Unraveling (24 page)

“We’ll pick you up at your dorm, okay?” I continued to play with my hair. I could feel Jared’s eyes boring into my back and it was making me nervous.

“That would be great. See ya later, baby cakes,” Rollo cackled before disconnecting.

I turned to find Jared studying me.

“What?” I asked, looking down, assuming there was something wrong with me.

“Nothing,” he said. “I just can’t believe you’re standing here, in my room.”

I blushed. “I’m here,” I said.

A grin spread across his face, making his eyes crinkle at the corners. “Yes, you are. A man could get used to this.”

My face colored even more.

He chuckled and ran a hand through his messy brown hair. It had grown longer since I’d met him.

“I better go wake up Karlie so that she doesn’t miss the bus,” he headed for the door. “Feel free to use the shower. Just don’t forget to cover your cast,” he pointed at me before disappearing.

A shower sounded nice, but taking one in Jared’s shower
would be scary. I mean, I’d be naked… in
his
house.

I put my head in my hands. I was absolutely ridiculous. I’d taken a shower at my house, with him only a few feet away in the living room. It was the same difference.

I shook my head and grabbed a pair of jeans and a loose purple sweater. The late September weather was too nippy to be going around in a t-shirt. Plus, I’d promised Piper that I’d lay off on the tees.

I scampered into the bathroom, dropping my clothes onto the vanity. I could hear the low hum of Jared and Karlie’s
voices coming from the kitchen and occasionally the pop and sizzle of bacon.

I locked the door and then opened the vanity cabinet. Jackpot. I pulled out a clean gray towel, very masculine, and threw it over the glass shower door. Despite the bathroom’s small size, it was nicely done. Gray tile floor, white walls, a black cabinet vanity with a white countertop and vessel sink. Tucked behind a door was the toilet.

I turned the shower on and waited for it to get warm.

I was about to strip when I realized I had forgotten the plastic covering for my cast. Dang.

I went back to the bedroom and found the box. I pulled one out and managed to get it on.

I’d forgotten my toiletries so I grabbed those and headed back to the bathroom, praying that the water was still warm.

I stuck my fingers in and… Yes! Thank you, Jesus! Warm water!

I didn’t take long in the shower. I towel dried my hair, letting it hang down in its loose, natural, waves. I dabbed on mascara and swiped
on a streak of violet eyeliner.

I packed up my toiletry bag and grabbed my pajamas. I padded back into Jared’s room and dropped the items in my suitcase before going downstairs.

Downstairs, I found Karlie sitting at the breakfast table eating a piece of bacon while Jared made scrambled eggs.

She patted the empty space to her left.

I settled on the cushioned, built in bench and rested my elbows on the round wooden table.

“Want some?” Karlie pointed to a full plate of bacon. “You better get some before Jared sits down or it will all be gone.”

Jared chuckled and separated the eggs onto three plates. “That’s not true, Karls.”

“Oh, it is,” she crunched another slice.

“You better hurry,” she slid the plate closer to me.

To get her to be quiet
, I took a slice. It
did
smell good. I took a bite and found that it was crispy, my favorite way to eat bacon.

“Yummy,” I said.

“Jared’s a great cook,” Karlie said.

Jared slid a plate in front of her and then me. I half expected him to be wearing an apron, but he wasn’t.

He came back with glasses of orange juice. “I don’t know about great, Karls,” he said.

“He can make anything,” Karlie informed me, devouring another piece of bacon.

Jared smacked her hand. “Save some for me and Katy.”

“Sorry,” she giggled and dropped the bacon onto her plate.

Jared sat his plate and orange juice down on the table and then grabbed a basket of biscuits.

“They’re not homemade
but they’re good,” he pointed to them.

I grabbed one, ripping it in half.

“Want some butter?” Karlie asked me.

“Do you have honey?”
I asked.

“Yeah,” Jared jumped up.

“I can get it,” I said, but Jared was already sitting down, handing me the bear shaped bottle.

I squirted some honey onto the biscuit and took a bite. “
Mmmm, delicious,” I moaned.

“Told ya,” Karlie grinned. “I can’t cook to save myself.”

Jared laughed. “She burns
everything
.”

I added some honey to my eggs as well and took a bite of those. Sparks of flavor burst across my tongue. “What’s in these? I’ve never tasted scrambled eggs like this before.”

“It’s my secret recipe,” he winked.

“Jared has a secret for
everything
he cooks,” Karlie commented, sneakily stealing another piece of bacon while Jared wasn’t looking.

“I like to keep people on their toes,” Jared chucked, putting butter on his biscuit. He took a bite and
a crumb sat adorably in the corner of his mouth.

Oh, how I longed to be that crumb.

My cheeks flamed at my thoughts.

What had gotten into me?

“What?” Jared asked, wiping his mouth. “Why are you blushing?”

“No reason,” I said with a shrug of my shoulders. “This is nice,” I motioned to the three of us.

Karlie’s brows knitted together. “It’s just breakfast.”

Jared looked at me quizzically. “Did you never eat meals as a family?”

“No,” I shook my head. “My mother couldn’t be bothered by me. The nanny usually made me dinner but she wasn’t allowed to eat with me and once I got older, I cooked for myself.”

“That is… really sad,” Karlie looked at me sympathetically. “Like
really
sad.”

“Katy,” Jared said, causing me to turn and look at him. “You shouldn’t have been alone like that.”
He looked at me sadly.

“It is what it is,” I shrugged. “It was the only thing I knew.”

“But it shouldn’t have been like that,” he swallowed a sip of orange juice.

