Wrapped Up in You - Talia Hibbert Page 0,34

is. Colder.”

“Hm, yes, fascinating,” Jase said. “Abbie. How is it having Will back home?”

Across the kitchen, Grandma whipped around with an expression of eager delight. Which was both weird and unnerving. “Yes, Abbie, how is it?”

“Fine,” Abbie bit out.

“Really?” Jase grinned.

Abbie narrowed her eyes at her twin. Shut the fuck up.

Jase arched an eyebrow. Make me.

Abbie kept on looking. I’m serious.

Jase rolled his eyes. “I see we’re all in excellent moods this morning.”

“They’re hungover,” Grandma put in slyly, “judging by the state of my secret gin bottle. Isn’t that interesting?”

“Will is hungover,” Abbie put in. “I was sober as a church last night.”

“That was the only churchly thing about you,” Jase said with a smirk.

Now it was Abbie’s turn to kick him under the table.

After breakfast, Grandma went off to wrap presents. Will announced that he was going to shower, then looked at Abbie in a way that made her feel a bit faint and said, “We need to talk later. Okay?”

“Okay,” she breathed, momentarily brainless and legless and very, very aware of her own vagina, and also of the tight tangle of nerves in her stomach.

Will disappeared upstairs, his absence returning all the oxygen to the room, and Abbie sucked in a calming breath and got a grip. Then she headed into the family room to embroider and worry, and Jase followed her there with the express purpose of getting on her nerves.

“Nice silk stitch,” he said, peering over her shoulder at her embroidery hoop.

“Leave me,” she muttered, focusing very hard on the shell of the little turtle she was creating.

“No, thank you. Snogging Will in the garden, yeah?”

Oh, for fuck’s sake. She’d known last night would backfire on her. It was entirely Will’s fault for being perfect and enticing and upset and so adorable when he was drunk, and for saying shit that was honest and earnest and so close to perfect it made her feel nauseous with fear.

That in itself was the problem.

Working hard to keep her voice unembarrassed, Abbie said, “Bring that up again and I will sneak into your room at night and shave your precious beard.”

“As if you’d do your own brother like that. You know I’ve got no jawline.”

“Try me.”

Jase laughed, but there was concern in his voice when he spoke again. “I thought you’d be happy. He’s into you, you’re into him, he’s already family—it’s so … tidy. You love tidy.”

Abbie dropped her hoop and glared up at her brother. “There’s nothing tidy about it, Jason. What’s going to happen when we—?”

“What?”

She sighed and shook her head.

“Oh, what the fuck. Seriously? You’re already thinking about it going south?”

“Whatever,” Abbie muttered. “I don’t want to talk about it.”

“Abs,” Jase said gently, moving to sit beside her. “I understand why you worry about this stuff. Really, I do. But—Look. Feel free to punch me if I’m being patronising, but you know it’s okay to trust Will, right? He’s not a bad guy.”

Abbie looked up with a frown. “Of course he’s not. He’s the best guy. I’m worried about me.” Only when the words were out of her mouth did she realise how true they were. It was exactly what she’d told Will—or tried to tell him, anyway—last night, but she didn’t know how to explain it to anyone around her. “You don’t understand. None of you do. You’re all so fucking well-adjusted.”

Jase choked out a laugh. “Well-adjusted? Abbie. Are you serious?”

“Fine, you’re all nuts, but you don’t get this.”

Jase’s expression softened as he slung an arm around her shoulders. “Well, explain it to me, then.”

Her throat felt tight. “You know I don’t enjoy talking about … feelings.”

“You and me both,” he muttered. “But since you and Will clearly can’t get it together on your own—”

“We’re not getting anything together,” she shot back.

“But you want to.”

Sometimes having a twin was quite awful. He sort of followed her about, showing up when it was least convenient, seeing things no one on earth was supposed to see. “Yes,” she admitted softly. “I want to. I wish I could. But if the last couple of days have shown me anything, it’s that I’m just not ready.”

Will said he cared about her, and she believed him. He said it would be different, and she believed him. But that didn’t change the fact that thinking about being with him gave her butterflies and jitters. That didn’t change the fact that every time she tried to express even half of her affection, she worried she was inviting unhappiness. That wasn’t healthy,