Page 127 of Romeo

Jasper: Massacre and I fought because of her. We weren’t fighting over her.

Me: There’s a difference?

Jasper: A very important one, Cher.

I should’ve let it go there.

Instead, my mind supplied an image of some beautiful woman in leather standing beside Jasper at the clubhouse. Someone his age. Someone who wouldn’t need him to constantly slow down or wonder whether he was doing the right thing.

Me: I haven’t heard much from you.

I sent it before deciding where I was going with the sentence.

Jasper: Because the asshole who broke my wrist needed my help staying alive.

I blinked. Then read it again.

Broke my wrist.

The jealousy vanished so quickly I almost felt foolish for having entertained it at all.

Me: You’re helping him?

Jasper: Club business rarely makes sense from the outside.

Apparently not.

He’d been injured badly enough to break a bone, dealing with something serious enough that the man responsible still needed his help, and I’d spent three days wondering whether he’d decided prom was a mistake.

That should’ve ended the Amber question.

It didn’t because apparently that courage I pulled from the depths of my soul had taken over.

Me: And the girl?

I winced at myself immediately. What was I doing? Jasper’s answer arrived without hesitation.

Jasper: Means nothing to me.

Four words. No flirtation. No joke. No careful turn of phrase that gave him somewhere to hide. Just blunt honesty.

Me: You don’t have to explain.

Jasper: I do when you’re sitting in Virginia thinking I don’t want to talk to you.

Heat crept into my cheeks even though nobody was there to see it. He always saw my insecurity. Somehow, from miles away and a handful of short texts, Jasper knew exactly where my mind had gone.

Me: You could’ve told me you were busy.

Jasper: I should have.

That answer caught me off guard more than an excuse would have.

He didn’t tell me I was overreacting. He didn’t remind me that club business wasn’t mine to question. He simply admitted he should’ve said something.

Me: Yes, you should have.

Jasper: You going to forgive me?