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His fingers brushed hers as he took them from her. “You’re welcome.” He tucked the gloves into the pocket of his jacket. “Well, I’d better head for home. See you later, sis.”
“Oh yes, you will,” Janessa agreed with an emphatic nod of her head. “Drive safe.”
“Always,” he tossed over his shoulder as he walked toward the car.
He gave a final wave before he drove away from the house. Janessa had definitely been suspicious of seeing the two of them together. He couldn’t really blame her, but she had to know that he wasn’t going to make any moves on her friend.
***
“Are you doing okay?” Janessa asked as she followed Aria up the stairs.
When she reached the landing, Aria turned to smile at her. “I’m fine. I just thought I’d take a walk. It was a lot colder than I expected.”
“You’re definitely not in Sacramento anymore. You need thicker pants,” Janessa said, poking lightly at her hip. “Don’t you have sweatpants?”
“I do.” Aria continued on to her room. “I just wasn’t thinking.”
Janessa flopped down on the edge of her bed while Aria went to her dresser. “Was… uh… everything okay with Gareth?”
Aria glanced over her shoulder as she searched through a drawer for proof she had warmer clothes. “Yeah. Why?”
“I don’t know. Just…”
Having found a pair of thick sweats, Aria turned around in time to catch Janessa’s frown. “Do you have some sort of concern about me spending time with Gareth?”
“It’s not that.” Janessa blew out a breath as she shrugged. “It’s just that Gareth is a real sweetie, and he doesn’t know his own appeal sometimes. Though he can be intense at times, he’s super nice, and that’s been misinterpreted.”
“Oh. You’re afraid that I’ll think he’s interested in me when he’s just being a decent human being?”
“Something like that. I just don’t want you to get hurt. It happened so often with Kayleigh’s friends that she finally told Gareth he wasn’t allowed to talk to any of them ever again.”
Aria laughed. “Seriously?”
“Seriously. Charli had it happen a couple of times too.” Janessa paused, a thoughtful look on her face. “Gareth has an air of dependability that lots of women seem to be drawn to. Being a doctor has also made him a great listener. He focuses on a person, making them feel like what they’re saying is valuable and who they are is super important to Gareth. The truth is, in that moment, theyareimportant to him, but only as a fellow human being.”
Aria understood that. She’d felt that way when she and Gareth had spoken. Even when he’d been explaining the game to her earlier, she’d felt like he really cared that she understood it. However, she didn’t dare tell Janessa that she was already a bit too late with her warning.
“He’s not perfect, I’m sure,” Aria said. “So, what are his faults?”
Janessa relaxed back on her hands. “He can have endless amounts of patience, unless he thinks someone isn’t doing what they’re supposed to. Laziness aggravates him, and he can’t tolerate anyone who tries to make excuses for their own bad judgment or who blames other people for their mistakes. He doesn’t get mad often, but when he does, it takes him ages to calm down, and he can hold a grudge forever. Jay is the one who can push his buttons regularly.”
“Why is that?”
“I think it’s because before we came to live with the Halversons, Jay was used to being the big brother. He was the man of the house since our dad wasn’t around. He helped my mom out a lot, especially after she got sick.” Janessa sat forward, lifting her legs to cross them and resting her elbows on her knees. “We were both grieving so hard back then. Gareth tried to step into the role of big brother, and Jay just wasn’t having it. So yeah, Jay’s never really accepted Gareth as his older brother. As his brother, sure, just not his big brother.”
“I suppose it doesn’t help that they both have fairly important roles at the clinic.”
“Yep. They each think that their thoughts on how the clinic should be run are most important. We can all see that they’re both right, but they struggle to see that admitting that doesn’t mean capitulating. They need each other, you know? The clinic wouldn’t be operational if not for Gareth, but it wouldn’t run smoothly without Jay.”
Aria could see how that might be an issue.
“The difference between Jay and Gareth when it comes to women is that Jay is aware of the attraction he holds. He can be friendly and flirty on purpose. You’ll see.” Janessa frowned. “Jay likes the attention, so you need to be careful of him, too.”
“Any warnings for Wilder?” Aria asked.
Janessa’s brows lifted, and she straightened. “Are you interested in Wilder?”
“No. Just wondered if you had a warning for all your brothers.”
