“I’m not,” I said firmly.
Steve grimaced, running his fingers through his hair.I loved his hair—it was thick, often in need of a cut.“But Jenna’s going to think?—”
“That we’re lovers?Well, we’re not.”I kept my tone level as I met his gaze, which held the memory of our passion.“You made that clear.”
“Jasmine—” His voice cracked, and my heart bled with his uncertainty.
I waved off his concern.We weren’t loversnow, so there was no point rehashing the past.“I’m known for my comforting shoulder.So, I think your virtue’s safe.”
He scrubbed his palms over his cheeks.“You’re exasperating, you know that, right?”
I sashayed back into the house, calling over my shoulder, “Hmm.I can see how you’d struggle with me constantly being right.Such a problem.”
His chortle made my lips turn up, even as my heart continued to ache.
Chapter4
Steve
Istepped into the warm house and inhaled the myriad of scents from the meal.Garlic and herbs warmed my belly, but the underlying sweetness of vanilla and melted butter and brown sugar burrowed deeper into a place I hadn’t known was empty.
Her house smelled like what I associated with Jasmine Grace: warmth, comfort,love.
I swallowed to tamp down my emotions.Instead, I trailed Jasmine to the table, ignoring Nash’s questioning gaze and Aya’s concerned one.Once settled in my chair, Nash passed me the platter of prime rib.I set a good-sized piece on my plate before handing it to Cam on my other side, who made sure his mother received it.
Next, I heaped the sautéed Brussel sprouts next to my meat and shooed away the other offerings.Jasmine pursed her lips at my refusal of her Southern delicacies, but there was only one I wanted—well, two.I wouldn’t taste her vanilla-brown-sugar lips again, but I could enjoy her pie, which was delicious and addicting.
I loved her pie.Craved it probably because it was as close to Jasmine as I could allow myself to get.
“You okay?”Nash asked, voice low.I’d never fallen apart in his presence, but that didn’t mean he wasn’t aware of some of my issues.
“Not sure.But I won’t mess up your evening anymore.”
He tilted his head to the side to better study me.Having my kid analyze me made my skin feel too tight.
“It’s your evening, too,” Nash said.
How did I respond to that?Until Nash, I’d never celebrated a holiday.I still remembered the first one we’d shared: his birthday.We’d eaten the cake his mother sent him—thick slabs of chocolate coated in caramel icing.It was delicious.I’d told him it was my favorite, too, and it was because he’d shared it with me.
My granny had made me a similar cake a few times when I was very young, and it was one memory I’d clung to.Knowing Nash and I shared a favorite cake made that memory—and that cake—even better.
“Steve…”
My muscles bunched.He never called me “Dad”.Never would.Why would he?I hadn’t been one to him, not even when I figured out he was mine.
“Drop it,” I said.
Nash slammed his lips shut, jaw clenching.In that moment, he looked like Carolina.His beautiful, elegant mother, who’d died too soon.The only woman I’d loved—so much it was an obsession.That caused me to miss her weaknesses, to gloss over her treatment of Nash…to further fuck up my relationship with my son.I gripped my fork; the metal digging into my fingers, my heart thundering in my chest.
What waswrongwith me?Normally, I could control these thoughts, my memories, but today everything continued to bubble up, trying to burst forth despite my continual attempts to hold myself together.
I’d never struggled so much with control.I hated this too-tight-skin feeling.
I took a bite of the tender meat, flavor bursting over my tongue.I relaxed as I chewed, my tastebuds simply too happy for my body to remain as tense as it had been mere moments before.
I glanced up from my plate to find Jenna eying me, her lips pursed thoughtfully.I smiled at her.She smiled back, but it was tired and filled with sadness.
Poor girl.She’d had a rough time.Cam reached over and wound his thick arm around her shoulder, pressing a kiss to her temple.He was always there for her, making sure she knew she was loved.Jenna seemed to blossom a little during his show of affection.Those two weren’t a couple I would have paired together, but they were deeply in love.Not justin love butloving toward each other.Cam whispered something against her hair and she melted further into him, softening his hard edge.