I sighed. “My mom didn’t want me and I don’t know my dad. Family dinners weren’t something I even knew existed… I thought they only happened on TV.”

“Katy,” Jared said, and he looked like I’d torn his heart in two.

“It’s true,” I put my hands up in defense.

“Well,” Jared put his fork down, “That’s in the past. What matters is that you’re here, now, with us.”

23

Karlie left for school and I ended up helping Jared wash the dishes.

Cleaning the dirty dishes was actually fun, when you were doing it with someone you cared
about. Jared resumed the ‘get to know’ session we started last night.

“Where’d you grow up?” He asked.

“Not far from here,” I shrugged. “About an hour’s drive. What about you?” I tried to get the conversation steered away from my family and life before Greenville.

“Born and raised here.” I handed him a plate and he patted it dry before opening the white cabinet and putting it away. “You had a nanny… So, I take it you come from money people.”

I gripped the plate in my hand so tightly that my knuckles turned red and then white. “My mom and grandparents have money, not me,” I ground out.

“Hey,” Jared put his hands up in surrender, “I’m not interested in money, if that’s what you’re thinking. I’m just trying to figure you out.”

“Jared,” I took a deep breath, “when I came here, I left that person I was, behind.
Preston
, destroyed what was left of that person. I was a stuck up, rich snob.” I snorted. “Actually, that’s a lie. I
pretended
to be those things because I thought it was what my mom wanted. It didn’t take me long to learn that I would never be anything that she wanted. I was simply the mistake that my grandmother wouldn’t let her abort.”

“Katy, don’t say that about yourself,” Jared took the plate from my hand before I dropped it.

“It’s true. She
never
wanted me. All she’s ever cared about is money and status. It’s who she is. She only wants me around when she’s trying to impress somebody because she’s trying to prove she cares about family. It’s a bunch of baloney. I’m sick of being a puppet in her games. That’s why I haven’t been back. Not that she’s even asked to see me,” I gripped the stainless steel sink. “I won’t be used, Jared,” I looked up at him through my lashes.

He reached out but let his hand drop away. “I would never use you, Katy. You know that.” He peered at me and I swear I saw all the way down to his perfect soul.

“I’m sorry,” I shook my head. “I know that.” I wrapped my arms around myself. “It’s just one of those things that really bugs me.”

He chuckled. “I can tell. Remember…” he peered at me through those thick,
dark, lashes. “If you ever want to talk about something, I’m here to listen. I’m not like most guys. No selective hearing, here,” he pointed to his ears. “When you’re telling me something, I’m absorbing every word you’re saying.”

I shrugged, something I was doing a lot of
, lately. I was going to have to work on controlling that before I dislocated a shoulder. “Back… home,” I said, for lack of a better word, “pretty much everyone around me, all my friends and acquaintances, came from money. But I still worried about someone getting involved with me because of my family’s bank account. I don’t want someone to love me for selfish reasons. I want to be loved, for me, not for what I can give someone.”

Jared bent his head down, pressing his forehead against mine. He cupped my cheeks in his large hands. For a minute, he just looked into my eyes, not saying a thing. “Katy,” he finally said, “I love you, for
you
. I love that you care so much about your friends. I love that you’re strong and caring. I love that you came to the gym to learn how to defend yourself because you didn’t want to be helpless. I love that you brushed me off at first, because it only made me fight a hundred times harder to win your heart. I love that you love my sister. I love that you opened up to me and shared your past with me. I love that when you’re with me, you smile, and laugh because I know, that I’m the one that made you happy. I love you, Katy, because you are my everything. I don’t love you for what you can or can’t give me. I don’t love you for your bank account. None of that matters to me, Katy,” he stroked my cheek softly with the pad of his thumb. “I was in love with you before I knew you had money. I would
never
string you along like that. The love I feel for you is something I’ve never experienced. It’s a once in a lifetime feeling. It’s like, when I saw you, my soul recognized you and I couldn’t rest until I made you mine. So,
never,
ever believe that I love you for any other reason, except that you are
you
.” His lips pressed slightly against my forehead for a few seconds, before he pulled away. I swayed slightly and he grabbed my wrist to steady me.

“Whoa there, kitten,” he chuckled.

“I think I need to sit down,” I stuttered.

Jared led me over to the breakfast nook.

I plopped clumsily onto the bench.

“You okay?” He asked, bending down in front of me.

“Yeah,” I said, smiling slightly. “You always seem to make me feel lightheaded.”

Jared grinned crookedly. “Good.”

“You
want
to me feel dizzy?” I asked.

“No, of course not,” he chuckled. “It’s
just… if I affect you that way then you must really care for me.”

I reached out, fingering the d
imple in his chin. His stubble grated against my skin.

“I already told you that I love you. In fact, I said it first,” I let my hand fall back to my lap.

“True,” his eyes crinkled, “but most of the time you’re not affected by me, the way I am by you.”

I laughed. “You must be blind if you can’t see the way you affect me. You always manage to put my stomach in knots, good ones,” I added before he thought otherwise. “I’ve never had anyone make me feel the way you do, without you even saying anything. That night, at the club,” I swall
owed, “when you grabbed my hand, for the first time in two years, I felt safe. You are my safe haven, Jared. It’s always been you that I’ve been searching for, even after I stopped looking.”

He closed his eyes as a smile spread across his face.

Opening them, he said, “I would go through every horrible thing in my life, over and over again, as long as I knew you’d be waiting for me on the other side.”

I took his hand in mine and smoothed my thumb across his knuckles.