately makes zero sense. So much for logic.
