Chapter 2
The next morning, an Instagram post was waiting for me.
[Anyone recognize these two? They left their camera behind.]
The pictures showed Chloe and Jasper. In some, they stood shoulder to shoulder on a beach. Others were the kind of portraits you take when you’re paying close attention to the person on the other side of the lens. They’d clearly had a wonderful time.
[Okay, but they look amazing together.]
[Ladies, find someone who looks at you the way she looks at him.]
…
The compliments kept piling up.
I forwarded the post to Jasper.
He called almost immediately. “You’re not taking those comments seriously, are you? They’re photos, Wren. We were posing.”
Chloe laughed somewhere behind him. “Maybe people online know chemistry when they see it. I mean, Jasper and I do look good together.”
She took his phone. “Relax, girl. I’m not interested in him. He’s practically one of the boys. Not my type.”
She laughed again.
“He did promise he’d quit smoking for me, though. How do you kiss him without coughing up a lung? All that cigarette breath. Ugh.”
“I don’t care,” I said coldly. “Bring the camera back. My grandmother gave it to my mom.”
I hung up and looked at the folder lying open on my table. The applications and documents for continuing my education were still inside. I’d put that dream away because I loved Jasper. At the time, marrying him had seemed worth giving up school.
I wanted that part of my life back.
…
Jasper’s mother had a birthday a few days later.
I went to her house early, left a present, and was getting ready to go when Jasper came in from his trip.
He pushed a roughly carved wooden figurine into my hand.
“I made you something! I spent ages out in the woods in that heat finding the right piece of wood, and then I carved it myself. You’ll never forget a gift like this.”
Chloe was stretched out on the couch, absorbed in her phone. She looked up at that.
“Yeah, well, drilling those pieces of wood did a number on my finger. Wouldn’t recommend it. Jasper bought me this watch to make up for it, though.”
She held out her hand to show me the injury. It was a tiny mark, barely bigger than a pinprick. The watch was much harder to miss.
Everything Jasper had ever given me was homemade, and it looked like it. Everything Chloe got came from a store. The one time I’d asked why, he’d held my hand and said, “What I give you comes from the heart, babe. You can’t buy that in a store.”
I gave a quiet, bitter laugh. I’d actually believed him.
“Hey, your camera.” Chloe pulled it out of her bag. “Catch.”
She threw it before I could move closer. I couldn’t reach it from where I stood.
It hit the floor and broke.
“Seriously, dude? I told you to catch it.”
I opened my mouth, but Jasper cut in first.
“It’s old. Old stuff breaks. It was a pain to use anyway, so don’t make a big deal out of it.”
He steered me toward the kitchen and pressed a list into my hand. “Chloe’s favorites. She looked after me while you were away, so making her a nice meal is the least you can do. I’m still worn out from traveling.”
For his mother’s sake, I kept my mouth shut and cooked.
When the food was ready, Chloe sat beside Jasper and chatted with his family as if she belonged there.
I looked around the table. There wasn’t a chair for me.
“Oh, sorry. More people came than we thought,” Jasper said, taking my hand. “You can eat in the kitchen. There’s lots of room.”
Chloe started to stand, making sure everyone could see her do it.
“No way. She’s not the help. Wren, take my seat.”
Jasper put his hand on her thigh and pressed her back down.
“You’re our guest. Guests sit at the table. Don’t worry about her. She doesn’t mind this kind of thing. She understands.”
