Page 43 of Finding Us
He bows his head and murmurs, “Okay, Dad.”
I’m now having second thoughts about agreeing to this.
We exit the lift and walk down the corridor towards Connor’s apartment in silence. Blake’s been here countless times, but Connor lived alone then.
When we reach the door and Blake clutches my hand, I want to turn around and head back upstairs. “Are you sure you want to be here?”
I can already smell the delicious aromas coming from inside. “I’m hungry,” Blake replies, making me chuckle.
Obviously, food comes before his fear of women.
I raise my hand and knock. “What smells so good?” I ask when Connor opens the door.
“Jaz is cooking up a storm.” He leans in and gives me a one-armed hug before reaching down to bump fists with Blake. “She’s been in the kitchen for hours. Wait ’til you taste her cooking, man, it’s the best.”
“I’m hungry,” Blake repeats. He had two cheese sandwiches, an apple, and a couple more cupcakes for lunch, so I don’t see how.
“Jaz,” Connor calls out when we step inside the apartment. “Mason and Blake are here.”
I’ve waited a long time to meet this elusive sister of his, and it will be good to finally put a face to the name, but when she exits the kitchen and comes into view, my heart drops into the pit of my stomach.
Red!
What are the fucking chances?
The colour drains from her face as soon as our eyes lock. Mine narrow instantly, despite the racing of my heart. She looks different,breathtaking, and I hate that this is my first thought. Today, her long blonde hair is pulled back into a high ponytail, and her face is free of make-up. Her pale-blue, knee-length sundress makes her eyes pop, and despite how sweet and innocent she appears, I know better.There is nothing innocent about this temptress.
I have no idea how this is going to pan out, but I’m guessing not great. Connor is going to lose his shit when he finds out I deflowered his precious little sister, and I can only pray he has enough composure not to do it in front of my son.
“Jacinta,” Connor says when she’s standing in front of us, “this is my best friend, Mason Bradley.”
Her tongue darts out, briefly running over her bottom lip as she extends her hand towards me. “It’s nice to finally meet you … Connor talks about you all the time.”
So, she’s going that route.I should be relieved, but I’m not … I’m livid. She’s going to pretend she doesn’t know me? That my mouth and hands haven’t touched every inch of her body. That a week ago my tongue and my cock weren’t buried deep inside her?
Game on, Red!
Her hand remains lingering in the air, and when Connor’s attention darts to me, I sigh as I’m left with no choice but to reciprocate her greeting. My fingers wrap around hers, and her eyes slightly widen when I squeeze tighter than I normally would. “It’s nice to finally meet you too … Jacinta.”
When I don’t immediately let go, she tugs her arm back, freeing her hand from my grip. I feel a pang of guilt when I noticed her clench and unclench her hand a few times. I hadn’t meant to hurt her; I just wanted her to know I wasn’t happy.
Did she pretend she didn’t know me because she doesn’t want Connor to find out what we did, or is there something more to it? Does she regret her time with me? The way she risked her life to get away has me leaning more in that direction.
“And who do we have here?” she asks, crouching down to Blake’s level.
I roll my lips to hide my smile when he ducks behind my legs.Hah!Take that, Red; your voodoo pussy has no power over a five-year-old.
Connor cocks an eyebrow when I don’t speak. “This is Blake, Mason’s son,” he answers.
Her eyes briefly flicker up to me before focusing back on my son. She’s probably shocked I have a kid. There’s a lot she could’ve learnt about me if only she’d stuck around to find out, instead of sneaking out in the dead of night.
“Hi, Blake.” She gives him a blinding toothy smile, which makes her entire face light up, and my anger grows.I never got one of them.“I’m Connor’s sister, Jacinta, but my friends call me Jaz or Jazzie.” I’ll make sure to call her Jacinta from now on, because we are definitely not friends. “Do you like chocolate chip cookies?” she asks in a sugary sweet voice, and my lips thin as I try in vain to rein in my fury. If anything is going to get my son onside it’ll be food. I struggle to quell my displeasure when he nods his head. “I made some earlier, do you want to come in the kitchen with me and try one?”
My nostrils flare when Blake whispers, “Okay.”
Red stands to full height and extends her hand to him, and the little traitor wastes no time wrapping his small fingers around hers.Un-fucking-believable.
Connor places his hand on my shoulder as the two of them leave the room. “You okay?” he asks.
