A Christmas Break - Annabelle Jacobs Page 0,2

than Christian, but he picked up on it, eyes narrowing as he looked at me.

“Is that what’s bothering you?”

“Nothing’s bothering me.”

“Liar.” He waved a finger at me. “You thought he was hot, and don’t deny it. I saw you eye-fucking him all the way from over here.”

“Was not.”

Christian laughed. “You’re just pissed because now you think he’s too young.”

“He is too young.” Way, way too young.

“He must be almost twenty-one, which is old enough for whatever you had in mind.”

I tried hard not to remember the filthy thoughts I’d had at that bar. Before I knew who he was. “He’s Cole’s best mate.”

Christian considered this for a moment, taking another pull from his beer. “He is.” He shot me a sly grin. “That probably makes you even hotter in Jasper’s eyes. Nothing better than fucking your best mate’s older brother.”

I didn’t bother with a reply, but his words burrowed deep inside me and didn’t want to let go, and my gaze drifted over to the bar again. Did he think I was hot?

Christian’s laughter snapped me back to our conversation, and I scowled. “I can’t wait to see how this pans out.”

“Nothing’s going to happen and you know it.”

“Yeah, mate.” He shot a pointed look in Jasper’s direction, where he was now leaning on the bar looking straight at us. Even under the dim lighting, I felt the weight of his stare. “You keep telling yourself that.”

I did.

I kept telling myself that for the rest of the night and all the next morning.

Happy that I’d got Jasper well out of my system, I pulled up onto my mum’s drive that afternoon, only to find him stood smoking a cigarette outside on the front lawn. Sporting blue skinny jeans this time, boots, and a coat that made him look both warm and cosy, yet sexy as fuck.

Fuck my life.

Seriously.

Fuck it.

With a resigned sigh, I got out of the car and walked over to him. “I’m surprised my mum hasn’t had a word with you about that.” I gestured to the smoke curling up into the cold air.

Jasper chuckled. “She did. She gave me a hug, told me she’d missed me, then only let me out here after I promised to cut down, with a view to quitting in the new year.”

I grinned, imagining her giving him a stern talking to. Cole got his sunny personality from my mum, but she was fierce when it came to people she cared about. And Cole’s best mate fell into that category.

He took a drag of his cigarette, lips tight around the filter, and I was transfixed. I’d never found smoking a turn on before, but the way he closed his eyes and drew it into his lungs was captivating. He blew it out, gaze snapping to mine, and I quickly looked away, thankful that the cold would hide it if I did something stupid like blushed.

“I’ll see you inside,” I said, escaping before things could get any more awkward between us. The last thing I needed was for him to bring up last night and call me out on my obvious attraction.

Attraction that was no more.

Nope.

Totally gone.

I opened the door and walked inside.

It took me all of two seconds to realise that something was up. The three people sitting in my mum’s living room looked far too suspicious for this to be an ordinary Sunday afternoon. Stopping in the doorway, I narrowed my eyes. “What’s going on?”

Getting up quickly, my mum came over to wrap me up in a hug. I bent a little to return it. “Nothing’s going on. Cole was just telling us he saw you and Christian out last night.”

I glared at Cole over her shoulder but his mouthed “she was worried” had me instantly guilty. I hugged her tighter.

When she stepped back, I ran a hand through my hair and tried to ease everyone’s worries. “Evan collected the last of his stuff yesterday and dropped off his key.”

“About bloody time,” my dad grumbled.

“Arthur,” my mum admonished, but her tone told me she agreed whole-heartedly.

I held up a hand. “I know, I know.” He’d been messing me around for the last few months since he’d moved out, and my family hadn’t been subtle about their displeasure. Whatever goodwill they’d felt for Evan when we were together had long since vanished.

“Anyway, Christian dragged me out to celebrate.”

“Good for him.” My mum beamed. Christian she adored.

With that out of the way, I took my place on the sofa next to Cole. “All right?”