That night I slept on the guest mattress and woke the next morning to find Jessie in bed with me.Her little head on my arm, and I suddenly knew how Jayden had felt the night before.I stared at her like she was the most precious thing in the universe.
Her eyes flickered open, and I’d lifted my finger to my mouth.“Shh.”
I didn’t want Jayden to see.
She belonged to him.Not me.
I kissed her on the forehead and helped her out of bed, then walked her down to her bedroom.
“What did I do wrong?”Jessie asked, looking vulnerable and worried.
“Nothing, Squirt.”I ran a hand over her head.“I have to go home, so didn’t want to wake Jay or for you to get cold.”
“Okay.”She tucked her arms under her face and went back to sleep.
Apparently, I’ve been lying to everyone forever.
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JESSIE
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ITHREAD MY fingersthrough Liam’s, and we walk down to the park.He’s tense.Then the moment we see his friends, our hands fall apart.
I glance up at him, but he’s become distant.Harder.Not the man who’s seen every inch of me and cried out my name as his cock hits the back of my throat.
Here, we are just friends.
Temporarily, I remind myself.
I’m confident there’s no way Liam would want to give up what we have.I couldn’t imagine going back to what we were.
Jayden’s little sister.
Jayden’s best friend.
Today, out of respect for my big brother, we need to be those people once more.I hope he is okay with it when he finds out.
I might have hung up on him—something we do to each other on occasion and is a bit of a joke—but I love him.
I’m relying on our bond to get through this.
We both love Liam, and when he learns how much I do, surely he’ll want to see us both together and happy.
Right?
“Is this...wow.”I glance around at the people on the beach.“Is this a private beach?”
Most of the faces are familiar, and there’s a marquee set up with tables and a volleyball net.Servers are handing out iced drinks, and I can smell the delicious scent of a barbeque.
“Yup.It’s challenging with Savannah and Ryder because of her fame.One of her co-stars owns the beach, so they’re hosting the party.”
“Wow.”
The famous actress spots us and waves out.
“Go,” Liam says, winking down at me.“I’ll go join the volleyball game.”Then he rips his T-shirt off and runs down the beach.
